Price Paid:  $0.00 from sevenoaks, norwich

Summary:
I really bought these on impulse, 150 Quid, I mean come on.

Firstly trying to get the Kef supplied bridging wire to fit snugly, well what can I say(c***).

So after being annoyed by that, I turned on my rsx-03. Set it to stereo, and sat back. The sound at first, was muffled and distorted, but with time they started to loosen up. As they became more run in, the sounds of the groove armada became to ooze out of the walls behind me, these speakers produce an incredible soundstage.(similar to B&O pentas).
But one thing I realized, was that at higher levels the static tweeter (with the cone moving around it) chuffed and bellowed, even though the speakers were not reaching ther full potential!
Placed against a wall the bass does begin to show.

Strengths:
Vocals sound like real people, huge soundstage

Weaknesses:
Tweeter housing chuffes against the main cone.(it`s not rubbing) Tweeters still not up to B&W standards - by far.

Similar Products Used:
B&W dm602, 604, B&O pentas, and a various array of outhers.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This if for the iQ1...well it looks good...sound poor,sound like a KEF eggs in a nicier finished box.Boxy sound,unreal,poor treble,muddled sound,unfit for music,no musical merit,no dynamics,such a shame as i looks cute.Ok for home cinema I would think.

Strengths:
looks cute,well made

Weaknesses:
sound,poor sounding.

Similar Products Used:
monitor audio bronze,B&W 600 series.Epos.

Price Paid:  $300.00 from ultimate electronics

Summary:
These were very nice speakers. I decided i needed better speakers than the multimedia crap i've been listening to. SO i went out to many stores and auditioned everything from Kef, infinity, tannoy, and b&w and klipsch.I really enjoyed the kef. It has clear detailed highs without being excessively bright. Whatever bass there is is very clean. Great natural timbre. Very Neutral.

Strengths:
Good timbre.
Clean highs.
Great looks.

Weaknesses:
Can be a tad bright.

Similar Products Used:
(creaytive inspire 7700. (not really similar)

Price Paid:  $200.00 from Superfi

Summary:
Note: Purchase price in British Pound

I was looking for a bookshelf speaker for my small flat. I was looking forward to audition the Epos M5 and possibly the Quad 12L, both highly rated monitors. It turns out the Quads are a bit too pricy for my budget (500 pounds for the 12L) I auditioned the Epos, which is stretching my budget at 350 pounds. The mids and the highs sounds wonderful, but the bass is a bit weak, which is understandable for such a small speaker. I was then offered to audition the KEF Q1, which is a larger and cheaper speaker. At first, I was rather surprised at how revealing the Q1s are: the sound is clean, spacious and detail. The bass is definitely fuller than the Epos, but well mannered and controlled. However, right away I noticed the downside in it sounding very bright, espically with female vocals. (btw, my audition cds are: Bjork - Homogenic (for bass), Feist - Let it Die (for vocal clarity / details), and Queen Latifah - The Diana Owens Album (for jazzy rhythm)). At this point the test amp is a NAD C320BEE, and with a hint from the shopkeeper, we switched to a Rotel RA-01. What a difference it made! The bass was even stronger and tighter, and the harshness of the treble is gone. This matchup is now sounding fabulous, with the right combination of clarity, detail, soundstage and bass response than what I can achieve with the Epos and NAD. I walked out the store with the KEF and the Rotel, very happy with the sound and the price (450 pounds for the Amp + Speakers)

Strengths:
At 200 pounds, nothing comes even close. The similarly priced Wharfedale Diamond 9.1, also auditioned, is completely outmatched by the Q1

Weaknesses:
Works best in a small room, close to the wall to enhanse the bass. Must use properly matched components to shine.

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Performance Series, HT setup