KEF Blade or Blade 2
I am in Wichita KS. I have become nearly obsessed with hearing the Blade/Blade2 speakers. Does anyone within a reasonable driving distance have a pair I could listen to for an hour or so? Or if you know of a dealer that has a pair for audition let me know. I have had no luck with my internet search for a close dealer, thanks.
If you like concentric driver designs, you should consider hearing others as well. I was super excited about the blade based on its design, which seems ideal but was disappointed hearing it at two different shows and also hearing blade 2. TAD (my concentric choice) might be even harder to hear in your location, but it’s worth a try. I recently got the concentric Elac Adante for my home theater and absolutely love the sound. |
These guys will find a dealer with a pair for you to hear. Send them an email. I was speaking with a Audiogon user recently who planned to go listen to the Blade at a BestBuy (Magnolia). I like the TAD’s too, but they are no longer sold in the USA (my TAD dealer’s comment). You may get a bit more detail with the TAD Be tweeter, but I take the Blade every time
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I did not, I did listen to a pair of R3s at a shop close to Wichita. They would only play then a screaming volume and with crappy music. But in spite of that there were things to like. Really would like to get a chance to here some of the higher up the chain models with better music. Thanks, for the response. |
Did you change your screen name? I know i'm late, I forget to check in. With the Blade meta's out I think the original Blade's are a flat out bargain. I stayed away from them for years because the first write up I read I think the journalist claimed the speakers were being driven by 4 JC1 mono blocks!!! I put my hegel h360 on my pair and totally enjoyed them. My only concern for these tall speakers would be around little children as kef didn't offer out riggers or dust covers. I started my speaker upgrade in 2015 and bought and resold at least a half a dozen used speakers in this price range. I'm not bold enough to predict what someone else will prefer and all the other speakers I tried were legit. The Blades belong on the list of speakers in this price range. |
I initially heard the blade 2 at a local dealer. He had a nice room set up for me. Even though I loved the sound characteristics I wasnt engaged with the music I think the problem with most blade demos is that they are shown off with inferior components. This particular dealer used the h590 There certainly isnt anything wrong with the 590, but I mean your showing off what is (at the time before meta) $25k speakers with an all in one that was $11k. The hegal being an amp, and pre amp, and dac, a transport/source, everything. if you build a system and 70% of the cost of the system is solely for the speakers then you will not being bringing out the potential of the system. This isnt the issue with only this dealer, this was seemingly everywhere. Sometimes even Kef was demoing blades with Hegal. Maybe to show you can build a full system with blades and all cables and taxes for under 45k? Heck with dealer discounts and the fact that you dont need interconnects and only 1 power cord, your now talking under $40k brand new all in. Yes its a cheap price to get into the "high end" of sound. Except ppl hear this and feel underwhelmed
I now own the big blades (since i have a large room) and it sounds absolutely glorious. In fact, sometimes i listen and wonder how it could possibly sound better, thats how good it is But I invested in a full fleshed out system. My power, and outlet is in check. My room is ideal. The first thing I grabbed was isolation podiums (big improvement). High end (non current limiting) synergistic power conditioner with with upgraded Galileo PC. The most dynamic speaker cables I have heard to date. Fantastic transport, amazing dac, Class A big boy amp. Upgraded cabling, footers, isolation and other tweaks ext. This is a full fleshed out system and all the components are set to enhance my speakers. If i dared to change these speakers I would also need to change some components as the balance would be totally thrown off. This is a proper system built around the speakers I heard the new metas. Do they sound as good as my blades? not even close. I’m sure they are better though, but the system i heard it on not only cut corners but also wasnt built to bring out their potential. The others who heard his system were head of heels, but i was utterly disappointed.. even though I KNOW the metas should be better than the non metas Your asking to demo the blades.... be careful what you wish for. Yes you will be able to recognize some of the characteristics, you will get the sound stage, the famous imaging that matches speakers costing 3x as much. However, your not really asking to hear the blades your asking to hear someone’s "system" and that may easily leave you underwhelmed |
I am one of those people who did not buy the Blades because I was sure it would get destroyed in my space. A good decision but a lost opportunity. The speakers I ended up buying were the worst demo I have ever had. Sometimes a demo is dangerous to the decision-making process. If you have the side wall space and you can keep the Blades safe you will not be sorry you got Blades. I am one of those people that heard the KEF Blades in a large room with various Hegel gear, including their top end monos. I thought you could do better with the amps, but even with the issues with the amps (a bit grainy) the sound was so engaging. Such a great speaker. |
@questforhifi Can you elaborate more about your system? What are you using to drive the Blades? If I got the Blades I was going to trade in my current CODA #16 for the KRELL KSA i400. I owned the lowered end KRELL DUO 175XD and they sounded great with the LS50 Meta. The CODA #16 would be good, but it is hard to argue with 400 watts of Class A for the Blades with ability to double down to 2. |
sure of course. It starts with my synergistic purple outlet. The first item plugged in outlet is puron ac line conditioner. Next to that is the Galileo SX Power Cable that powers my powercell 12 uef se. I use the gold tuning bullet. Since everything is plugged into the powercell all my components pick up tonal characteristics of the Galileo. The power cell is key because the kefs are power hungry and unlike almost every other power conditioner, this one has been shown to actually increase powerdraw (by an average of 5%) so it adds to power reserves for when I play some bass heavy tracks at high volumes My transport of choice is the lumin u2. Im using the ether-regen for my network switch, and I'm also using a linear power supply and external clock for the switch The lumin gets a triode obsession PC. As with testing I found it perfect there. I'm using 3x IsoAcoustics Orea under the lumin The lumin connects to my mola mola tambaqui dac via nordost interconnects. I'm currently auditioning new pre-amps atm so nothing I want to share there. Looking for the right fight. I use the krell duo 300 xd power amp. Would I love to try the i400? absolutely But at $36.5k there is a lot of competition.. particularly the gryphon antileon evo. Plus I'm very happy with my current krell so no plans to change just yet I'm using stealth audio cloude 99 speaker cables. Talk about speed, clarity, and air. Usually you need to pay BIG money to get such imaging and air, but the kef uni-q with these cables makes you think your listening to speakers that cost over $100k. They might actually be the fastest speaker cables period, not just from stealth but from any cable manufacturer. and they DONT SOUND BRIGHT. but I think these in other systems could easily be bright, its just that the blades arnt as "lively" as most others in the price range. looking squarely at vivid, B&W, and focal. The kefs are very flat and some dont like this but I LOVE that about the kefs because it's what gives them a blank slate and allows for leeway upstream to add the tonal characteristics that you want Finally, my kefs sit on Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation Podiums. This was a very big upgrade, and not to be underestimated. They brought my blades to new heights I'm probably forgetting a bunch of other little things/ tweaks here and there but thats the gist of my system |
@questforhifi Thanks for the description of your system. You and I likely have similar sonic tastes. Good to learn about the Powercell 12 uef se. I was looking for another conditioner that would do what my 10-year-old Torus RM15 does in my office system. The Torus also provides power on peak demand. I had the Lumin X1 and loved the streamer part, especially with the fibre input since I only stream with fibre. I no longer have the X1. I also owned a KRELL DUO 175XD which is one step below your amp. Since you are looking at new preamps let me suggest 2 that I know, and I think will work great with the KRELL. The Benchmark LA4 will work great, and you have a 30-day home trial, maybe 60-day with online sellers. The Holo Serene is almost identical to the LA4 and a bit warmer. I have both and would go with the LA4 on the warm KRELL. Though the Serene does sound great with my warmer CODA #16. The reason I mention these 2 is because for my sonic sensibilities they compare with preamps at ANY price. Both are around $3k. I will send you a DM about the KSA i400. I am still thinking of this amp. I was also wondering about these for my Yamaha NS5000 speakers.
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Doing a google search on some product led me to an agon post that was clearly written by me back in the phone modem days with a different screen name and email address I'd completely forgotten about. Thanks for clarifying. I was also one that tried the h590 on the blades and when I moved to the Mac Mc611's and a c49 pre I was also startled by how much more textured and layered... I need to dig out my old stereophile dictionary to find the words. Suffice to say, while decent electronics will offer a glimpse into what the blades offer the modest move from the h590 to the relatively affordable Mac separates showed enough improvement to convince me there's plenty of untapped potential in the original Blade to justify postponing any Blade meta upgrade until the rest of my system is complete. |
I think you do need to listen to the blade meta though regardless of the components as there seems to be a slight dips and peaks in an otherwise relatively flat frequency response. Some people actually like their original blades better for this reason.. because certain male vocals can sound "nasilly". Here is what one reviewer said about the metas " "Steve Winwood has a more nasal vocal than many other singers. It’s more evident on the Blade Meta than on most other speakers. It’s clear that the speakers don’t dress up sharp recordings at all, when much of the energy is in the 2-3 kHz range. This wasn’t something I’d noticed before, because while the speakers aren’t silky smooth by any means, they usually just come across as linear and packing a lot of punch. They don’t usually have any gain in the 3 kHz range. But when that particular frequency range sticks out negatively on a recording, playing loud isn’t quite as cool. Even at moderate sound pressure levels, it can be just over the top, and I think it’s fair to say that we’ve found an example of music that the Blade One Meta isn’t particularly keen on. Which is why I think I’ll skip Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty this time around"
The majority still like the metas better because they feel more engaged, although as I was trying to say earlier I think thats not the role of the speaker. Some people are drawn to speakers like B & W because they are drawn in during demos, and then complain later on that their system sounds way too bright. These tonal characteristics can be resolved upstream, with source, dac, preamp, cables, and amp. You build upstream to get the type of sound you want. The speaker should be flat imho. Thats why I prefer the original blades
They do sound different though. It seems this meta’s were aimed at people who didnt find the originals "lively". Thats exactly how I felt listening to the non metas paired with hegal After pairing with a sweeter class A amp and some silver speaker cables I’m in heaven with the originals If your not willing to spend a lot of money upstream you will probably prefer the metas
The blades need surprisingly a lot of power to really sing, Meaning to pair the blades with a class A amp, and truely power them correctly will cost some real money in amp pairing The metas do have cleaner treble and a better crossover as well
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I played that track, Santana/Steve Winwood on the blade 1 non meta and there's no sibilance to be heard. From the early Uniq drivers sibilance was an issue and kef finally fixed it with the Blade and it seems backwards that they would reintroduce that specific and easy to notice problem...Makes me wonder if the new blade meta's are more sensitive to placement. |
A KRELL Duo 300XD amp can be had used for around $7k. That is 300 watts Class A (when needed) and would be amazing with the Blades. If I had the Blades I would use the new KRELL KSA i400. It is the 300XD on steroids.
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Haha, actually I only have 1 post for this account - had to start new, but I’ve been on this site for years. You and I have even exchanged some comments, pleasent ones at that. My comment stands about KEF’s crossovers. They design them well enough, but I don’t understand the parts quality used for a speaker costing this much. Sorry, but I think it’s a fair question. |
IDK, Before selling my r107/2’s I opened them up to a-b the xover components with each other. 25-30 years old all the caps were wrapped in a black plastic wrap that said kef on them so I had no way of knowing how well they were made? individually they still measured alike and were hand soldiered on a board so I figured they were good, possibly I don’t know what to look for?
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