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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
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Audio Doc,
Not a trick question above ^^^^^^
Legitimately interested in your comparison of Kef Reference 3and 5 versus Paradigm 5f and 7f, given that you deal both of them. 
Also interested in whether T+A is good synchronous match for either esp Kef or if other brands in same price bracket are better. 
Thanks!
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,992 posts
 
Good morning Kren,

Here is our take on the Paradigm vs Kef shootout, both of these are great loudspeakers.

Kef throw a huge soundstge, very clean and natural midrange, good treble detail, very tight bass. 

Paradigm, more holographic soundstage, greater clarity in the treble and midrange, very tight bass. 

In a direct shootout we would take the Paradigms, however, the Paradigms require a bit more system matching. The clarity of the Beryillium drivers is amazing but does require a wamer voicing before they sound magical, vs the Kef which tends to sound great on a wide variety of electronics.

The T+A gear is spectacular on most speakers, the T+A sound is slightly warm in the midrange, smooth top end, a very wide and deep soundstage, excellent information recovery, tight but a bit on the warmer side of bass, extremely well designed, beautifully made with usually an upgrade path 

Hope that helps.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Kef, Paradgim Persona and T+A dealers
kren0006
1,859 posts
 
Cool thx
Post removed 
fast OP
92 posts
 


I am the OP. With regard to the KEF Reference 5 speakers, after about 1 1/2 years, I’m really liking them.  I think they do require a long break in time.  The imaging, soundstage and bass “slam” are impressive.  Also, I substituted a new Krell Duo 175xd Amplifier for my old Audio Research tube amp resulting in much more powerful bass. And this week, I added Isoacoustics Gaia 1 footers, which make an amazing improvement...more than I ever would have believed.  The sound I’m now getting is pretty unbelievable.  

As for the Paradigm Persona 5 comparison, I listened to them before deciding on the KEFs.  I liked them and considered buying them but obviously chose the KEFs.  I did not have the opportunity to hear the Paradigm and KEF speakers side by side or even within a short time frame.  It’s obviously a matter of personal preference.  Dave Lalin (the Audio Doctor) has a great ear and provided excellent advice.  I give a lot of weight to his opinions (even though we may have a small difference regarding the Paradigm vs. KEF).  At his recommendation, I’ve bought the Innuous Zenith 3, the Krell amplifier and Wireworld interconnects.  I did not have an opportunity to hear any of them before buying and relied on his advice.  Perhaps not the ideal way to buy equipment but I have not been disappointed.  


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