KEF R3 speaker review spoiler alert, it's really good

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[iseeolly]

I used to work for Kef and Celestion in Ipswich UK, I was Quality Control and I did test every tweeter for frequency response, I listened to every one with a sine-wave sweep and matched them into pairs. The owners shut the factory and moved most production to China, not sure how the QC is done these days but I can attest to the care I took back in the day.

[bjoernarberg]

Have had the KEF R3 for half a year, and I can confirme Steves view on these speakers. They really gives you a bit of high end musical performance, and I consider them really god value for the money you have to pay for them. I use them with Hegel H360 and Hegel HD30 dac, and if the quality og the signal you feed them with is good, the quality of what they reward you with, is really good. I also find them best firing straight out into the room. You sacrifice a minor focus in the centerstage, but you get a much greater soundstage, and the speakers dissapeare in the soundstage. I think it is safe to call these speakers highly recommended.

[TAG-]

You are such a joy to listen to, trying to convey how a speaker sounds, is an art on itself!

[allanpowell]

I thought at 64 it was time to settle for the music set-up which would do me for the rest of life. So I thought about the components which had given me the most listening pleasure for my Classical and Jazz taste over the last twenty or so years. So speaker: Celestions, the 15, the 40'w and the 60, Leaks, the 2060 and the 2030, Kefs, the Concerto, the celef, the Cadenza. Australian make Audio Definition. Amps Quads, Sansuis, A goodmans 150, various Japanese models. I ended up with a Quad 30 preamp, 405 power amp a Denon DVD player for CD's and a set of Kef Concertos. I have the Audio Definitions currently playing trough a Nad which I quite like. That will be enough I think. I also had thousands of vinyl at one stage but I won't be venturing there anymore. The old hearing has lost a lost off the top and I have to put up with some fairly muffled listening sessions these days and the extreme care I took with LP's can't be guaranteed any more.I only buy CD's now. I first understood the "sound stage" through a pair of Leak 2030's and heard the most precise rendering of the Human voice through a Pair of Leak 2060's coupled with a pair of Kef Concertos. These memories everyone who delves seriously into music will create for themselves. I hope many young people look beyond the catchy dross thrown at them commercially and search for themselves through the rich musical culture of the past to find the music which as time goes on will live with them and will help create the recollections of loved ones and places and experiences that are entirely their own. The comfort music gives as the Autumn of life relentlessly troops on cannot be understated. Anyway, the gear might not be the very best but they're names I am entirely grateful to for having gifted revelations of beauty to me through the years. Good listening to all.

[rc]

I bought a pair of KEF R3s last January and have been thrilled with them every single day.

They SHRED the LS50s (and I'm saying this as someone who loved/loves the LS50s).

[popcornsamurai]

I just got these two weeks ago. I finally know what people mean when they speak of soundstage.

[robfrancis]

Your passion really shines through, Steve. Now I want to listen to a set of KEF R3's.

[MagnumMuscle]

I have heard good things about KEF speakers for decades now. I have always wanted to audition a full range KEF set.

[ujean]

Thanks again Steve, your enthusiasm is infectious!

[jasjas-rmkc]

I bought a pair of thee a few weeks ago. So far, I like them a lot. I have some new equipment on the way, to go with them. Together, it should all sound fantastic.

[arnaldostudio]

Great review Steve!

Would love to hear a discussion on Speaker Toe🦶-In!.. It has been my experience that for some reason speakers with Concentric drivers sound their best with very little toe-in. I’ve experienced this with several KEFs and a pair of Thiel 3.7.

[markwinechairman]

So appreciate your reviews!!!...like reading a great book....I need to listen 2/3 times because your reviews are chalk full of insight, experience and information. Thank You!!!

[AudiophileTubes]

Even the lowly KEF Q100 sounds real good. Uni-Q is great technology.

[TheRealShedLife]

I had to watch this again. To me, this video of Steve talking about this thing, it's an inspiration to those of us who build speakers nothing as good as this thing. But it creates inspiration. I probably will never hear speakers this good. But hearing Steve talk about them, I have a feeling of what I should aim for, when I build my own, on whatever budget I have. Steve brings poetry into the audiophile space, he uses words like juicy. It's inspiring.

[blade]

Had my R7’s since they came out.
Pair so well with Cayin CS100A valve amp.
Been so happy with the sound.

[WalterDavidRiffmon]

Love your presentation! Different the from Zero Fidelity's take on their imaging. I'm guessing rooms, placement, electronic and source material all play a huge role. Not to mention subjectivity. Thanks!

[TheRealShedLife]

Damn, I love how you describe this. It's like poetry.

[redstarwraith]

Gorgeous speakers. Man, the competition in that $2000 speakers price range is downright fierce!

[bermuda]

I've got the R7s in the walnut finish. (... managed to get an 'open box' pair for £1750, instead of the usual £2600). I'm happy with the speaker - great sound-staging. What surprises me though, is Mr Guttenberg's avid appreciation of the quality of the finish. Mine looks more like formica than a real wood veneer. Does anyone else have one of the new KEF Rs in the walnut finish & wish to offer an opinion ? These speakers do prefer an amp with power to spare, it seems. My Creek Evolution 100A claims 110W into 8 ohms / 170W into 4 .. but feels as if it's coming up a little short. The amp does drive two pairs though (A+B) - so am intending on getting R3s to put at the side of my living room with the R7s at the front. I used to have Dali Opticon 6s at the front & Zensor 7s at the side .. and that sounded very good to me - so hopefully the KEFs will work well in tandem too !

[piratejimmy]

KEF provides good value for money, and always has, especially top-of-their-line models. If you don't have scratch for new S O T A, get older KEF coaxial similar size model (back to 1980's C-95) and you will not be disappointed with smoothness and precision in the price range of used gear. Older model might lend itself to DIY bi-amp or tri-amp with digital crossover, with usual advantages and caveat of digital.

Only complaint possible is lack of house quake that a refrigerator size Altec or JBL brings.