After comparing the B&W 603 and KEF Q65, I bought the Q's. The stereo imaging is impressive. The hi's and the mids are are clear and sound natural. One drawback however, is the bass. I think the bass is somewhat weak (although positioning helps). A sub-woofer has helped. At $571 per pair (discountinued at a local retail store) I got more speaker for the money than B&W.

I brought a pair of Q65 last week after having gathered lots of comments on this product from friends and the net. Definitely, I've got the right speakers for my system (Amp:Yamaha A1). Both hi and mid range are v. good especially for playing CDs of guitars that makes me feeling like sitting in front of the real performers. Bass may be the weaker part of the product, but a subwoofer can help. For movies, their performance is satisfactory.
Overall, I like these speakers and they also meet my expectation. They are good and quality product, although not the best. I would give them 4 stars.

I've found the performance of my Q65 is improving within the break-in period, especially the low range. I hooked them up to Yamaha DSP-A1 with Audioquest Crystal+ speaker cables (Bi-wired). Now I am completely satisfied with the whole system in playing both music and HT (I use Sony DVD-S7700, KEF-Q95C center speaker and Celestion rear s). The hi-range is so natural, though the mid should be in more details. I paid about USD897 for a new pair of Q65. For this price, it is highly recommended. Therefore, I have to revise my previous review and give Q65 a 5-star ratings. (Actually, I deducted 1 star in my previous review because of the unsatistory service of the local sole agent, but this should nothing relate to the quality of the speaker itself.)

I had the unusual opportunity to compare 5 speakers in my actual listening room at home --- a 20' by 14' living room, driven by my trusty Audiolab amp, and found the KEF Q65's to be superior not only on a number of fronts --- clarity, stereo image (amazing), smoothness, depth of image, coherence, but also "on the whole", how it all added up to a sound that made sense. The other speakers were: the Mission 752 Freedoms, B & W P5's, Theil 1.5's, and PSB Stratus Silver's. Each had a problem for me, either too bright and shrill, not enough detail in the stereo image, shy bass, etc. The Q65;s have not been widely reviewed and yet are a very deserving speaker. Lets be clear --- I have hated past Uni-Q designs. This is not more of the same; this is a distinctly clear and smooth speaker. What amazes me abotu this speaker is that sense of depth, third dimensionality, you can get out of a speaker that images well. Often, sound is great but the music is two-dimensional, like it is spread across the plane of the two speakers (e.g., MIssion 752). The Q65's give that sense of a third dimension that lets you feel that some things are there but truly in the background. The resolution and detail are worth it. Definitely give these speakers a listen. Depending on your room, bass reinforcement could make the bass almost too powerful, so listen to them at home.

Went for the Q65s having read the reviews here and made a conditional purchase..Other components of my system were Onkyo dx-7711cd player and onkyo a-9911amp.. I've tried them on both biwire and single pair cabling..The sound was extremely clean, strereo depth was good, treble was sweet but midrange was weak, such that the vocals of the singers i've listened to for years sounded of a different character and i had to pay additional attention to the vocals to recognize the words. Soon i decided that the bass was of a strangely detached kind. I took them back to the dealer and got a pair of RDM2 monitors though bass is an important part of music for me, but it excelled the Q65s in every aspect, even in the bass region to the extent they can reproduce..Here in Turkey you dont have a wide variety of choices but i l've listened to speakers from KEF, Dali, B&W, Mission, Energy, Polk and crap from KLH, Bose, Cerwin Vega, Jamo, Klipsch., JBL, Def. Tech.etc and found that listenable low bass came only with speakers of higher prices such as Dali Grands ($3000 in Turkey) or B&W matrix series (matrix 804=$2500) that are beyond my budget. If you've got $1000 for speakers get a decent monitor and don't sacrifice music for bass..

I bought a pair in May and after a five month break-in period, I can report that these are fine speakers. I got a substantial discount (I paid $800) and this made these speakers a tremendous bargain.
How do they sound?

The most redeeming feature is the relaxed HF. I know some people want accuracy at any cost, and for that they will accept harshness, but I prefer a smooth, more laid-back sound. The detail is still there, I just don't ever find myself reaching for the volume control (and I currently use a receiver!). Soft-domes are wonderful.

The mid-range is very good: detailed and dynamic. I have heard more accurate mid-range before, but only in far more expensive speakers. Again it is somewhat laid back.

The bass is also very good, but this may be the weakest link. No extraordinary slam, but the bass, at reasonable volumes, is tight and detailed, and dynamic. Go too loud, and the bass can become somewhat slow and sloppy. Since I prefer to listen at sane levels, this does not present a problem.

Soundstaging ranges from good to excellent, depending on speaker position. Close to the wall, the depth obviously suffers, but pull them out about three feet, and give them good source material, and they sounstage wonderfully. I have found that soundstage height can be more generous than width or depth, but this may be attribuatble to my room. Imaging is not always precise, again compared with more expensive speakers, but is quite good. Orchestral works sound wonderful (Brahms 1st Symphony is a particular treat). So does Jazz.

Pair these speakers with a good source (Rega Planet for me) and decent to excellent amplification, and they are sweet. Also, a relatively forward or fast set of speaker cables help (try Kimber or Straightwire.)

I'm giving them 4 stars, given their low price. I can't give them 5 because I know Hales is out there for not too much more.

What outstanding reviews? I don't seem to recall reading any. Never had in my house but did hear on two occasions at some local dealers.
Let me just say first I'm am very intrigued by the Q design and wanted
very, very much to like this speaker but...

Pros: Good dynamics good tonal balance and large soundstage.

Cons: Midrange resolution very average. Bass has propensity to lose control
at higher levels.

Verdict: Not competitive at the price.

Read the outstaning reviews on this model, and hit the local "hi end" store for a listen. After driving the salesman crazy with requests to hear eveything in the room ranging from 750 - 2500 dollars (for the pair). The Q65's, although sounding a bit flat (probably due to the preview of other loud speakers) quickly grew on me and consumed the rest of the afternoon. After 3 hours of auditioning, I experienced no fatique, only the accurate sounds of the material played.
Once home, I immediately biwired them up to my Harmon K AVR70 (another outstaning unit) for the mid and highs and using the pre out, hooked the bass
unit up to a trusty B+K ST1400 and was istantly delighted. I can honestly say I have not experienced this type of sounds from any other set auditioned. Although I paid suggested retail of 1200 dollars for the pair, I can happily report I would have paid double...nothing under th2 2500 dollar range even came close !

Do yourself a favor and find these...not widely distributed (usually a good sign). The once frowned upon Q source drivers have obviously been reengineered
and sound outstaning....great presence..NO coloration in any part of the band and with a decent DB rating of 90 decibels doesnt require some 500 Watt pair of mono blocks..

I'd give em 6 if I could..best pair of speakers Ive owned in the past 25 years
...hands down !

Detail and clarity of mid-range and high frequency sounds, outstanding imaging, and good transparency, especially considering their price.

Lower frequencies lack punch.

I purchased the Kef Q65's a little over a year ago, when I was able to purchase the pair for $560 as a closeout from a store that was no longer going to carry Kef products. Their imaging is truly outstanding. At the store I found that if I closed my eyes while listening I could not point to the location of the speakers and this translates into tremendous imaging abilities at home for all types of source material. They possess a wide soundstage which adds a lot to the music as well as to movies and they also do a excellent job of reproducing both male and female voices. Most importantly they are very fun to listen to. The only area I feel that they are lacking in is that bass does not have enough punch for my tastes and it seems to be a little under-emphasized. I have recently added a Defintive Technology ProCinema 200TL Subwoofer to improve the lower frequencies. With a Sub the Kef's are terrific since they perform so well in the highs and mids and the Sub provides the punch. I recommend these speakers to anyone that highly values detailed clarity of mids and highs along with great imaging. If you are looking for powerful bass these speakers work great with a sub, but you may not be satisfied without one. I give them a 5 for value since I only paid $560, but also because if I had paid $1200(MSRP) I would still feel I had gotten good value for my money. I would give them a 4.5 if possible for overall rating only because of their slight lack of bass punch. In my opinion in their price range they would be very difficult to beat hence the 5 for overall rating.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm monitor 7's & 9's, Polk Audio, NHT, Infinity