Gentleman, we had the Vivid line and the Kef Blades and Reference at the same time in the same showroom.
Our take was the Kef line was similar sounding for less money then the Vivids.
We too heard the big Giyas and at $70-95k they were more dynamic with even greater bass punch then the Blades, however, a pair of Blades with a pair of good subwoofers still would come out at half the price of the Giyas.
A well setup pair of Blades is one of the very few $30k speakers that can be compared to $70-100k models from most of the industry.
We had the Oval B1 and V1.5 in our showroom and the B1 were superb, clarity, soundstaging, but in most respects were not better than the less expensive Kef Reference line.
We ultimately gave up the Vivid line as they didn't really outperfom, the Kef's and both lines sounded similar with similar design attributes with both sporting very high tech aluminium drivers.
The Ref 3 or Ref 1 when setup correctly do sound similar to the Blades if the Blade 2 are still too big for your office.
Ysantabarbara, if you are looking for a fantastic smaller speaker listen to the new Quad Z series unbelievable performance for the money. The Z3 are tiny floorstanders, with one of the best sounding ribbon's that isn't sterile sounding or hyper detailed.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
Our take was the Kef line was similar sounding for less money then the Vivids.
We too heard the big Giyas and at $70-95k they were more dynamic with even greater bass punch then the Blades, however, a pair of Blades with a pair of good subwoofers still would come out at half the price of the Giyas.
A well setup pair of Blades is one of the very few $30k speakers that can be compared to $70-100k models from most of the industry.
We had the Oval B1 and V1.5 in our showroom and the B1 were superb, clarity, soundstaging, but in most respects were not better than the less expensive Kef Reference line.
We ultimately gave up the Vivid line as they didn't really outperfom, the Kef's and both lines sounded similar with similar design attributes with both sporting very high tech aluminium drivers.
The Ref 3 or Ref 1 when setup correctly do sound similar to the Blades if the Blade 2 are still too big for your office.
Ysantabarbara, if you are looking for a fantastic smaller speaker listen to the new Quad Z series unbelievable performance for the money. The Z3 are tiny floorstanders, with one of the best sounding ribbon's that isn't sterile sounding or hyper detailed.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ