Kef Blade to Blade meta?

I have heard the original Reference 5, Reference 5 meta and the Blade on different occasions with different equipment, never got to hear the Blade Meta. You are not going to get too much of a sonic upgrade once you get past this price bracket just by getting the Meta version, especially with the same manufacturer and what they claim they improved (that metamaterial whatever, otherwise known as tech saturation).

So...if we're thinking about other manufacturers, I got to hear the Reference 5 meta against some much more expensive Sonus Fabers and a flagship B&W in the same room. The KEF was just a superior speaker sonically for just around 23k, walked all over them. The only true competitor i can think of in terms of bang 4 buck around that price is the Borresen X6.

You could keep the Blade and get a Borresen X6, which would leave you with 2 pairs of very different speakers & different flavors...instead of listening to the same 1 pair of speakers over and over or chasing some miniscule upgrade that may or may not be worth it/audible. It might be a better way to spend your cash...

Since the X6 is also cheaper than the Blade Meta, you could add some some very high quality subwoofers with the cash saved.

Haven't heard the Blades but when it comes to the little LS50 compared to the newer LS50 Meta... I felt like the Meta was just a bit different, not really any better or worse. Not sure how that translates to the Blade though.

I like the idea posted above about trying a set of very different speakers sharing space in the same room. Not everyone can pull this off due to space or lack of family approval. But if you can it might be a great option. All sorts of very fun monitor speakers for example, that would give a different take on your music than the Blades, and not cost a ton of cash.

@deep_333 

which B&W model did you compare them with?

Bwguy,

I listened to the blade 2 metal again a few weeks ago and thought they lacked detail in the mids and highs. A consistent trend for me when I hear Kef speakers. Having owned B&W and listening to the latest 802D4 I would say the 802D4 is a lot more detail but has a much rougher frequency response. Both would be a pass for me, and I really wanted to like the kefs. 

@deep_333

which B&W model did you compare them with?

801D4, the lack of tonal balance is a no-go for me..it could appeal to guys who’re into the V-curvy thing perceptively however. I am not accusing it of a hot tweeter. It did have a hint of spatial qualities at relatively higher spls (as if one wore spatial headphones momentarily), which i very much like, but not to the extent of something like the big Borresens or even the JBL DD67000.

Older KEFs have always lacked perceived dynamics to the degree i like, but, the bigger and newer the KEF, the better it seems to get... especially when you get to the size of the Reference 5 meta, probably even better than the non-meta Blade.