Neutrality,Midrange,Timing

Quality of any ported bass is compromised at best

I have owned these speakers for a couple of years
now and I agree with most of the positive reviews
here except the area of amplification.High wattage
( 200 watts and such )are not,I feel, necessary to
fully enjoy the speaker.A stable,high quality amp
is a must in this case.BTW,anyone who is using a
Kef Reference with a SS amp has only had a taste
of what Uni-Q is capable of. Trust me!A strong 4
star speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Tannoy

Very Clean Sound - almost concert like

Ported base is not suited for bass heavy music

After listening to over 20 speakers in the $1,500 - $2,500 range, I had the opportunity to test the KEF Reference 2's. I immediately was drawn to the clean sound. My taste in music tends to be complex and multi textural(70's style jazz and rock fusion). The KEF's did a wonderful job of reproducing this music and keeping the instruments from getting in each others way.

While some reviewers complain about the lack of bass, I felt that it places the bass right where it belongs - in a supporting, not dominant place.

There was nothing available at the price I paid ($1,750) that was even close in sound and quality.

clean, open and detail sound

lack of deep bass and slightly dry presentation(compare to grand piano)

Grand piano is the first speaker that i have try, I love its smooth romatic sound and image then change to Kef reference model 2, The sound become more dynamic, better punch with smooth without hash but slightly dry compare to sonus. I found that the speaker suitable for small to meduim size room. Not bigger than 5*3 otherwise bass disappear (both of upper and deep bass).

Similar Products Used:

Sonus faber grand piano

Sound. Construction.

For what these speakers are proported to be: "$2500 High quility Speakers"....they are all togeather offensive. For what they are: Cheaply made overpiced boxes they are still horriable...

I have seen these on "sale" and "discounted" down to about $1500..So that is the market I will compare them to...PSBs and Paradigm and Sonus Faber..and some B&W...and given those compaisons the KEF still rate at the bottom of the pile...compare them to Bose, Klipsch and Realistic..then they hold there own.

I found so little to enjoy in these speakers. Perhaps decent bass engery and, although finiky, a sometimes enjoyable midrange is the best I can come up with.

I tried these with a few different amps and front ends. Found they were best with Tubes or the Bel Canto Evo. I also tried a Rega Planet, Acram Diva and a Naim CD5 player..none overcame the short commings of this speaker.

My cheif complanit: they were the most inconsistant speaker I have ever heard. Recordings that I have always enjoyed on my other systems and others systems sounded great..then via the KEF sounded like crap. AND, it was never the other way around, they never made a recording sound "better"...

My advice, for what it is worth: I simple search will offer you a ton of much better sounding option and a decidly lower price...but, that is just my opioion.

Similar Products Used:

Many, Many...

Imaging and upper frequency reproduction

At this price, none.

I like the Kef's for their versatility and imaging. I used to own a pair of Totem Mani-2's which were renowned for their imaging but they do not come close to the performance of the Kef's in this area. I haven't heard imaging and 3D like sound in any speaker that surpasses the Kef's. Their bass is suprisingly good as well. In fact, I chose these speakers over the bigger Kef Ref. 3's because the 2's have tighter and cleaner sounding bass as wells as a more transparent sound. For some reason, the 3's sounded somewhat muddied across the frequency range. Perhaps it is because they need more room than I presently have. I love to play classical music on these speakers because string instruments just come alive. They are also not very fussy about placement. At this price, I cannot quibble about things like more bass. I plan to add a good quality subwoofer to compensate.If you like to listen to a wide-ranging style of music, these speakers will do the trick. My associated equipment includes:

Moon W-5 amplifier
Copland 301MkII tubed preamp
Meridian 506 Cd player
Cardass interconnect and speaker wire

Similar Products Used:

Totem Mani-2

Amazing detail of sound. The Uni-Q driver is revolutionary and thus there is no need for a "sweet spot". Aside from the great soundstage it portrayed, they produced lots of bass. The bass is clean and tight. My musical tastes are varied, and these speakers were fantastic at recreating everything from rock to electronica to jazz. Simply a great all around speaker.

The high frequencies could be a little bit softer at times. The vocals and high frequencies were clear, but occasionally, too clear. This could be rectified by possibly using a "softer" sounding cd player or amp.

I think that these are the best non-electrostat, or ribbon loudspeakers out there. The Uni-Q driver makes vocals sound so real. Clarity is unmatched by any conventional loudspeakers out there. I have heard a lot of different loudspeakers out there and out of them only a couple of electrostats moved me more. Powerful and tight bass combined with a soundstage so real you thought you were there, make these KEFs a tough act to beat!

Midrange, imaging

deep bass somewhat lacking

I have had these for 4 years and never truly experienced them until I hooked them up to a Rotel RMB-1075 amplifier. Previously I had a Yamaha DSPA-2070 integrated amp driving the speakers. at that time, I would have given them 3.5 stars. Since my recent purchase, however, they definitely have moved up to 5 star range. The sound is warm and never fatiguing. I have not really minded the limited low range for music. A decent subwoofer is almost a necessity for HT use anyways.

BTW I stongly disagree with any 1 star reviews. Please keep your posts in the Bose section.

Similar Products Used:

NHT, Paradigm reference, B&W, Klipsch, Definitive Technologies

Open, clarity, detail, imaging, and sweet.

Bass a little weak

These speakers are everything I ask for. When you listen to music, it's like the singers are there. It's like you're attending a real concert. Female voices, in particular,are very clear and sweet.

Similar Products Used:

Bose, Polk Audio, & Paradigm Studios

After listening to the Reference ones and threes, these fitted my 20ft by 18ft listening room the best. They needed almost 60-80 hours of running in to achieve their best and should be used minus the covers (as always) and powered by a high "loading" amp (not nessecarily high powered). Once run in and correctly re-positioned these twos matched my Audiolab equipment perfectly. They are able to convey all the energy and drive whilst still being sweet and detailed with well produced music.

I listened to these recently, and had a chance to directly compare them with PSB's Stratus Gold i, which were selling for the same price (~$2000). The Kefs were Not Bad. They didn't really impress me, and I preferred the PSBs slightly -- I thought the PSBs had tighter and deeper bass, and were less bright -- but I could imagine them being to some people's taste.