Kef Q-35 Floorstanding Speakers: I'm more of a Home Cinema enthusiast myself but I buy quality component for my sysytem. After several years of switching between Mordaunt-Short and Mission speakers I came upon the Q-35's by chance. I was in a store which was closing down and having a clearance sale, the Q-35's were on offer for £220 (US$350) as ex-display. I eventually haggled down to £175 (US$280) intending to give them to my son for his Midi (Boo-Hiss) system.I set them up on my Yamaha A-1 and was very suprised at the clarity and extension of the speakers. After some mass-loading and bi-wiring I gave them a thorough days workout on music and movies, I am deeply impressed with the precision and range of these speakers, so much so that my son now has a pair of slightly used Mission 771's in his apartment. Much enjoyment has been had for ridiculously little money with the Q-35's and I would recommend that anyone who enjoys untainted sound invests in them.....'Nuff said!'

Smooth, rich mid-range. Treble is not too harsh.

Doesn't rock as hard as some other speakers

I bought a pair of Q-35's from a dealer who was cutting his stock down, for only $400. At first I used them with a Rotel RX-950ax 50x2 receiver and it worked very well, but the sound would get grainy and edgy when I cranked up the volume. Well, I fixed that by upgrading to a Rotel RB-980bx amplifer which puts 240x2 into a 4ohm load. The speaker is only rated to take 100 into that load, but KEF assured me it would be fine, and it is! What an improvement. The sound is much more open with a great sense of ambience. The bass tightened up, and the speaker sounds like it was meant to.
These KEF's are best suited to classical, jazz, trance and ambient, and some rock. They don't work so well with Metallica, but they aren't really designed to. Hell, they're British for crying out load! But the key to getting these bad boys to sound their best is to feed them plenty of power. Wonderful speakers!!

Crisp clear sound. Good for both Music and Home Cinema

None

I have had my Q35's for just over a year now and I stil find them a joy to listen to. I am still puzzled by peoples comments about the lack of bass, I find that they are perfectly happy to shake my whole room with a nice full bass.

They sound so much better than any of the other speakers I listened to from a similar price range and even several from the price range above.

I listen to many different types of music and I find they cope with it all even things like Korn etc sound superb, even though I'm only using a Wharfdale DVD 750 to play my CD's, which it has to be said is quite a poor source.

I also use my Q35's for Home Cinema and they sound great managing to faithfully reproduce everything from quietly whispered dialogue (no centre speaker yet) to loud explosions etc, with enough atmosphere to fill the room.

My system

Marantz SR-5000
Wharfdale DVD-750
Q35
Q15 (rear speakers)

I just got these speakers in the mail, unplugged my old, floor-standing Cervin Vegas, plugged these guys in and was struck by how warm they sounded. Beautiful bass...a marked difference from my Cervin Vegas...for what it's worth from a "casual listener."

I just got these speakers in the mail, unplugged my old, floor-standing Cervin Vegas, plugged these guys in and was struck by how warm they sounded. Beautiful bass...a marked difference from my Cervin Vegas...for what it's worth from a "casual listener."

Been using a pair for almost half a year - while shopping for a pair of new speakers compared that with the Morduant Short MS25, the cheaper Coda 9 and the Wharfedale 7.3. Decided on the Q35s because they'll be better with home theatre.
The level of detail is excellent. The speakers can give a pretty wide soundstage and in general quite accurate positioning of the sound (a bit more emphasis of the treble could help). The bass is slightly on the lean side, but still reveals the instruments clearly and actually extends quite deep. Capable of reproducing movie sound effects with great realism.

Overall, a great pair of speakers. Someone mentioned midrange coloration, something that I haven't noticed.

PS - Careful with the screw-in spikes that come with the speakers, don't over tighten them or you risk dislodging the socket from the cabinet. (something that can be fixed with a glue gun quite easily).

Excellent imaging with pinpoint accuracy. I continuously carry out A/B/C tests between the Q35, Celestion SL600 and Mission 752 as I listen to all
these 3 speakers (depending on my mood). I find the the Q35 the best all
rounder even thought the 752 is double the price and the SL600 four times
the price. Excellent for the price.

I am at the point of buying new speakers. The last couple of years I had a pair of Driade 9 speakers, which look superb, but the sound of it never really engaged me.
The CDM-7 SE's are high on my list, although I am also still considering other B&W's (P4/5; CDM-1 SE)
and even speakers from other manufacturers, like the
Dali 450/850,
Celestion A1/2,
Mission 753,
KEF Q35/55/65,
Castle Avon/Harlech,
Acoustic Energy 109/120,
Monitor Audio MA 70# PMC,
Ruark Acoustic Scepter
So, it's obvious I still have quite a lot of listening to do.

My amp and CD are from Harman/Kardon (6500 and 730, resp.) wired with Van Den Hul cables and interlink. At this moment the CDM-7 SE's have my preference but I don't know how they hook up with my amp and CD. Your experience on any of these speakers or suggestions are highly welcome.

i compared these with some mid-price speakers (300-600$)they are the most transparent speakers i have ever listened to,
producing an unbelievable soundstage!
however the overall sound is a bit cold and "sterile",
a real bargain but can only play well recorded classical music,
jazz and electronic music were not produced as well.

My wife got fed up with my 1960-vintage Leak Sandwich speakers. I listened to the Tannoy M3, Paradigm Monitor 5 and Mordaunt-Short MS25i. Of these, all but the Paradigms sounded very coloured on classical music. The KEFs were in a different league, with amazing detail approaching Quad levels. The bass was quite adequate, and generally the Q35s are impressively clean and very satisfying to listen to. For the money, they are excellent value - any cost saving has obviously gone into the finish, which is wood-effect vinyl. We also had to buy the Q95C matching centre speaker, as it really pays to have a matching set with this level of detail.