In the world of enthusiast speakers, few names stand out as much as KEF.
Hence todays subject: the KEF R3.
No matter how good your speakers sound, youll spend more time looking than listening to them.
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Youll also want to keep in mind the R3s are massive.
I tested them running directly from aYamaha RX-A3080 A/V receiveras well through a pair of Emotiva PA-1 monoblock amplifiers.
Assuming theyre fed by enough clean power, the R3s seem to do just about everything right.
Dont confuse flat with boring though.
However, as our hearing adapts to our surroundings, the speaker will still be perceived as neutral.
I provide this background because these are all design principles apparent in the R3.
Its a speaker of highly neutral character, with which little feels particularly emphasized or omitted.
The midrange and treble on the R3s are pristine.
Cellos and pianos have proper timbre.
Vocals sound natural, with little apparent coloration or emphasis.
But its a mostly balanced sound thats hard to fault.
The treble is smooth veering only to sharpness or dullness if present in the recording.
In this regard, it also sounds more refined than KEFs own LS50 or LS50W.
you’ve got the option to observe many of these qualities in basic measurements.
Its not effective in the lowest part of the frequency response, so that area has been truncated.
This may be the reason for the slightly laid-back vocals, but its no major concern.
That KEF achieved such a result in a passive design speaks to impressive engineering.
You arent going to find much better than the R3 in a passive design.
But to me, the defining of KEFs speakers has always been their soundstage.
This means that both high and midrange frequencies emanate from the same point in space.
Thats why subwoofers are so flexible about placement.)
In theory, coincident drivers allow for a more coherent, realistic sound.
The measurements hint at this too.
In the above graph, Ive placed the speaker on a turntable and measured frequency response at 15-degree intervals.
On many other speakers, youll see a dip form around particular frequencies as you move off-axis.
Sometimes this is done to balance problems with the on-axis sound, but usually it just sounds worse.
In fact, the horizontal measurements suggest the speakers are actually slightly smoother around 15 to 30 degrees off-axis.
Your mileage may vary.
This isnt to say everything about the R3 is great.
But those are minimal complaints in the greater context of the speakers performance.
If youre looking for new speakers and have $2,000 to blow, the R3 merit serious consideration.
