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I just set up my node to an external power amp. I use HDMI eARC from my LG OLED TV to the node. The node even has a 12v trigger out to switch the amplifier on when the TV is turned on. It is fantastic. No need for preamplifier, and I have no desire for a full surround setup with AV receiver. One thing worth noting is there is a 15-minute delay for the 12V trigger out to turn off, and turn the power amp off, after the TV has been turned off - this may confuse some people when setting up. (As when using an AV receiver, the power off is instant)
If you've ever heard an alcino amp you know future fi is going backward on fidelity. If you've ever heard full range sound versus a brick wall filter you'd understand how this is possible. What you're really spending on audio is QA. A matching set of 3001SE with some k62s tops the flag ship KEF blades. And if you don't have it optimised of course your gonna or get them to sound as good. And you won't listen as deeply. It's kinda lkme saying "take a deep breathe. Breathe in and out with me. Doesn't that feel better?" then selling you the air. I covered the 3001SEs when I figured out they were prototypes like 8 years ago before KEF now had a tech museum page where they're listed as icons of the 7th and 8th generation the 9th being the Blade. The Blade is a 500 watt variant 3 way design with full on woofers compared to the 3001SEs, same design, just minus the woofers and as is usually mismatched and with the swiveling mounts virtually impossible to find and tighten Z axis (forward and backward wobble, the only one that requires a distinct key) of course people on average aren't going to optimize them. You pay for the q a to make sure the variance is as low as possible and the rest is you. Since you paid so much you will make DAMN sure they have enough power are optimised and will find the volume sweet spot and everything. For speakers marketed as cheap you'll cheap put on yourself and just not get all you can out of them.
For active speakers I'd love to see you review the Adam Audio A8H! Really interesting proposition for home Hi-fi, they sound awesome.🙂 I have only ever really ran DIY gear as just never found anything in the 'Hi-fi' space that competes for the money, but the Adams have me very tempted to retire my DIY speakers and get rid of my system and just run a pair of A8H's with a CD player with volume control as one unit like the Quad arterra play+.
it 100% is, I have no idea why anyone would spend more money on an amp than the speakers themselves it’s ridiculous. The wiim amp has enough power for the q150 and for 95% of other speakers
Bit late sorry, but I've been powering them with the even cheaper Aiyima A07Max and it works amazingly well. My Cyrus or Roksan amps give more bass but nothing else improves. Things have changed massively with amps and if prestige isn't important to you , you're laughing.
lol too much bass is never a problem, you can simply turn it down if it is. Micheal is right that it's insane to buy tiny q150 and then buy speaker stands@@Lerch-zc3ww
@@Niberspace It's all about space. Bigger speakers need to be further away from the wall. So floorstanders aren't practical in tiny rooms.. Bookshelves with stands will fit and also sound better because you have slight space for trying different placements.
This is my current system (with the Powernode). Yes, there are “better” speakers and amplifiers, but this got me off my laptop, into my living room, and listening to and enjoying music more than I have in 20 years. A huge return on an affordable (and visually appealing) investment. Your channel played a part, so thanks for encouraging others to do the same.
Almost same here! I have a POWERNODE and recently added a KC62 (thanks in no small part to John’s previous videos). Honestly I couldn’t ask for much more in terms of functionality, aesthetics, and sound.
Don’t forget, when you add a sub with the Bluesound, you can remove the task of producing bass from the stand mounts and adjuster the crossover with the Bluesound.
I Had the Q150s. I love the relax sound. Never fatiguing, made ANY recording sound good. I am happy to sacrifice a bit of detail to be able to have longer listening sessions. They still have plenty of detail and the soundstage was amazing. Close your eyes and you could see the music.I paired them with an old but very good Yamaha AV amp and an old but very big Yamaha Sub. Sounded amazing. You do need a sub with Q150s :)
Dear John, this video made me think, wouldn´t a Kef LSX_2 be a good rival for this system? Well I know you haven´t tested those, just wondering. And second question is there a white cd or dvd (i have many) player to match with this system?
I saw an instagram post from John with the LSX-II so I am so hoping that this indeed might be the next video. I having be looking for a good integrated speaker for a bedroom and I think the LSX-II might be the one. 🤞
I recently bought a used pair of Q150 for £200, a used Yamaha R-N803D for £300, a used BK XXLS400 sub for £250, and some used Atacama stands for £10. With some new cable and plugs, the whole lot was under £800 and sounds incredible.
This is definitely the way to go Tim I did similar with Quad 306, Q Concept 20's with stands and an Aune DAC/preamp Streaming Tidal and it sounds awesome!
Nice video. We have to point out that this video is mainly or only for viewers in the USA. I’ve tried to find these speakers for £250 or $299 and couldn’t find this price anywhere.
Run to Ikea and get some SKOGSTA bar stools. They're not white but you can paint them. You could also weigh them down to improve their sound character. 29.99 a piece.
I used a pair of Kef Q100s with my TV for a few years but I really missed having a centre channel for dialog. (My use case was mostly tv.) Now I have them in my office for music. My standing desk is more of a dancing desk now.
I found recently that there is a bit of a dilemma with Apple TV and movie watching with a 2.1 system, in that Netflix will now send an encoded virtual surround stereo track if you configure the audio output of the Apple TV to stereo, but otherwise apple or the tv will do the downmix from surround mix. The gotcha is that the stereo mixes almost always exclude the LFE channel, whereas the apple downmix does include the LFE channel. The stereo mixes unfortunately do tend to sound better, which I find frustrating. With the powernode you might get better bass management as well by configuring the Apple TV to send Dolby digital. For music you can send the output of the Apple TV to AirPlay to thr power node, which also allows you to turn off the tv and have 44.1 kHz
Great video and props for mentioning SVS! I only wished the old hi-fi "diminishing returns" logic didn't extend to speaker stands, their prices remain obscene for what we get. It's about time we get budget-conscious, audiophile-grade pretty furniture (did you read me, IKEA, JOHN LEWIS, HABITAT, WAYFAR )
Hi John, I’m a retired tech engineer. In 1987 I bought a Quad system and KEF 104. It’s more than 15 years since I gave the KEFs to my son. I have watched your videos for some time. Based on thees videos I have bought a Wiim Amp and KEF Q150. Can’t wait to hear what difference that will do compared with my B&W Panorama 3 soundbar. Thanks for bringing back my interest for music and gear. JS Norway.
Your point on soundbars I had a pretty good Yamaha soundbar for TV/movies and a two channel system consisting of Cambridge Audio's Minx XI streaming amp, with the KEF Q300 speakers. Sadly, the soundbar was stolen last year and for months I couldn't decide on a replacement. Until one Saturday afternoon I rearranged my lounge room and connected the tv's optical to the amp. It's been a revelation. The soundstage, the clarity (rain actually sounds like rain and weather instead of white noise), the dynamics, etc. TV and movies sound so much better through the amp and speaker combo. I'm never going back to a soundbar...not anytime soon.
Because powered subwoofers give better bass than those tall 3-ways could every dream up with out taking power and clarity away from the mids and highs.
@@drew6317 You are probably right there,i have an SVS powered sub with two Wharfdale Diamond 230's and a Yamaha as501 amp but it's no comparison to my fathers mid 70's Sansui qrx4001 and two huge akai wood cabinet speakers. The latter shakes the house with no distortion at high volume with a very rich sound,just a shame those days are gone.But they are two very different amps when it comes to price i suppose.
@@drew6317 Agreed whole heartedly, plus have you noticed the size of the shoe boxes they have the temerity to call houses these days, I know it sounds like a long shot but these type of criteria are all taken into account when designing virtually everything these days including HI-FI gear, check out the size of a lot of amps, and small is not good for cooling in a lot of cases despite the rise of class D.
I tooooootally get you with the soundbar thing. My blood boils whenever I hear someone talking about a fricking soundbar when they want to enhance music apart from the speaker sound from the television... Bloody hell it's annoying :D
Just for the record I have two separate systems hooked up to KEF LS50 meta speakers. One has a Blusound powernode and the other has a Denon PMA 600NE with a Denon DNP800 NE and the latter is soooooo much better than the former on so many levels. Just my two bobs worth😎
Hi "Darko" - I have been following you for years now. I would like to ask you about the "old" rule of thumb about roughly spending half of your budged on the speakers, as they are so important. Is this "rule" outdated in the current future-fi systems? If so is your spending on the speakers (300/1500) close to what you would say is the new rule of thumb? Is that due to some fact that one can purchase better speakers today for less, or that we need more of some other gear for the hifi-system today than one "needed" in the past? Best regards from Iceland
Hi John, I really like your videos and attitude towards hi-fi! Recently I have built my first hi-fi system with kef's ls50 meta, kc62 subwoofer and bluesound powernode. And talking about deals, my ls50 meta + kc62 costed together 1860€ + 900€ for powernode which combined got me absolutly amazing sound! And all thanks to you (before watching your videos I would probably go for a soundbar).
Many of the newest OEM automotive infotainment systems are utilizing AVB/TSN enabled IEEE 1722.1 AVDECC-compliant Ethernet chipsets, so those chipsets are going to be made in high volume and will be dirt cheap. Using those will not require licensing fees for proprietary solutions. Latency is under 2ms with 100baseT, significantly less than that with 1000base T wired gigabit ethernet, much better than WiFi based solutions. Powered active DSP filtered loudspeakers attached to a wired gigabit Ethernet network using AVB may be one good path forward.
sounds good. To me the idea of having an amp with built in stream related stuff just seems like buying future landfill. Some small module to link in Madrid much more sunset
I used to have the q150s, great little speaker but were too small for my space, I’ve got Buchardts now so big difference, but q150 soundstage for the size was fantastic but the build quality on the cabinet I truly thought was awful.
i have the q550 (tbh i think they're a steal considering you don't need stands) and i want to point out that they make a great pair with the SVS SB-1000PRO sub, as a more reasonable alternative to the kc62 price wise (and it's also all white :D)
Love your content, thanks a lot - I am learning a lot. Could you please suggest if LS-50 Meta and Cambridge Audio Evo 75 is a good pair? Or I would need to go for Evo 150, or may be you will say that Canbridge Audio isn’t the best fit here. 👍🚀🥳
I just picked up a pair of the Q150's for $299. They are a STEAL at that price. Excellent sound for such a small speaker. I had them connected to a Yamaha AS-2200 Amp and I was surprised with how good they sounded. I then moved them over to my Denon AVR for TV/Movie listening (this is what I bought them for).
Those Solidsteel stands are lookers but I'd much rather get a RSL speedwoofer 10s in white for $450 and Kanto sp26pl (with cable management) in white for $129 when on sale. I'd get the Atacamas if I were on that side of the pond.
John, given I have pre-teen kiddos in the house I do most of my listening via headphones, either wired or wireless. But this video has made me want to upgrade my listening room kit. I have a 5 speaker Sonos system that is purely about TV surround sound and passive, entertaining music as a part of ambiance.
Same with me... fallen in love with goog head-fi. Which triggered upgrqdes to living room system as I fully understood how dreadful was my home theatre's sound... now in the run for "good enough" sounding stereo future-fi :)
I have the KEF Q150 for about 4 years now. My first "Hifi" Speakers. With them I learned that audio isn't just bass or loudness. They are perfect for me on the desk where they get used in an 5.1 system for all things. Gaming, watching movies and music listening and DJing. Powered by an Yamaha aventage RX-A4A they sound really good and a SVS PB2000 pro Subwoofer gives the needed low end. Now I'm thinking of getting myself the LS50 Meta or R3. For desk use the LS50 just seem to be the better option. Even just in size. I just wish there would be a more fitting colour option for my setup. The non Meta version had an all black special edition... Or changing the drivers of the black LS 50 Meta to the silver red ones from the wireless II would look awesome. Would be possible but very expensive just for looks. Edit: I got myself the R3. After some research and just the comfort of size and automatically having the tweeters at the right high on my desk, I chose them. Awesome speakers. Didn't think it would be such an improvement!
Just clicked on the video because of the Q150s :D 2 years ago I built my stereo system with them and a Yamaha S501 Amplifier. It seems the Amplifier is a bit too powerful as I can't turn the volume up more than 1/3 but apart from that I'm pretty happy with it. For futurefi I added a raspberry pi zero with the justboom digi zero connected via coax, pretty happy with that too as I like to tinker directly with the software running on that thing. Nice build though with the Powernode thanks for the video!
16:14 “the other people you live with”….drop the diplomacy, just say “your wife might hate speakers…” 😂 I know my wife keeps pushing for a sound bar but I actually like my sound, to sound good, so my hifi system ain’t going nowhere any time soon. I compromise on plenty of other stuff, but my music/home theatre isn’t one of them 🙂
Similar situation my wife wants me to get rid of my q950 saying they take up too much space and should get a soundbar. When she said save space I was going to make a fat joke about her sister but held back
I bought a pair of white Q Acoustics 3030i speakers after watching John’s video a couple of years ago. They quickly won my wife’s approval. I changed them for the 3050i towers when we decided to make the living room a semi-media room and I needed a separate listening space downstairs in the office for *my* listening.
I Agree, sound bars are crap for music, my Sonos arc is very average, I already have a Sonos amp and a Rega P3, on special the KEF Q150 is a nice paring. what would you recommend for a budget CD player to add to this set up? (Price point) Cheers Adrian
I really liked this video. I've heard of you... I peruse your website from time to time. This got my sub... So Hello! and hello to the comment section! I like the future-fy ideology and how clean the setup looks. Thanks for sharing that Techno Album too. Sadly, I can only find volume 1 on streaming.
And suddenly I had white Q150s and a Powernode Edge too :p Gonna replace a 5.1 system in my new home, but it all has to stay boxed for a few more weeks... Gonna keep by BK sub for now, see if its a match for the speakers and the room. Gonna try to listen to music a bit more again.
Mmm... now that i'm used to a Denon X4000 I don't think I'd ever go back to an amplifier that doesn't have room correction (audyssey, Dirac, Room Correction or whatever the manufacturer calls its version). It makes such a big difference in output quality that I doubt solutions without it can compete with for instance a Denon X1800H. As for soundbars I agree 100%. They just suck. All of them. I haven't heard a single one, even expensive ones, that was better than a pair of decent standard speakers (like the KEFs). Just get secondhand speakers and amps if you must, but avoid soundbars. They're just a waste of money.
Great video. I grew up in Detroit :) Techno came from Detroit with Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson. The Transmat label is a good place to look. Many of our artists took off to places like Berlin. It's cousin, House Music and it's evil cousin Acid House came from Chicago. House and Acid were the basis of the UK Rave scene. House and Techno were parallel developments. Both influenced by groups like Kraftwerk and the Italo Disco sound. Love your work and the touches of Electronica sprinkled in :)
I noticed on an episode you had Nav Katze "Never mind the distortion." which i have and love but have never met anyone else with it. Here's some electronica/IDM recommendations: Mr Projectile "Pug Times" on toytronic records, Various-"Documenta" on Agenda records, Brothomstates "Qtio" on warp. Peace
One thing that I love about your video reviews is how you know exactly what services are and are not supported on each platform. I think a super helpful-cool thing to have on your website would be a Future-Fi section with a three tier system for each streaming service. Lets say a Budget-fi, Mid-fi and Sky-fi option that is optimal for the particular streaming service. Perhaps something that you update only when you release a Future-Fi system video. Put in some lovely referral links to help support the channel and I think it would make for a great one stop shop when looking for that perfect system depending on the ecosystem one prefers. Thanks John!
I'll back you up on this one! Would be nice to have some pre-picked Hi-Fi systems that Darko has put together and show budget tiers, kinda like how someone may use the PCPartPicker website. I think RU-vidr JoeNTell's website does something similar to what you're describing also, albeit with less detail.
Great video, John, like always. 😊 Honestly, I don't really understand why someone with the requirements you mention wouldn't choose some active all-in-one speakers. I have the KEF LS50 Wireless 2 and they are white, roon ready, have an HDMI input, spotify, tidal,..., have a great look and sound amazing. They even have their own remote control. And if you add a subwoofer, there is nothing more you need for high-end sound (yes, I know, you can spend way more and therefore get more, but then you are in a different scope). So why an amp and passive speakers when you can get all you want and more from active speakers? Then there is not even an amp "disturbing" the optics of your room... 😉
I have found that if speakers (like sound bars) are not as good at producing music, it impacts the clarity of dialogue in scenes with louder background music. I didn't understand why my sister always watches with subtitles on until I heard dialogue + music at the same time on her system. Dialogue by itself was fine, but with music swelling up, you just lost all clarity in the dialogue.
White Q150 on white 10” subs with a 1 foot homemade white and chrome stand between. QC250 Center and HTS 3001se as back channels. WAF was on point, especially after loading the first BR :D
Now I have an issue after watching this video!!!! I ordered a SMSL AO300 Home DAC Amp. It has specs that state it has an Output Power: stereophonic 165W*2(4Ω) / 85W*2(8Ω). It is not the Bluesound Power Node that you use. After the video I really like the Q150s and will check the 350s. But I am now wondering if the SMSL amplifier can drive the KEF Q150 or 350's properly???? If anyone has some idea if this would be enough to drive them sufficiently please let me know. It is a medium sized room The sexy KEF speakers look fantastic!! I am so confused now!!! 😳😳😳
I personally prefer my q350s to my LS50metas. They just sound bigger and more palpable. The LS50s are great for high resolution reproduction but I find my self enjoying the sound signature of the Q series for all music types. They are simply more fun to listen to.
I have opted for the kef LS50 wireless II, of course in white 😉 It is such a treat for my living room system with the TV. granted it is not 1500€, I paid 2200€ for those, that is the street price...
Partially retired techno clubber here I also had a budget of around £1500 for my first proper hifi set up. I went for Powernode Edge, Acoustic Energy AE100 speakers and a REL Subwoofer. I just stuck on the 'No Photos on the dancefloor' compilation, cranked to 75% and closed my eyes, almost felt like i was in Berghain! Thanks for the tip!
Haha Love your rant John. Also not a fan of sound bars. Those KEFs are very sexy all in white. I had a pair of the R100s in black a couple of years ago, paired with a Naim UnitiQute it was a lovely sound and also about £1500 all in back then.
I love that you drop in your music preferences in your reviews. As a Texan/Hifi hobbyist, it's usually someone I've never heard of, and I'll go check them out. Thank you for these videos!
Kef Q350 are my favourite speakers, above JBLs 530, 580, DCM Timeframe.. I own them all and Kefs are so linear but pleasing. Paired with 100w p c solid state Sony ES separates, and Willsenton R8 is pure magic.
Good video .. I wish people listen to this and get out of sound bars :) … Hey Martin Logan Motion 15i falls in same price range and sounds better than even KEF LS50 meta .. can you make one video about Martin Logan motion 15i .. I feel it’s most underrated speaker..I paired my Ml 15i with Sonos Amp it’s my first HiFi system and it sounds amazing
Thanks for the video. I see that KEF UK are offering £150 off these speakers today. I've already got different KEF speakers so I'm already happy with what I've got.
I’d love to know how you can hear all these differences, mid treble low treble, highs etc cos I really can’t hear the differences that accurately. Thus I’ll never be an audiophile 😀
Dear John, i think cool thing that not many people talk about is HDMI arc extractor. I bought one for around 40 EUR on Amazon, thanks to that i can control volume form tv remote. Rest of components was also not expensive. Elac ub52 on sale was 299 eur, SMSL A300 161 Euro, Wiim mini 99 EUR. It's not all in one but that all-black set will fit kallax easily and over deliver for the budget.
I'm in this camp. Q300's + Andrew Jones sub on a Sonos AMP. Another AMP drives Boston patio speakers, and we've got Sonos BEAM2 and MOVEs all over the house. Any song, anywhere. I love it. Sure, I get tempted by a refurbished set of LS50's or R3's but then my better angels kick in. Well done - play some CAN
I had the Q150 in for demo. Bought them online from a nearby store. Luckily, it was no problem to return them, as for me they sounded too "cold". I bought the Q Acoustics Concept 20 instead :)
I had the same thought. In a previous video John had the 3030i paired with the power node, surprised he didn’t mention this, but maybe it was too long ago to make the comparison.
