Question on KEF speakers

I used to have a set of KEF Q1s powered by a Denon 3803 reciever, sounded fantastic.

Those KEF Q1's are great monitors in my opinion, they reach pretty low too, subwoofer might still be needed, depends on how much bass you want.

I Origionally bought them as "GET BY" speakers, then once they broke in, speaker replacement became less and less of an issue to me.

The Q1s are great. If you can find a place that you can audition them, you really oughtta do it. The Q1s do a good job of reminding you that you dont have to pay ALOT of money to get good sound.

Energy C-1's are excellent speakers. To my ear, they sound better than the Q1's. The quality of the Energy's is top-notch, and given their very modest retail $, they are an absolute steal. They are more coherant than the KEF Q1's. The Kef's probably go a little lower in the bass dept., but above that the Energy's are superior, IMO. Recently picked up their discounted XL-15 bookshelf speaker and I'm very impressed by that speaker as well. While auditioning the various Energy spks. @ the dealer (before purchasing the C-1/XL-15) I though the C-1 was a better sounding spk. than the larger C-3 bookshelf. Be sure to audition a pair for yourself. They are all made in beautiful Canada from start to finish, I believe. The Kef's are extremely fine spks. as well.

i liked their reference series and currently use a pair of reference 2's in my home theater. you can find a pair of kef reference 1's for around the price you are looking at that (IMO) would sound better that the small 'Q' series speakers.

I sent you an email, this is for everyone else - Paradigm is a vertical mfgr. and have received critical acclaim for their products. I know my Studio 80s look and sound very good for the money...

-rw-

Kef is back, big time. I can't speak for their bookshelve speakers, but the Referance has, in my opinion, the acoustic quality of Tannoy(well, almost...) and the presance of B&W.

They land somewhere in between, with more than enough of both to warrent a real good listen.

I own a pair of KEF 105/3 and have yet to depart from them. The only draw back is replacing the foam surrounds on the inclosed woofers, major hassle in two regards- getting them out of the enclosures, and finding a qualified tech to re-cone them properly.
They have given me a solid six years between this maintenance, thank goodness.
I also own the B&W Matrix 802/3, no maintenance there, butle surrounds! They are a little more acurate in the mids and highs but definitely lack the power and impact of the 105's. The KEF's fill larger spaces much better too. Very robust.

In your range...the interesting Mirage Omni 60s...great reviews...although I have yet to audtion..good luck

Hello.

I have a 7.1 surround system made with Kef Q series. I use Q5 for the main speakers, Q1 for surround, Q2ds for back surround and Q9c for the central channel.

It is not a high end home theater, but is is fine for the price.

It appears to me that Kef has been trying to make a modest comeback over the last couple of years, with re-designed and expanded product lines. The Q-series are a very good deal IMHO. I was very pleased with my Q5's until I caught the upgrade bug, although I still have them and may use for home theatre or trade for the smaller Q1. Avoid the Q3, which is a poor compromise between Q1 and Q5.

Paradigm and Energy continue to make very good speakers also. Try to audition several brands.

Mghcanuck, what is 'the upgrade bug' of the Q5?

Thanks