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New KEF Reference 5 speakers

After many months of auditioning speakers (and probably testing the patience of several salesmen) I finally decided to get the KEF Reference 5s.  I just loved the wide sound stage and almost holographic imaging, among other things.  They were delivered in February and I’ve spent many hours listening.  At first I was disappointed.  They just didn’t produce the same imaging at my house with my equipment as in the store.  Also, they sounded bright and harsh with violins and high end music.  The dealer came to my house along with the regional sales rep from KEF to provide advice.  They urged me to allow more break in time (at that point they had been played about 100 hours). After many more hours, I am becoming more acquainted with them.  They are still improving with time.  Them break in period seems to be very lon. They’ve played several hundred hours and are still improving. They are extremely source sensitive—meaning that a poorly engineered record or CD will sound terrible and a well recorded one can be great.  I suppose this is a good thing with the KEFS-that they reveal flaws so well says something about their accuracy. Unfortunately there seem to be more bad recordings than good ones so I’m finding many of my CDs and records very difficult to listen to.  I am still experimenting with speaker placement, learning which recordings are really good and which aren’t and other tweaks.  Not totally convinced it’s love but we are at least in like and the relationship is moving in a positive direction. I’ve delayed posting anything until now because I didn’t want to share any premature conclusions.  
fast
theothergreg
222 posts
 
I started with an MC275 (90 wpc) with my Reference 5s and the sound was good.  Very smooth with nice mids and smooth highs.  Not the best resolution, but cast a fairly good sound stage.

I moved to Electrocompaniet Nemo monoblocks and the Reference 5s really opened up.  The Nemos are on the warm side, so didn't miss any of the wonderful mids and highs that I loved about the MC275.  The first thing I noticed was the much faster and very articulate bass.  The sound stage became much wider and deeper, with excellent separation.

As I mentioned above, the Reference 5s really like clean, high current power.  It will be interesting to get the results of your experiment and see if you can find a great matching amp in your setup.


stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,254 posts
 
@trknomo...………………………

I feel bad for you but I went through it as well with 2 different pairs of speakers.  One  pair I sold within 10 months for a 55% loss and another pair I had doe 18 months.  I hardly listened to that system during that entire time.  I took a big financial hit on those too.  

It's like I said at the beginning of this thread, if I am not liking the sound fresh out of the box, no amount of break in or fairy dust is going to make me like them more.  My advise would be to cut your losses now, life is way too short to agonize over something that is supposed to be fun, relaxing and enjoyable.
fast OP
92 posts
 
Thanks for all the input.  Stereo5, while I get your advice, I’m inclined to wait.  The speakers are several months old and aren’t going to depreciate much more than they have already over the months to come.  I’m listening to them every day.  
As I’ve said, I’m not ready to give up and there are good reasons to go slowly and be sure.  That includes time to try different electronics.  Not at all sure what I would like better and I hate the thought of going through the auditioning process again (the Monitor Audio P300ii was a close contender previously). TRknomo, sounds like we’ve had similar experiences.  I spent lots time listening to the Reference 3s at dealers and bought the 5s as a result because they are very similar except the 5s have two additional bass speakers  .  No dealer anywhere near me stocked the 5s so the first time I heard them was the day they were delivered.  What do you dislike about the 3 and do you have any idea what you’ll get to replace them?
Post removed 
trknomo
80 posts
 
@fast Yes seems very similar. Funny I never listened to the Monitor Audio P300ii until after my disappointing purchase. If I had I would have purchased them instead as I think that was a speaker I could have lived with. 

 However since I didnt I’m taking my time and gonna spend as long as it takes. So far though at the top of my list of go backs and listen again are the Legacy Focus SE and the Magico A-3. Honestly if I just stopped right now and bought the Magico’s I would be happy and not look back.  But since it may take a bit to sell my Ref 3’s I’m going to listen to all I can.

 Fortunately  only took a small hit on the front end equipment by trading up and down with the dealer. It wasn’t till I went elsewhere and traded in my AR for McIntosh that I took a small loss. I was told the same thing though, it needed more break in time. It was my recordings, it was my speaker cables, it was my placement. At the end of the day I do realize it’s the speakers. I find that the Uniq driver does not play hard fast rock very well and just becomes very fatiguing. I can listen for an hour or two but then I’ve had enough. I’ve had less expensive equipment that I could spend the whole day listening to. So between PreAmp, Monos, TT, cables etc I have about 35K in and cant listen for more than a couple Albums. However with the same front end I sat at the MC dealer for a few hours and hated to leave when I needed to with no fatigue.

 I have an active thread going on here, check it out as I’ve recieved some good info that would benefit you as well. It the Best Speakers  that rock under 15K. 
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