KEF Blade -- how good are they?

Kef blade dealer we had them ny.audio show 2007 well set up reference system https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-chord-audio-doctor
d own the hall107 00 yg cousticsustics sonya/ solution rig at 400,000 did not sound better then our room a properly set ip blade system is very hard to beat

Dave snd Troy
Audio intellect Nj
Kef blade dealer

certainly very good and well engineered from long standing company with established dealer network.

stiff competition from YG, Vivid, Magico, Vandersteen... etc....

go listen, enjoy the journey and the music.

There have been quite a few negative comments on this site over the years about the Blades. I personally think they are the best speakers for what I appreciate the most, incredible placement of performers on the soundstage.

One difficulty in owning the Blades (especially in California) is having enough space for the side firing drivers. In about a year, I think I will have a room big enough for them. This living room is 12’W x 20’L x 25’H . This room is barely large enough for the Blades along the 12’W front wall. Wish it was a bit wider. Though a Blade owner told me that his Blades are also in a similar sized space and it works for him.

I find the Vivid Giya lineup similar sounding to the Blades. They cost a lot more but I like the Blades more. I have heard then back to back a few minutes apart, though in different rooms with different gear. The gear on the Vivid Giya Spirit G1 was way better than what I heard on the Blades, but I liked the Blades more. The main reason is that the Blades drew incredible images and placement of those images on the soundstage. It makes me feel like I am watching the performers live. For me, the Blades do that better than other speakers I have heard.

I also like the Paradigm Persona a lot too (heard 5F and 3F). I should listen to the 9H because it is a safer speaker to have around a toddler than the easy to knock down Blade. The Persona also have a great presentation of the soundstage. I think it is also easier to place in a room than the Blades.

I have heard a whole stable of Magico’s up and down the lineup. I remember liking the S3 MKII but I would take the Blades over them. I have not been a huge fan of the other Magicos.

The now discontinued Thiel CS 3.7 is another speaker that I love a lot. I keep looking at used CS3.7’s for my office. I don’t have the space, but Digital Room Correction is something I am looking into for this small room. I like the Blades a bit more but that CS 3.7 was in incredible sounding speaker back in the day. I think both have some similarities in how they deliver the sound. Both have the Coincident driver tech. I think the Blades take it a step ahead with their point source ideas.

One negative for me on the Blades and even the Vivid is that their driver material does not seem cutting edge today, like Yamaha (NS5000), Paradigm Persona, maybe also Magico, Vandersteen and few others. However, what they have done with those drivers is amazing. I am looking forward to seeing what KEF does with the new META stuff on the Blades and the Reference lineup. I also look for companies that build their own drivers and do R&D.

A relevant post from today,
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/paradigm-persona-series/post?postid=2038120#2038120

I like my blades.. Only other speakers I had were Kef 105/3.

I believe the reviews that claim the blades have a higher ceiling than other speakers in their price range. Kef has been improving on the uniq driver for something like 11 generations and the first one that was in the r105/3 was no slouch. I would think getting the electronics matched to the speakers for a rooms acoustics will make or break them, just like any other system. They're on my bucket list.