Great balanced sound the Cresta 2’s decent ported bass enough for my taste I like the dome tweeter better than the Uni Q in my Kef Q55’s. I would describe them as accurate reproduction of music and you’ll hear parts of recordings other speakers are unable to reproduce. The extended bass response is great also.

They don’t seem to reproduce rock music without bass rollover when turned up to loud. A lot of the early rock songs were not recorded very well bad engineering and cheap equipment IMO

this speakers surprised me with the sound they produced. the speakers i used before was monitor audio br2 but changing to the kefs the sound was absolutely astounding. the small speakers put my beloved celestion ditton 25, b and w dm2000 to shame. the sound stage is excellent, treble bit high and base very efficient for a speaker of this size. anyone who buys this will not be dissapointed..

Miraculous bass power and depth. Very good neutrality. Treble can be outstandingly transparent given they are paired with a good source and amplifier.

Forward and slightly shouty midband. Not very detailed. Deficiency in lower midband (too weak). To sound at their best need warm and rich source and amplifier - rare to find in the budget sector.

Terrific engineering but slightly strange speakers. They have astonishing qualities for the price as well as unexpected flaws. The Cresta 2s sound as though they were developed at the end of high end components, which consequently makes them slightly unsuitable for budget equipment. But given one has the patience to carefully chose the partnering equipment this could become a plus in the end.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601 S2
Mission 700
Mordaunt Short (similarly priced)

Everything, at this price, IMHO "the best speakers anywhere".

I didn''t buy''em earlier.

Well, here it goes. I bought these speakers a week and a half ago. I was waiting the break in period to finish, but there''s no need to. About 12 years ago I bought a pair of Kef C 40 which I used for about 3 months and traded them in for a pair of Linn Nexus. About a month ago I sold out the Nexus and bought the Crestas, looking for some space here in my small apartment but also looking for something new. These speakers are incredible. The sound is great right out of the box, but every time I turn the system on, they sound even better. The first day of use, the lady who lives upstairs thot I had some friends here playing guitar, hehe, I was listening a guitar music CD. I''ve been doing some trials with different types and gauges of cables, including; 16, 14 and 12 gauge RS cable, Linn K 20, and Kimber 4 PR, single and bi-wired, different combinations, and I found that the Linn K 20 works just fine with them, it smooths things up, everything sounds so cool, at least in my case. As somebody said, these speakers sound 3 times the price. They are not the best speakers in the world, they aren''t supposed to be. I use a cheap AV receiver, a cheap 12" powered sub, not telling which thought, and a cheap DVD player that has a sub-out, I use it, so the Crestas can work unfiltered. I''ve read some reviews here, of ppl saying that Tannoy MX2 and/or B&W are better speakers than Crestas, maybe (I haven''t heard the Tannoys), but even there they cost $75.-100. more than the Crestas. These speakers are allrounders, they got everything, looks (cherry finish) and sound. The bass is tight and clean, mids and hights are great, very natural and detailed. Cresta 2 are HiEnd speakers at "the best" price you can find anywhere. I mean, if you want deep and strong bass, get a sub, these are "bookshelf speakers" that you can hear all day long without fatigue, even if you don''t have a sub, the low end of the Crestas is just fine. Exept for rap, I hear every kind of music, (as long as is good) from Salsa, Rock, Jazz to Classic, the Crestas handle everything I throw at them so well, they sing so beautiful, and very musical. For the guys at KEF, who made this possible, thanx and congratulations for making such a great speaker at such a nice price, the Cresta 2 deserves "FIVE BIG STARS" and (I was going to say ten thumps up, LOL) ten fingers up.

Similar Products Used:

Linn, Alesis Monitor Ones (Studio Monitors)

Everything is great. For this price-the best! Buy!

none

Well, I bought recever Onkyo TX-DS 595 and DVD Onkyo 757 THX, and than I take Cresta 2. I tried on: Metallica, Iron Maiden, Sting, U2, Deep Purple, The Doors and some punk, blues, jazz. Everything sound very nice!

Good sound quality, low price.

None really.

I bought a set of Cresta 2's after listening to several other speakers around the same price, including Mission 701 and Tannoy MX2. I especially liked the vocals and punchy bass that these speakers have.

I am using these speakers on a Sherwood R925 Dolby Digital amp and QED speaker cable for both music and movies. The speakers do a commendable job with both, and seem happy to run at high volume without distorting or sounding strained.

My only warning is that due to the rear firing bass port, they can sound very boomy if you them less than 12" from the rear wall. This means that they aren't really suitable for using on a shelf or in a small room were they'd have to be put flush to the wall. Of course, if you like strong bass (dance music or whatever) and don't have a subwoofer, then you might actually like this!

And then we have the price of these speakers - I managed to pick mine up for £125 from Sevenoaks hifi. This has got to one of the bargains of the year!

Similar Products Used:

I tested them up against Mission 701's and Tannoy MX2's.

They produce a sound which can be compared to speakers of twice the price

When set up close to the wall they can sound a little boomy

I've only owned 2 stereo's before in my life, a Sony soundblaster and a Sony Mini-set from 1,5 year old.
But the sound the sony-set produced wasn't what I was looking for. So I decided to buy myself new speakers.
I've listened to many speakers. First the big-looking Tannoy M5, they produced lots of bass, but in the upper mid and high they just don't sound bright enough for my taste.
The Audience 40 produced a very natural sound but it isn't my taste of speakers. When I first heard the Q55.2 I decided to buy them but when I compared them with the cresta's I found out the Cresta's sounded much directer than the Q55.2 and that for more than 1/3 the price.
The Cresta's are suberb alrounders and in what priceclass you decide to shop, listen first to these's miracles

Similar Products Used:

Tannoy M5, Dynaudio Audience 40, Kef Q55.2

They produce a sound which can be compared to speakers of twice the price

When set up close to the wall the can sound a little boomy

I've only owned 2 stereo's before in my life, a Sony soundblaster and a Sony Mini-set from 1,5 year old.
But the sound the sony-set produced wasn't what I was looking for. So I decided to buy myself new speakers.
I've listened to many speakers. First the big-looking Tannoy M5, they produced lots of bass, but in the upper mid and high they just don't sound bright enough for my taste.
The Audience 40 produced a very natural sound but it isn't my taste of speakers. When I first heard the Q55.2 I decided to buy them but when I compared them with the cresta's I found out the Cresta's sounded much directer than the Q55.2 and that for more than 1/3 the price.
The Cresta's are suberb alrounders and in what priceclass you decide to shop, listen first to these's miracles

Similar Products Used:

Tannoy M5, Dynaudio Audience 40, Kef Q55.2

natural sound,impressive sound stage

none at this price

I use KEF cresta 2 with NAD 314 amp and NAD 414 tuner (interconect Kimber PBJ,speaker cable Ixos Gamma 6006).This speakers produced sweet,clean,detailed,natural sound with excellent sound stage.With these speakers you can see the music.Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Mission,Alr-jordan

Incredible sound for the price, solid construction and nice looking

None anymore

When I first purchased these speakers three months ago I was immediately impressed with the quality of the sound. My system was quite meager at the time. It consisted of a Newcastle R-945 receiver and Onkyo S525 DVD, using monster speaker cable and the cheapo rca's included with the DVD player. Well, it was not very long before all of the sonic shortcomings of my set up became glaringly obvious. I did'nt want to post a review for these speakers until I was able to match them with the right equipment, as my gut feeling was that they would respond very well. Boy, was I right.

It was'nt long after that I purchased a Marantz SR-19 and the improvement was very apparent. However, there remained a flatness to the midrange and treble, and the bass was flabby and thin. I attributed this to the crappy cables I was using and started to save for interconnects and speaker cable.

Based on all of the positive reviews I read on DH Labs and Analysis Plus, I figured I would find a local dealer, audition the cables, and live happily ever after. Well, I could'nt find any local dealers, and I don't think I would have been able to wait the ten days that it would have taken to order the Analysis Plus Oval 12's. Enter Jamie at the Audio Chamber in Oakland.

Jamie recommended Kimber PBJ's($78.00) for interconnects and a 8' biwire run of Kimber 4TC and 8TC($234.00)that had already been burned in for my Kefs. I was a little concerned that I was getting carried away, considering that the cables cost more than my speakers did. Aw, what the hell, it's better than wasting my money on beer.

I hooked everything up, turned the receiver on, and went to stay overnight at my girlfriends while the cables cooked. I came back the next morning, turned the volume up and sat down
in the sweet spot. I was'nt prepared for what I was about to hear. I expected a moderate improvement in the sound, but what I was listening to sounded completely different. The clarity and detail was amazing, the midrange opened waaayyy up, and the bass, the sweet, sweet bass, was all around me. I was so excited, I woke my roommate up so she could listen.
She called me a nerd and went back to bed. Women can be so insensitive!

Anyway, I can't wait to pick up the Cresta C center channel speaker and see how these beauties perform in a home theater setup. If anybody has heard the Cresta C, please shoot me an email about how it sounds.

five big nerdy stars!
- Kef Cresta 2
- Jamie at the Audio Chamber