ITZIK

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.64 of 5, 11.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1700.00 from local dealer

Summary:
after 5 years with am HT setup based on kef cresta 20 and 30 as main with
an harman kardon avr 3000, I wanted to step forward in sound quality.
I went to the local dealer that I purchase my first setup from.
when I enter the demo room I was really blown from the so realistic
sound and presence that I was able to hear.
I ask him : what is playing? as my ears were not able to detect the source of the sound.
( the demo room is quit big and pack with few pairs of speakers.
he told me that it was the kef reference 201 stand speakers.
since I was familiar with the cost of those,I ask him to switch to some
more " in my budget components".
we start to hear the xq5 with denon 4306.
as the sound was to polite to my ears and by far to dry,we changed the avr to harman kardon 7300.
the sound on the spot became more live with crystal clear high's.
also the dynamic became more lively with quieter space between notes.
after this I ask him to AB the XQ5 and the new IQ9.
to my surprise the IQ9 was getting lower in sound from the XQ5 and the sound
was a bit less open in the high's but more dynamic and agile duo to maybe
a better sensitivity.
however I purchase the IQ9 along with the IQ3 for rear IQ6c for s' and the
harman kardon avr 7300 that to my ears was more capable from denon 4306
and as equal to the very big the denon 5805 ( AVC-1 )
but the real joy was after we install the system in my place.
the differences between my first HT and this was beyond words.
I listen 60% music and 40% for HT (the rest of my family 90% ht),
and after a quit long period ( 2 years) I decides to put this review.
the KEF IQ9 are the real value for money to my ears. ( with the avr 7300 )
I love the the bass ,dry and in control so you hear the sound and exact notes as
the musician play them with out the punch of air movement that resonance in the room.
I play different kind of music ( classic rock prog' jazz )and I found the KEF IQ9 great
all rounder.
I recommend this speaker to any one who appreciate accuracy quality and distinction,
thou it may not be the anyone cup of tea.

Strengths:
solid performer open sound distinct high's
controled bass great quality all rounder.

Weaknesses:
a bit just a bit warmth at upper bass.
not somthing distinct at this price point.

Similar Products Used:
kef q65 kef reference 201 kef cresta
kef xq5 old JBL tower and ols tannoy

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from certified dealer

Summary:
I purchased these speakers for all the wrong reasons.
1st reason, it's build quality. It's drivers appeared to be solid and flexable and the cabinets seemed solid. 2nd reason, read a review on stereophile magazine that convinced me to purchased them and I really wanted them badly. When I purchased these speakers I was blinded by it's beauty. But as I listened to the speakers I noticed it needed sometime to break-in. A month passed and they still sounded as if they needed more break-in time. I must have put in atleast 200hrs and they still sounded as if they needed more break-in time. After careful listening sessions I have come to the conclusion that these speakers did not meet my expectations of a quality speaker. The drivers produce a very dry and stiff non dynamic sound. The bass,... well I kept asking myself where did it go? For crying out loud, it has two bass drivers, wheres the bass?! I used a 120 and a 200 watt rotel amp, which has plenty of power to produce more than enough bass. The mid range sound was kinda on the higher frequency range due to the tweeter placement. Male voices produced a higher tone voice than normal that did not sound masculine at all. Female voices did not sound natural they sounded higher pitched. Kef swares that there tweeter technology produces a sweet spot in any sitting area. But infact due to it's tweeter location the sound it produces is narrow and compressed. I don't know if they came up with this technology to be different or to save money on a budget, Because of this it does NOT produce an open airy sound.
The review STEREOPHILE made was in my opinion some what false. The only truth i found with the review was the way string instruments sounded. The speakers produced a sharp and detailed sound with violins and acoustic guitars. other than that, they were disappointing.
I enjoy listening to Jazz (coltrane, miles, ray brown, diana krall), Latin Jazz (poncho sanchez, tito puente, cachaito), Classical (starker, kremer, mozart), Rock (metallica, godsmack, alice n' chains, ac/dc) and many others that I did NOT enjoy listening to on these speakers.

my system;
Rotel 1066 preamp
rotel 1075 ch amp
Sony SACD 222es player
Denon 2910 dvd player
Tara labs RSC prime bi-wire speaker cables
Kimber Kable Hero interconnects
all B&W 603s3, 601s2 and LCR s2

Strengths:
sounds good with string instruments.

Weaknesses:
everything... non airy open sound, midrange is flat no depth, and bass is dry not solid and sounds worse as the volume raises.

Similar Products Used:
B&W 603s3, B&W 704, Paradigm studio 60 v3, all sounds waaaayyy beter than the iQ9's.

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from ebay

Summary:
Well, all I can say about my KEF iQ9 is that the sound is clarity. Amazing sounds come from these speakers, I have a pair of Mirage OM-14 and they are quite good speakers, but when compared to the KEF's they stay short on detail. I must say that the lows are great on the Mirage, but the thing is that some people will listen to the KEF's and will have the impression that they are not good on the lows, but this is wrong the thing is that this speakers needs lots of juice compared to the Mirage or other brands that with minimal volume they produce great bass, but when you have the right receiver or amp you'll notice that the lows on the KEF's are much deeper and cleaner, as for the midrage and tweeter I will say that sound is as compared to very high end expensive speakers they look and sound and I am pretty sure my KEF's can outperform speakers in the range of 2,000 to 3,000. I am not exagerating I am just giving my personal experience and opinion, I've auditoned Definitive Technology, B&W, MK, Monitor Audio, Canton, JBL, Infinity and none compared. I think that when my speakers break in they will give me more satisfaction.

Strengths:
All, midrange, highs and lows.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Mirage, Definitive Technology, Monitor Audio, MK, B&W, Infinity

TOTORG

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
2.17 of 5, 35.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from ultimate

Summary:
Second review on these read above for first impressions. After listening to these for 1 Mo. I Got my Magnepan MMG's back from the factory freshly callibrated after 2.5 yrs. of use. Reconnected to the system consisting of : Ah 4000 tube cd, Anthem pre2l tube preamp, and an Orig. Sunfire 300 w/ch load invariant amp. Well I have to tell you that the diffrence was nothing short of astounding! The Magnepans took a couple of hours to loosen up, but when they did.....wow! There was little to no comparison! The MMG's at less than 1/2 the price are superior to the KEF's in almost every respect. Imageing was huge, left to right and front to back. Much larger and lifelike stage. Instruments are the "real" size and there was a great sense of space between the instruments. The speakers virtually dissapear, one hears sounds in the studio comming from nowhere near the speakers.....Holographic indeed.

View Comments (1)

Would you like to Comment?
Join audioReview for a free account, or Login if you are already a member.

TOTORG

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.73 of 5, 22.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1200.00 from ultimate electronics

Summary:
This is a great set of speakers, I have been listening to Magnepan MMG speakers for the last 2.5 years. As most of you know the MAgnepan are electrostatics and have ahuge sound stage and openess to them. I was skeptical that the KEF units would not be as good even at twice the price. Well after about 20 hrs. of breakin time the KEFS started to shine. I found the almost as open as the Magnepans and throw a very large, realistic soundstage. The highs are lovley,sweet and none fatigueing. The mids are smooth and refined at any spl. The low end is very solid but lacks a bit of slam. Overall these are very nice speakers that deserve your serious consideration in this price range. By the way they are beutifully finished and should accent any decor.

Strengths:
crystal clear highs, smooth mids, lots of good solid bass

Weaknesses:
lack a bit of slam on the low end