Crystal clear,open sound stage.Superior fit and finish. Excellent imaging, and outstanding mid and high range.

Excellent product. I never received an answer to my few questions from the KEF web site. Not a big deal

I have only owned these KEF Reference Series 3-2, in the Albina Burr finish, for about a month. After the third day with six hours of relaxed listening, I became extremely pleased with their performance. I auditioned speakers for over a year prior to selecting the KEF 3-2 series. They sound even better in my home than at the audio shops. I listen to a broad range of different types of music, and the KEF's have no trouble projecting a superior sound stage. I highly recommend them. I concurr with other reviewers about the lack of professional reviews on the KEF Reference line of speakers. I am a tube lover, and run the KEF's through a Conrad-Johnson PV10A pre-amp, and Conrad-Johnson Premier 11 amp. All inter-connects are top of the line Monster Cable, which work just fine transmitting all those wonderful sounding electrons. Best Regards.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel, B&W, PSB, Kilpsch, & classic JBL - L65 series.

Clarity, imaging/soundstage, beautifully balanced sound, excellent build and finish

Very deep bass (<30Hz), Need a big room (as do all large speakers)

I have been interested in HiFi for many years, and buying these speakers (at a bargain ex-demo price)was the best purchase I ever made. The listening experience can only be described as 'real'. The balance is beautifully judged. The bass is there, but not overpowering, the mid range is clear and unforced. Speech is natural. High frequency sounds (cymbals, bells) sound real, rather than degenerating into a mush.

My R3s are positioned abount 14 feet apart, slightly toed in, and 15 inches from the rear walls (and well out from the room corners). They are bi-amped with Arcam Power Amps (FMJ P25 and Alpha 10). I use an Arcam 10 integrated as a preamplifier (when not in AV mode).

The overall sound is a knockout. CD replay is stunning, and as the main speakers in my AV setup, the R3s combine seamlessly with the Kef Reference 100C Centre Speaker.

Equally at home with classical music and rock, these speakers can handle everything from a whisper to a roar - huge headroom if you want it.

Probably now discontinued (I guess, due to the new range), snap 'em up second hand if you can.

Similar Products Used:

Too numerous to mention, including: Celestion Ditton 15s, Wharfedale Lintons, Kef Concertos, Hi-Fi News Transmission Line Monitors, IPL S3TLM (kit transmission lines - fabulous midrange), KLH317s

PURE/HONEST/DEBT

NONE

GO FOR IT

Similar Products Used:

B&W/THIEL/DYNAUDIO/CHARIO

Just received these speakers and they are great! These are a four way, five driver speaker. I use them for both HT and music. Very clean sound and tight base. Would recommend them as fronts in a HT set up or for just listening to usic either way you can't go wrong.

My last speaker review was the KEF Reference 2's and from the re-read of the posting I was downright terse. I think I was somewhat frustrated that the Reference line had not been reviewed!I recently up-graded to the Reference 3's after hearing them for some time at a friends home.
This is a serious speaker and one should not attempt to place them in too small a listening area! After several months of break-in and long sessions with my favorite CD's I can't say enough about these.
The bass response is very clean, tight and articulate. A quantum leap from the Ref. 2's. The upper bass range is somewhat colored by the cabinet, though this could be an anomoly in the port or crossover network. The mid's are what KEF is famous for in this line. They are smooth and accurate. Not in your face and just a tad polite! The high's are wonderfully full and not overly brite. Some passages with shrill highs tend to be rolled off ever so slightly.
The sound stage is open and airy, with width being slightly wider than the physical placement of the speaker. The depth is just a nick deeper than the actual speaker set-up. Imaging is excellent and off axis separation is one of the best I've heard. One may assume this from the literature KEF gives you with the speakers explaining that NO toe in is required!
This speaker is very forgiving in placement and no adverse bass excitation will occur from close to wall placement. They do have a tweak on the LF bindings for near corner/wall placement, but I did not find it neccessary to fool with it.
KEF's reference line is a very accurate loudspeaker and will benifit from quality front end equipment and cables. I highly recommend bi-wiring all the KEF Reference line as you can hear an almost doubling of sonic response and dynamics!
Speaking of dynamics, this is the only area where KEF could do a little better. Not as broad as I would expect of a speaker in the 3-4K range!
This speaker is a great value if you can get them at 15-20% off the MSRP. Easily done if your a persistent shopper!

Associated equipment:
-CAL CLD-15 CD transport
-Lexicon DC-1 processor/pre-amp/DAC (review was done in by-pass)
-OCM-500 amp/ Onkyo Integra M-504 amp
-MIT Terminator 2 Bi-wire speaker cable
-MIT digital interconnect
-Synergistic Research analog interconnects

Well all my fellow neurotics, I've just listened to a wonderful speaker(bookshelf)at electrades,this speaker slaughtered the rest of those so call BRITS best,imaging,staging,layering, you nameit,man big sound,and it made listening to music such a wonderful experience (detail freak)and yes it's detail.THE NAME IS ORIGIN LIVE(IT BREATH)RESOLUTION,the price a paltry $2,200 in sing dollars.Check it out.

Hello, as young as i am, only 24 now, i'm very demanding when it concerns listening and 'feeling' music. This Kef has the capability to move you to tears, but it can also rock. The speaker is easy to place as it has Uni-Q, a Kef patented development. When you're looking for a good speaker that isn't draining the power out of you while listening, defenitly listen to these babies. If you're a movie fan and planning to set up a home-theater, then this is the speaker for you. Put these up front with the Kef Model 200C centerspeaker and the Model One's in the back, with the additional Kef TDM45B sub and you won't know what you're hearing !!! They all need an honest and clean amplifier though.

Hello, as young as i am, only 24 now, i'm very demanding when it concerns listening and 'feeling' music. This Kef has the capability to move you to tears, but it can also rock. The speaker is easy to place as it has Uni-Q, a Kef patented development. When you're looking for a good speaker that isn't draining the power out of you while listening, defenitly listen to these babies. If you're a movie fan and planning to set up a home-theater, then this is the speaker for you. Put these up front with the Kef Model 200C centerspeaker and the Model One's in the back, with the additional Kef TDM45B sub and you won't know what you're hearing !!! They all need an honest and clean amplifier though.

HAVING LIVED W/ THE REF. 3'S FOR MORE THAN A YEAR,I CAN FINALLY SAY I'M VERY PLEASED W/ OVERALL PERFORMANCE. INTERESTINGLY,I AGREE W/ NEARLY ALL COMMENTS MADE HERE IN THESE REVEIWS.IDID FIND THEM TO BE OVERLY BRIGHT,BUT EXTREMELY REVEALING, W/ TIGHT& LOW BASS.YOU MAY HEAR LOWS YOU DID'NT KNOW EXISTED. THE BRIGHTNESS WAS SOLVED W/ THE COMBINATION OF A C.A.L. SIGMA D/A TUBED ANALOG PROCESSOR AND AUDIOQUEST JADE CABLES.(BI-WIRE) ALSO, I DO RECOMMEND BI-AMPING OR AT LEAST BI-WIRE OR BI-CABLE. WITH AN ACURUS AMP & PRE- AMP COMBO, PARTICULAR C.D. RECORDINGS BECOME UNBEARABLE. BUT, I GUESS GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT. LOVE 'EM. ACTUALLY HAPPY WITH MY SYSTEM.....FOR NOW!

I have been living with the KEF Reference 3 loudspeaker for just over 6 months.At times I love them, and, yet, there are those moments when they make me want
to trash them. After 6 months, I have come to understand their idiosyncracies
and appreciate their revealing qualities. I hesitate to give them 5 stars, so
4 it is.

When I first got the KEFs, I had them hooked up to an Audire DiFET power amp
capable of delivering 500 watts into the speaker's 4 ohm load. The amp seemed
to overpower the speakers with excessive bass energy. Prior to purchasing the
KEFs, I had been using an old pair of Magnepan Timpani 1D speakers. These panel
speakers needed all the power and bass energy that the Audire could pump out,
but the Audire was not a good match for the KEFs. I have since replaced the
Audire with a Classe CA100 power amp.

The Classe is a very refined amp with excellent imaging and detail. The KEFs
come to life with the Classe; the tonal range from bass to treble is balanced,
where the Audire made them bass heavy; instruments are located properly within
the soudstage between the speakers; and vocals appear out of thin air with a
lush silkiness. Having experienced the dramatic difference between the two
power amps, I am led to believe that the KEFs are revealing, low coloration
speakers. This belief is reenforced each time that I change a component in the
audio path. For example, by changing the interconnect cable between the pre and
power amps the difference is noticable through the KEFs.

My room is 14x16 feet which is too small for the KEFs -- they really need a big
room to do them justice. Through much experimentation, I have found that the
best tonal balance and imaging is achieved when one speaker is placed next to a
wall that is perpendicular to the other speaker, with one corner of the room
between the two speakers. The listening position is towards the opposing
corner. I know that this is not advised, but this is what works in my room.

I think that because my room is too small, frequency imbalances get magnified
and sounds that tend to irritate me do so with greater intensity. This is why
I sometimes hate the KEFs. They reveal the flaws in recordings without mercy
-- and there are only so many good recordings ;-)

But with good source material, wow!...the KEFs almost make me believe that the
musicians are live, performing in the room. Now that is quite an achievement
for a not-so-expensive-that-I-also-need-to-mortgage-the-house pair of speakers.

I think I'll enjoy the KEFs for many years to come. BTW, I ordered mine with
the Rosetta Burr finish...great looking speakers.