If you are thinking of purchasing any of these speakers please consider using my affiliate link below: KEF R3 Meta: howl.me/ck5H5EixFcY MoFi SourcePoint 8: howl.me/cleSP9AdFom Wharfedale Linton Heritage: howl.me/ckfhw91LaKD Wharfedale AURA 2: howl.me/clkjcDr4yun Using these links earns me a small commission at no additional cost to you which helps me to keep doing what I'm doing. It is GREATLY appreciated.
Erin, I'm old enough and unscared enough to say this, and I certainly have been in your position on the pro audio side. Your reviews are absolutely great. You are completely honest, and you have a rare great ear. The longer you do this the more you are going to be tempted. Everything you want will just sort of "come your way" (conventions are dangerous) Stay on the path. Honesty itself is having a resurgence, you will surf that wave. Stay on the path.
I know what you mean. The data will always be my “accountability” tool and integrity cannot be regained once lost. I do everything I can to remain transparent … sometimes to a fault. 😂😂
@@ErinsAudioCorner Hi Erin. Great explanations and alerts for future buyers, listeners of the spekers. But in the subjective category I do miss some reflection thoughts - words about the natural sound of voices and instruments. Many speakers are let's say good these days, but when I listen to some, even when measured good, it is not necessary that they have a natural tone, timbre presentation of voices and instruments. For me HI-FI is high fidelity to the natural sound of voices and instruments and it's presentation. Best regards, Maj
the more in-depth subjective takes would be in the individual reviews. I try to keep this one as manageably long as I could so something naturally get left out. That said, the differences I noted are the main areas that matter. Mid range, and all of these is pretty much on par. It’s generally the upper mid range (>1k) and high frequency that are the main differences.
@@majtextwriter1794 It just that the set of measure and parameters review of these speakers ar not complete, just an response curve of the speaker won't tell you all, about these but this can say many things
Man your quote is gold: "We get stuck into this trick of thinking that the measurements don't tell the whole story; generally it's because you don't have all the measurements. So I'm going to try and provide you with enough measurements to tell a better story." Pure gold.
This comparison video is the new gold standard. Explaining every graph and translating it to real world experience; and overlaying these data points is phenomenal work.
One of the big factors for me is the physical size of the speakers. The Kef R3 Metas are significantly smaller than the Wharfedles, and somewhat smaller than the MoFis, so that’s what I bought. I love them dearly, and they work perfectly in my medium-sized room. Thanks Erin!
I think, This is why many listner have bad speaker, the very best are big and start whith high performance 15" driver to cover 30hz-300hz crossover, an active crossover You can have it at price that stay not so high I will buy none of those speaker presented, even in small room
Great video. One that shows off that once you get good systems without glaring issues. The “best” speaker is one that works best for your environment and your listening preferences. I think your advice on those fronts was clear and concise.
I just watched this video again and really paid more attention to the hard work you’ve done and it’s much, much appreciated. I purchased the Wharfedale linton about a year and a half ago. I have several speakers like the gallo 3.1, monitor audio rs6 small towers. Qacoucstic towers,legacy signature 2 , and a few more but I always seem to comeback to the lintons. Using Parasound a21 or McIntosh mc 2100 they maintain a sound that can be addictive. So thanks for explaining what I maybe hearing.
Those frequency dispersion / radiation charts are simply amazing, thank you for this great work. I love the sound of the Sourcepoint 8 and 10, and now you've made me want to hear the (cheaper) Lintons!
Fantastic review. Those coaxials bring something to the table, that's for sure. I'd like to see more coaxial designs, especially 3 way with higher SPL capabilities.
This was a great video. I like audio but I can’t really read any charts so this was very informative. Thank you! I am a proud Linton owner and while I like them a lot, it’s nice to know experts think highly of them too.
Thanks for the video and analysis. Engineering a speaker involves all kinds of trade-offs and you have done an excellent job explaining the trade-offs that were made for each speaker. I own the KEF R3 Meta and the imaging is spectacular. I experimented with toe-in until I got the imaging I wanted. Paired with a good sub, they are so much fun to listen to. With some types of material (particularly older, unremastered CDs), they can sound a bit "dull" (due to the response in the 1-3kHz region), but a bit of judiciously applied EQ goes a long way in addressing that. I also own the BMR Monitors. Their RAAL tweeters make for a much different experience, with lots of detail, no need for toe-in, and exceptional off-axis response, likely similar to the Aura II.
Just an absolutely perfect review of these 3 speakers. You have missed nothing. Hey honest side of the speaker industry! : Take note of this man!!! Here is a first rate consultant.
I'm really impressed by these 4 speakers, any one of them should be a great candidate to try. Being a KEF fan I'm really shocked how well it did in the compression and distortion measurements considering its cabinet is so much smaller volume wise. Now, nobody said there was a limit to the size of a "bookshelf" type speaker so I would be really keen to see manufactures of coaxial speakers design something with higher output capabilities and bass response like that of the two Wharfedale's. Awesome work on this comparison, I really appreciate all that work and having this resource available is great for all of us!
Congratulations! Not only for the video comparison but mainly by how you teach and explain the impacts of the measurements results with the “real world experience” we should experience. What a lesson 👏
Looking forward to this comparison. I really don't know what to expect. On the theme of subverting expectations, I recently got to demo the KEF Reference 1 Meta vs KEF R11 Meta in a listening room and was surprised that I preferred the smaller bookshelf to the larger tower -- yes I understand that the Reference line is more expensive than the R line, but I figured the sheer size difference would lead me to prefer the tower due to better bass response.
Nah. Reference all the way. Those bookshelves are the two that I’d consider in passive speakers in this day and age. Other one being Dynaudio Confidence.
This is what I called devotion! You always wowed me. Thank you Erin for putting your unbelievable level of dedication to your work. Lots of love from the Big Apple👍🏼🙏🏼
Wow, great analysis! Personally I have both Lintons and Buchardt A10. Very different speakers. A10 more accurate, more extension on low (25hz) and hi frequency... But the Lintons have something that I don't think the data can show... it sounds more "paper" like. Rich mid tone that have nothing to do with low freq boost. For orchestra's strings it is fabulous. Solo violin never sound lean and aggressive. But the A10 are definitely better in other styles....
Kefs are rly growing on me, but i can't seem to pick an amp but that will happen one day. Thanks for everything Erin, you're the sole objective influencer in the audio space, giga kudos for that!! They way you elaborate on and explain relationships between measurements and real wolrd qualities is soo important, basically the only thing that is actually helpfull in a speaker review 😂👍👍👍👍👍
I ended up with a hegel h190v after trying over 12 amps. It’s a bit spendy but the h120 was pretty good too and you can find open boxes for less than retails. The eversolo dmp-a8 sounds really good with kef if you can find an amp to go with it using the eversolo as a preamp and dac.
Great comparison. About the comment at 14:20, in my experience a small dip at 3kHz helps with most modern recordings, as they wouldn't sound as sharp or harsh.
Yeah. I think I might even need a grater dip. I have emit 20 and they sound somewhat veiled but and the same time so airy, clear and non fatiguing. But certainly some things are missing when listening to them
Erin, this was an absolute slam dunk of a video. You managed to cover four speakers, tons of information in an extremely approachable way, and again very educational for anyone delving into the subject matter and trying to understand the measurements and better find a speaker suited to their taste. I'm not 100% sold on the measurements are the be all and all, but equating your measurements to what you heard and trying to bridge the gap between them and explanation was a very great help. An audience very focused on measurements seems to be the hardest to keep happy, and maybe the most critical when it comes to reviews, but I feel that you are literally putting your best foot forward and as far as reviewers go doing an impeccable job. Don't know if there's anybody else who really covers the detail of information in such an approachable way which is your gift. Honestly you did an amazing job here, tons of information, very approachable and just enjoyed it.
I am totally here for good off axis performance. My pair of Celestion Ditton 551 don’t exactly offer what you’d call a holographic image, but standing in my kitchen doing dishes, I can still really enjoy them. They’re truly boundary defining. They aren’t perfect, but they’re perfect for me. Cheers for a great review.
I tried to give you 10 thumbs up, but ended up with one, unfortunately 😄 I found this a really helpfull insight in speaker capabilities and why a certain speaker doesn't always make sense. The comparison part is great!
Absolutely superb and useful review, Erin, that brings some really fabulous speakers together for a truly meaningful comparison, complete with solid correlative data. Kudos! 😊👍
Excellent and concise review. I've been an audiophile for 55 years. Your point on what a person might prefer, specs not withstanding, is well taken. I'm leaning towards the Linton's because they're very forgiving on poor recordings and their sound is less fatiguing over the long listening hours. However, that being said, I've found that in the end of of all measurements the sound to the listener is subjective to his choice of audio preferences and types of music he listens to. The speaker to me is one of the most important chains in the audio system. I understand and appreciate your measurements because I was certified in electronics and appreciate your scientific approach. Thank you for your concise and accurate analysis.
Man, where have you been? What a great job and what an interesting tool you have. This is a great comparison with explanations, really helps. Great work.
Incredible content. I’m learning so much from your reviews. You’re able to really help me understand some of these measurements that I haven’t really understood too much before. The problem is, I need you to review ALL the speakers 🤣… I don’t trust what I’d be buying if I can’t see data for it and had you interpret it. I’ve had the Lintons the longest I’ve ever had a speaker. It’s good to see that the data shows them to be a good speaker. Keep up the great work!
Excellent job on the comparison, especially the strengths and weaknesses of each design! Bad news for me: now I'm _really_ interested in hearing the MoFi SP 8s.* 😟 * ...because _of course_ they're the most expensive pair, lol!
What an excellent comparison review! Many thanks for your effort. It makes you appreciate the possibilities of the Mofi. I hope, one day, you get to compare a similar set of larger speakers. Eg sourcept 10 vs Dovedale vs etc.
Just to repeat some comments. I've learnt so much in this one video abouy how to read these data and how will that manifest in the real world. Excellent video!
Erin, I strongly agree with you the importance of sound radiation. I love how much I’ve learned from Toole’s book on directivity but sound radiation (assuming excellent directivity) causes such a big differences in speakers and I don’t really see it correlated that much or emphasized that much in other’s measurements.
you way of explaining and relating in real terms is evolving nicely. it makes it easier to understand the graphs hopfully saving someone a bad purchase.
Gran trabajo amigo, se nota tu profesionalidad en temas de audio. Como se que los qué mas te gustan son los Aura 2, me los voy a comprar para remplazar mis evo 4.3 😅. Whaferdale esta trabajando muy bien desde la serie evo. Un saludo desde España.
Nice! A lot note though, scales are easy to fool one so try to use 50dB as the standard for graphs. Some use 30dB to better show differences but 50 seems to be the more common one. 60 is making most good speakers' response look very similar :)
I really like this comparison video! It helped crystalize some the considerations when choosing candidate speakers based on the data-in my brain at least. I hope to see more of these comparisons from time to time!
hi Erin.. it seems like the Lintons are going to sound a little better up top to a younger person, and the Aura 2's are going to sound better to an older person .. I think the main reason is because that peak happens around the frequency area where most older peoples hearing is already dropping off, so people that are typically in their 60s or 70s maybe even their 50s are going to tolerate that hump aurally much better than a young person with 20kHz hearing ability. I remember the days long ago when I could hear the 15.75 kHz oscillator from the old TV sets very well, which used to drive me insane.. that's why I didn't watch TV much as a kid lol 👍this channel rocks🥁
I'm 59 and can't stand raised treble. I do wonder if Peter Comeau's hearing is still up to the task though ... He once mentioned that, for the listening tests, he gets help from a young musician ... Not sure if that is still the case today.
@@cremersalex well there's two issues, right; hearing ability, and personal preferences.. it's really hard to separate the two, every individuals is different! I was merely speculating in a very generalized way, which I thought should have been obvious.
You said it - It's IMPERATIVE that you buy several speakers you're interested in, and test them, in your house, at the same time. That's the ONLY WAY TO KNOW that you have actually picked the best speaker. And possibly NONE of them will sound good... And that's what return warranties are for. So, a $2,000 speaker upgrade could cost $15,000, by buying 5 speakers to test. You will return 4 of them, and get $11,000 back. You lost some money from shipping, a restocking fees, but this is simply the cost that's necessary to pay to demo all 5 speakers at once. You gotta PAY to PLAY!
Great work as always Erin. I have a question around using Audyssey with speakers close to a wall. Can the DSP fix any boominess from having the waal gain in the bass? I can't find the answer to this elsewhere, and yoyr opinion would be greatly valued.
I have a suggestion for one more set of graphs: actual in-room response in your listening room. It won’t be as even as the estimated in-room response, of course, but since it will affect speakers differently, it would be another useful datapoint to compare your subjective impressions to.
@@ErinsAudioCorner Yes, that’s where we would expect to see the biggest differences, and not necessarily differences which would be consistent among different speakers (though some trends are likely to be).
Come to think of it, the Denton 85th Anniversary (I bought them for my small room because I liked the Lintons so much) has an oddly similar bump in the treble as the Aura 2, making certain tracks that have bright hi-hats and cymbals or remastered albums that have extra treble almost impossible to listen to (for me at least). And sadly, no amount toe-in or toe-out can change that. Speaker designers don't seem to understand that when a track or instrument has been EQ-d around 11-12 kHz (to make it sound extra crisp) then a speaker with a raised treble of 4 or 5 dB around 11-12 kHz will make that track or instrument sound overly crisp.
Seems very much like Erins findings when listening. Btw, I've seen some relatively easy tweaks for the Denton, via a resistor, to tame the tweeter somewhat. I believe the Denton 80 was more linear, but criticized for being rolled off, lol.
@@34332 Actually, I installed the resistor tweak and it's fine now. 2 Ohm 10 Watt seems to do the trick. I do wonder how well they measure with that tweak.
@@cremersalex I've found some limited measurements on AVR and Joe'n Tell. You can def. see a rise in the top-end. They also did mention critical positioning but I'm sure, as you stated, you trialed and error'd ;) Would be nice if Erin got his hands on them one day.
Incredible review Erin! You answered a lot of my questions regarding these speakers. Just one more, if I am using a subwoofer, how does that affect your subjective opinion of the speakers? Don’t know if you can answer that if you didn’t test using a subwoofer but I had to ask. Thanks
ya there's like 20 major Speaker fabricators in the US then there's europe & Asia. One can buy a speaker for $50 or $50,000. Only one way to find out: Set Your Budget; Visit a Sales/Sound Room; Bring a Recording/Concert you really know -- Play it through the Speakers in your range ---BUIY THE ONES YOU LIKE THE MOST..... Keeping in mind your Amp-Driver, Room Size & Acoustics.
Really like your reviewing style of analyzing and relating listening to the measurements. However some nutty audiophiles that just want to know what sounds the most realistic in the sweetest spot. You’ve got the sweet spots covered. I can accept compromised sound while doing the dishes but really like hearing Ella and Louis, and others, magically sonically appear in front of me. Speaker comparisons in this circumstance would be appreciated.
A dispersion graph shows how much a speaker is similar to a point source. Aura is terrible in this. KEF is very good. 60 vs 50 degrees has less impact than a FR graph similarity from different angles. MoFi also has small differences, but way better than WFD
"Speaker design is tradeoffs, Highness. Anyone who says differently is in marketing." - The Man in Black, from The Princess Bride... paraphrased just a wee bit.
I currently own the Lintons and I really love them. Do you think it's worth to consider an upgrade to the Mofi's? My girlfriend hates the Lintons formfactor. LOL
All a out synergy. Ive gone from a 12k floor stander to the kef r3 meta. Way better in every respect. So size and expensive are not always the key. And for the record. Floor standers work very well in my space.
I prefer your combination of objective measurement and subjective taste in your reviews. I get tired of the reviewers that are all talk and who sound like wine experts with all of their vocabulary that attempts to desribe in words what they hear. Keep up the great job!
I'd place my bets on his latest project - the SourcePoint 8. I'd even boldly say that I'd be over 95% certain on that from about 200 Hz on up! Fun comparison, for sure. 👍
@@robinkleinsteuber5217 Oh for sure! I am certainly not suggesting a $1000 pair is likely to outperform a $3000 pair from the same designer. Rather, I'm fascinated by some of the broader ideas: what did the $3000 price point unlock? What philosophies and institutional experiences of ELAC might have shaped the UBR62s, and how do those compare to MoFi's philosophies and institutional experiences? For example: a lot of ELAC's speakers are front ported. The SourcePoints are rear ported. Did one work out better than the other? They obviously should be positioned in different places in the room -- does their likely positioning correlate to the target audience? A number of people were surprised at the midwoofer in general on the UBR62s, both its angle and its crossover point(s). Did the SourcePoint 8 successfully negate the want/need for a 3-way design? Were the UBR62s an underwhelming 3-way design experiment, resulting in the SoucePoints being 2-way? Or was the 3-way design of the UBR62s an unwanted compromise, sharing common ground with the DBR62s instead of becoming an ELAC SourcePoint 6 of sorts? And so forth. Obviously comparing measurements doesn't answer all of these questions, but it would be fascinating to figure out what deliberate areas of improvement the SourcePoint 8s have over the UBR62s. That would provide some insight as to what compromises of the UBR62s are unintentional, and what ones are stylistic (and might provide insight into the MoFi 8s as well).
I love these reviews, great job. It's great to see nuance, tradeoffs and data. Im learning to build/design speakers and these videos are helping alot to understand the positives and negatives of different desings. One of the things that I noticed makes or breaks a speaker for me is spectral decay, id love to se that adressed (even if briefly) in your reviews. Cheers
Thanks so much for this video. I was really hessitating between the Kef r3 and WD speakers. I have a question about the near-the-wall placement for any speakers in general. Can we position the speakers closer to the wall if we use a sub, covering the lower frequencies, if the boomines is coming from them? Thanks! Also - are you testing the metas here or the regular r3?
You’d implement crossover so the speakers wouldn’t be playing below 80hz for example For best results you’d look at in room measurements with something like umik1
Another good way for people to determine kinda what they might like is play with an EQ to see what effect it has on the sound. That way you will be able to tell what Erin and others say when they say for example “ 1-3khz” a bit recessed sounds a bit further away and softer. Great video Erin!
I decided a while back concentric designs is the direction I want to go for my next speaker purchase. Fyne & Tannoy (SMG) are on my list as well. Great comparison and I’ve subscribed.
I think the Tannoy / Fyne Coax Speaker Design isn't as well engineered as Kef's or Genelec's. If you compare Tannoy/Fyne and Kef side by side, you may describe your results here? :)
Wow, great video, Erin! I love this kind of video. Compare several speakers objectively and then correlate the objective data to the subjective data. Keep up the good work!!
The bottom line is…find the speaker that suits your room. Or spend the money on room correction that makes your speaker sound great (often more expensive than the speaker itself). Your room has more to do with what you hear than any amp or speaker.
Nah. The room has less effect the higher in frequency you go. Above about 500Hz the speaker itself is the more dominant factor. This is typical (not for edge cases) of home systems. Below this, the room is more and more dominant.
Hello, Erin, my name is Chris. For your speaker testing i would recommend Piero piccioni- Peccato Mortale. The separation and sound stage are absolutely amazing. Check it out if you get a chance, You won't regret it. 👍
Great video and I love the data! To be greedy it would be nice to see; unrolled phase response, what amplifier is used and speaker impedance curves with amplitude and phase. I am totally with you on the importance of making the right measurements but the trick is knowing what those are. Low power measurements are seldom done yet what the speaker is doing near noise levels may be important to our ears.
Erin, just stumbled on your channel this morning. I really, really dig your videos, man. Question for you: I've seen maybe 4 or 5 of your videos so far and noticed that you haven't mentioned Bowers & Wilkins speakers. Any particular reason? I ask only because that's where my RU-vid search for new speakers started a few days ago.
@ErinsAudioCorner do you have a video where you speak of the concept of "neutral" sound? I have the typical understanding of neutral sounding speakers but would like a better grasp.
What a great video. All these speakers measure much better than a lot of kilo buck speakers that are reviewed by Stereophile. Of course, if they did this sort of comparison, they would lose half of their advertisers.
Currently running Paradigm Prestige 15b and due to the fact they need subs thus running dual SVS SB1000 Pro. Now according to roommate going too low. Even though through the app I have them set low. Where I am getting at. Which of these four speakers will give me the best low end to the point I do not need or less than necessary subs? Just run a simple two channel system. Personally, I am eyeing the Wharfedale Lintons.
