marsh34

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.73 of 5, 11.00 votes

Price Paid:  $899.00 from Hippos Audio

Summary:
Amazing!! I bought these without any test drive. Very, Very, pleased. Chose these on word of mouth and reviews. You will not be disappointed if you need great speakers for music of surround.

Strengths:
Awesome clarity, power handling, looks great, crisp highs and tight bass.

Weaknesses:
Maybe a touch pricey.

Similar Products Used:
None

daveash

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.75 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1080.00 from Park Ave Audio Video

Summary:
I was looking for a pair of speakers for my family room for music listening. I already have a full Dolby Digital 6.1 system with a 56" wide screen in my basement for movies. That system has the Definitive Technology BP2006's (approximate same price range). I am very happy with the Deftech's for movie purposes (built in sub rocks). The Kef's have better imaging and a wider soundstage for music. They sound more accurate, especially in the mid range. You can actually see the instrument placement on the stage. In summary they sound very good for music. In the store, the bass seemed deeper. I even bought two of the CD's the salesman played (Rikki Lee Jones song is Dat Dere, and Stevie Ray Vaughn song was Tin Pan Alley), but I don't quite get the same sound. It could be room acoustics or an inferior receiver. I have an old powerful sub (M&K) that really helps with the lows, and occasionally I shut it off to hear the difference and it is dramatic, so unlike most other reviewers, I think a sub is a must. When I listen to female vocals, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, Diana Krall, it seems they are in the room with you. Very natural and life like. With Steely Dan, or Jazz music, the instruments are all present and accounted for. With Eric Clapton's Unplugged or music DVD's, you feel like you are in the concert hall. I also listened to the Paradigm 9's, with a PSW-10 sub, and the Studio series, and some Boston Acoustics, but in the end, the KEF's sounded better to me. If the $1,000 - $1,200 range is as far as you can stretch and want to watch movies, you should also check out the Def Tech's because you won't need the extra expense for the sub. But if you think you could stretch your budget for the sub or don't mind spending a little extra in the future, the KEF's won't disappoint. One last point, I bought from an authorized dealer, Glen at Park Avenue Audio is very knowledgable and patient. They will ship. They gave me a 10% discount off of MSRP. You could find a little cheaper on the web, but I didn't want to take a chance that I was getting a refurbished item. My last set of speakers lasted 20 years and I expect these speakers to last even longer (I'm not a college kid cranking hard rock on a daily basis anymore).

Strengths:
Great imaging, excellent for those rare moments when you can sit down and do some serious, critical listening. Beautiful finish (light maple)= high wife approval rating, very musical.

Weaknesses:
The speakers sound so good that some of my old CD's and lower bit rate MP3 files don't sound good. I am a little disappointed in the lack of bass, it sounded better in the store, so it could be my room acoustics. Also not very many dealers carry this brand.

Similar Products Used:
Definitive Technology (I own)... Boston Acoustics, Paradigm (tested in store).

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Online

Summary:
I purchased the Q-7s in October of 2002 after trying out several different brands. I wanted a pair of tower speakers for home audio and home theater that cost under $1000. After intially wanting Paradigm Monitor 11s, I was immediatly struck by the Q-7s when I auditioned them in a specialty audio store. The soundstage is wide and transparent, and the imaging is first class--truly superb. Bass is very tight, mids are warm, and the highs are crystaline without being harsh. (The highs in the Paradigms were too harsh for me.) Every time I listen to these speakers I am impressed and completely satisfied. I can't imagine better sounding speakers for the price. When I first auditioned them for my wife she too was blown away. She said something to the effect of, "Are only two speakers on?" The sound of these speakers seems to envelop you. Try these speakers out with well-recorded material it will sound as if you are in the studio. With DVD-Audio and SACD they are truly exceptional. Movie playback is also top notch. Certain scenes will shake the couch without a sub, although I wouldn't say that these speakers couldn't be helped by a good sub. ALthough this review is only for the Q-7s, I have the Q-9 center channel and the Q-8s surrounds. While the Q-7s are the stars of the group, the Q series is excellent for home theater. Once I finally got all matching speakers, the sound was noticably improved. The build quality seems excellent. The veneer (I got black) is adaquate for the price range, but not exceptional. The front speaker grills also seem somewhat fragile, but these are very small quibbles. If it were up to me anyway, I would leave the grills off. The look of the metallic drivers is very impressive. In summary, I would recomend these speakers to anyone who is looking for a high-quality, medium priced pair of stereo speakers or for a pair to main speakers in a home theater context. I cannot express enough how pleased I am with how well these speakers perform with music. If you are a serious music lover, these speakers are for you.

Strengths:
Clairity of sounds. Depth of width of soundstage. Tight, accurate bass. Awesome imaging. Quality vs. cost ratio.

Weaknesses:
Finish is mediocre, but perfectly acceptable.

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Monitor 11s. Jamo E Series. Infinity Primus Series. (I liked the Q-7s better than all of them.)

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Woodbridge Stereo, N

Summary:
I auditioned the Paradigm Studio 60's ( I own Paradigm Monitor 7's in my family room home theater) along with the KEF Q7's. I found both speakers very pleasant sounding. Unfortunately the Paradigms also cost more than 200 hundred dollars more than the KEF's. I was and am trying to set up a fairly inexpensive 2 channel stereo in my living room, so cost was definitely a HUGE factor. OK, I know, "spend the most money you can on the best speakers you can." In my case I had to buy everything (amp, speakers, cd player, tape deck, tuner and rack) so again, overall cost would be a FACTOR. When you get speakers now a days, they come almost bullet proof with the way they are shipped and packed. The KEF's were no exception. You would think the way they are packed, nothing can be wrong with them when they come out of the box right? Wrong!!! When I went to hook up the speakers, my overall impression was that they were decent looking, well made units. As I was moving the units, I noticed and heard that one of them sounded as if there was something loose or rattling inside. Sure enough when I went to turn on the units, the one that was rattling wouldn't play! (I assume that the crossover or something inside dislodged itself) How the hell could this be? Boy was I pissed! Luckily my dealer, (fantastic BTW) made a trip personally to the KEF rep who happens to be in New Jersey, I was up and running in less than 1 day. The first few days I broke the speakers in with pink noise. (I was also breaking in my new amp as well) After listening to the speakers for a few days, I can't get over how sweet they sound! I bet once I get them bi-wired (which they are capable of) they will even sound better. I am also planning to upgrade all of the Monster cable and speaker wire for some better units. The KEFs imaging and bass capabilities are very impressive. In fact I will definitely say that these baby's rock when it comes to bass. With my Paradigms I need to use my sub or turn up the bass control to get decent bass out of them. (for 2 channel music) Not so with the KEFs, in fact everything is set completely flat in my system. I paid $1000 for them, in my opinion though they are more in the neighborhood of $800-900. More importantly, paying what I did for them and from whom I bought them from, has been a better customer service move. The dealer has been fantastic, even coming to my home to soundcheck them and move them around for better imaging and placement. All this for FREE, my favorite four letter word. I reccomend these speakers to anyone on a budget. If I had to knock anything big it would have to be that they are, according to the box, "designed and engineered in Great Britain", but made in CHINA! I hate that!!! But it seems that everything is made everyplace else than where you think it's supposed to be made at. (Marantz is also made in China) Does this detract from the sound, build or overall quality? Maybe not in these instances, but it could be a problem in others. I just like to see things made here or where they are supposed to be engineered at. But I understand about operating and or building costs. All in all a very fine speaker!

Strengths:
Bi-wireable, 3 choices of color for cabinets. (black ash, dark apple (which I own and maple) Shielded, great imaging and bass.

Weaknesses:
Price, ( just a bit on the high side maybe by 100 hundred bucks or so) not real wood veneer. Might be isolated, but one speaker didn't play out of the box, I had to get a new unit immediately.

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Excellent look and design. Good sound, imaging and sound stage for the price. If you care about the quality of construction, the quality of the parts (drivers, connections, ...) and espacially the finish, STAY AWAY of this line of KEF. HiFi Choice gave this speaker 5 stars for sound and only 4 stars for the Built with a reason that I disoverd first hand later.

Strengths:
Look and sound for the price

Weaknesses:
Quality of parts, construction and FINISH

Similar Products Used:
PSB, Paradigm, Jamo, ...