I just read the review in Stereophile. He concluded that it was the best speaker he had heard in his room. I also wondered about comparison to the original, but he clearly hadn’t heard the original Blade 2. So, I don’t think it was a favor to KEF.
I haven’t heard the new version yet, but have heard the original Blade and Blade 2 and I own the Reference 3s. The original Blade 2 was/is very, very good. Will there be an improvement?
KEF appears to be one of the few companies that actually back up their efforts and claims with published research -they have engineering resources that most do not. Of course, that doesn’t mean that they always produce a better product than others, but you can look online to see what KEF accomplished in the Blade 2 Meta vs. the original. It’s fully discussed and supported with published data. Given the already very high performance bar, any improvement is notable. Regardless, I would need to hear them before drawing any conclusions.
I don’t have room for the Blade 2. But, I have a couple of systems and am quite interested in the Reference 1 Meta for a smaller room and am hoping to audition it soon.
Best,