Glad to see you brought back the notebook. Keep being you,that's what drew me in. People don't understand that humor is part of your presentation. As for price mark ups,the auto industry is king!
sort of agree. bought a 1 ft x 8 ft sheet of real oak veneer $ 52. , linoleum knife . $8. and press roller $22. and took my timing flattening the veneer and then cutting rough size ( 1 /2 in oversize)then final trim & 3 coats miniwax poly. look real good to me, first time try. I'd say B+ . > only question, how long will the pre glued veneer stick to the stock vinyl .??? good review. I've had mine a year, Cambridge 100w receiver.
I picked these up when the sale rolled back around and compared them with my Klipsch R51M and RP600M. Its a beautiful speaker, but I didn’t feel like the KEF could compete with either sound-wise.
I know it's not my review you're after, but I'll be keeping the UB52's over the Q350's no doubt. The Q350s are great and I'm sure will appeal to some: deeper and more impactful bass, still crisp highs, but the overall sound is warmer and in the mid just feels muddier compared to the UB52's. I've got them hooked up to A and B outputs of my Cambridge AXR85 and am switching back and forth mid-song streaming from Amazon Music HD. The UB52's wipe the floor with the 350's in mids, in hearing each instrument clearly, 3d soundstage, and in filling the room vs. sound just coming from speakers.
Hey chief! Thanks for the review. I am wondering how you would describe the R3's. I know it's out of your price range but those are "The Speakers", and I would happily lend them to you if you lived nearby :)
I've had the opportunity to audition a number of KEF's for my nearfield desktop setup. I settled on the LS50s but I can understand why they don't suit everyone. The q150's were a very close second, followed by the LSX and lastly q350. The LSX was just too much $ for too little; including the finicky app interface. Nearfield--the q350 too forward, and difficult to get a consistent phantom center and integration (speaker localization was an issue for me). [Again!! This is all nearfield at a desk!! I have no doubt the q350's would out perform the q150's in a larger room. Perhaps even the ls50's] It took me a while to get the most out of the ls50's.. But this is what I learned: - Proper positioning took me from meh to holy sht. - Subwoofer is mandatory. No seriously, you need one. Without one and its as if you're listening to audio from your TV speakers. Okay, it isn't that bad--but the lack of their inherent bass will probably surprise you, and in a bad way. Alone they will feel anemic for the majority of people, me included. - Having the sub. is mandatory. But having it properly integrated is equally important.. cuz guess what, you're probably going to have to cross your sub closer to that 90-100 hz for the ls50's. It isn't so much about the raw SPL, but also the tonality of your bass, if you've ever experienced that sort of difference. That's what made it difficult, but sort of the final piece.. And once i achieved it-- ooooof, damn was it worth the trouble. It truly balanced them out and allowed me to get lost in the tracks. There's clarity and dynamics.. and man, the depth.. That stage is well behind my monitor and back wall. q150's, put them on your table, use a sub or don't. Hook it up via avr or whatever. Stream music from youtube, they dont care. Try that with the ls50's and lol...
I’ve found the LS50’s too forward as well - the 350’s even more forward to the point of being unlistenable in a nanosecond - I was hoping that I could find consensus with the rest of the “reviewer world” that rates them highly, but that’s not the case - taking someone else’s advice on sound is a bit like getting someone else’s advice on a potential girlfriend 😀
"proper positioning took me from meh to holy sh*t" love it. Totally agree, with correct positioning/volume set up, Kef q are the best speakers in the world. 150 for desk to/small room. Q350 for every thing else!
Couldn't agree more with the replies. Still rocking the og ls50 nearfield, using a kube 10b sub. Been contemplating about trying q350 again in my new home with a larger living room (to compete against emotiva floorstanders) albeit for HT setup. Got me pondering about KEF floorstands too. A/B Tested the kube sub against a couple of rel models and surprisingly the kube sounded better integrated to me (music). I would no way pay MSRP for either the ls50/kube but if you can find the kube for
Just seen this comment and I just bought the LS50 Meta for my desktop setup too which was an upgrade from my old KEF Q300. I ended up returning the LS50 Meta because the sound is so similar but the Q300 has better bass and mid-range body through my NAD amp. I just cannot hear £600 in increased sound quality vs the Q300s at RRP. The lack of bass is sorted with a sub on the LS50 series for sure, but I don't want a sub, the Q300s have such deep and detailed bass that you'd think there was a sub, for example. I find them that good and superb for cinematic media like the bank scene in Dark Knight, you feel the bass score in your chest as it kicks around that section of the movie. I have them stand mounted for reference and positioning is perfect: i.imgur.com/01iTAHE.jpg
I went to buy Q150s used for 200 and bought them. Not until a week later I realized the dude miss posted the 350s as 150s. Now I have the 350s as my desktop monitors all the while I thought they were 150s lol.
Although I enjoyed hearing your impressions, I feel like you wasted my time due to the fact that you made no mention of the LS50's that I am close to buying. Why did you put it in the title?
Mr cheap audio man, like your chilled vibe, thank you for you. These speakers are the droid you are looking for. - The Kef q350 are like nothing I have heard before, after being an audiophile for 40 years plus I've never heard anything like it. Anyone who has the opportunity to demo a pair (or is lucky enough to own a pair) - just play 10cc " I'm not in love" at a high volume and I promise you, you will discover another dimension you didn't know existed. -
Thank you for making so many quality reviews to help us along our journey towards choosing and discovering new speakers. - I got these on sale recently, they are my first major speaker investment purchased along a new turntable. I will continue to use either my old Marantz 2015 or 2252B receivers. Thank-you
I have the Kef Q350s and they are very good indeed. I am pairing with my Powernode integrated streaming amp. In addition, after several months of use these get even better now that they're broken in. I got the faux walnut vinyl version and they look great.
@@Birmingham_racing you're not going to get quite the same level of sound out of the Q350s as the much larger q950s, but you already know that. I've since added a REL T5x sub to my set up to compliment the lower end of the q350s. They have a good amount of bass response for their size, but the single REL brings a whole new world of bass to the system.
Randy have you ever reviewed some of the speakers from the Canadian companies such as PSB and Paradigm? They have speakers in the price range you are discussing and I really like their stuff. May be interesting to see in some of your comparison videos. Thanks for all the great work that you are doing!
Spot on good review, one of the best so far I think. Good lighting and sound too. You've been improving all around. 👍 Just keep being you and have fun. "Cheers mate" 🥴, from SW Virginia.
An update to my comments concerning the KEF Q350s. I just received them from as noted in my earlier comment. I am playing them now.... They attached in parallel on the same side of the room to Elac Debut Reference speakers... Wow do they Play "nice" together ... Clear, great mids , spatiality, and good , sharp (not Boomy) Bass delivery. Yes, I have a 60 Watt small 10" SW(great buy at Amazon- Monoprice 60 Watt SW - amplified with Auto On ). I'm Really Liking this ...
Thank You for all your reviews. I just bought these used today from Amazon @ 504...I also purchase the sony's sscs5 you talk about. Great speakers for the money! Keep up ALL your Great Work!!!
I've just bought a pair to run on a small streaming system (NAD 3020 V2 - Bluesound Node X) in my back room to replace some older B&W DM 600 S3s. Early days but the one thing I've noticed is I don't need bass boost turned on on the NAD. Greetings from the UK
Hi, I am getting a used yamaha rn803. Along with this there is a used kef q350 pair for $590. On the other hand new QA 3030i pair costs $500 where I live. Can you recommend which speaker will be better for my situation. Thanks in advance.
I wish they had magnetic covers. I just get nervous with open speakers for damage. The internet is full of KEF 350 for sale with pushed through drivers. OEM replacement $230 which is more than entire value of a used single-speaker.
Would you review any of the Sonus Faber if you havent, I, for one, am very curios to hear your thoughts, I really liked what I heard one time in one of the showrooms (it was a bookshelf)
What if you stack a set of q150's on top of the q350's? Using A and B speaker leads? I mean on different speaker stands of course. One above the other. GH
Btw, I have a pair of Kefs 104/2 towers in my LR. Purchased in 1987 together with a NAD 1300 Preamp and a NAD 2600 AMP connected to the Kefs. They have played for 35 Years without issue and still sound amazing no SW.
Randy, you seem to really like these, however, you have your No. 1 award to the SVSs in a prvious Speaker Shootout? At this realtive price point of $600 to $700, are you still recommending the SVSs as overall No. 1 pick? . One thing that i would want to point out about the Kefs. According to info , the Kefs can be placed on their side , and Kef provides specific " bumpers" for that reason. I saw that regarding the Q150s, and I presume that is the same for these? I may need to place them on their side on a actural Bookshelf .
Also...talk more about use cases....speakers can e good for one thing and bad for another and that matters,.....small rooms, large rooms, flat ceiling, vaulted ceiling, clarity at low volume, tolerance and low distortion at high volumle, etc.
Great review. Have you done a review on the Q150? Also, I’m pretty much a cheap ass. What cheap integrated amp, receiver, or power amp is cheap and still gives great performance. I do want KEF speakers though. Price limit, $1000 max for complete set-up. Is this possible?
They prob have done the research and marking products at full price is more profitable: some buy at full price and they make more margin, and some buy on sale bc they are “getting a deal”. But dishonesty sucks. But they probably know that and ignore it. It’s like marking things for 4.99. We all know it’s 5 dollars. So why do they do it? Because it works, statistically.
Someone asked me why I bought the silky smooth looking, black Kef Q350 speakers. It was this man, and this man alone, that sold me onto the Kef 🤗🙏🏠 when he used the word buttery to describe the sound, I was instantly all in 😍🙏🏠
Hey there, looking for the shootout between the Klipsch RP600M and these puppies. Also would be interested in how you would feel about these vs the Wharfedale Diamond 12.2 Trying to find a speaker for my older Uncle, he likes a warmer and fuller sound. What do you think???
@@cheapaudioman could you take the conversation further and talk about the crazy margins some companies have. I think some of them have higher markups than Apple
Never had Wagyu beef but I'm sure it's overrated just like $100 peaches or $40 for a single strawberry. And yeah, Kef play with their prices all the time but not nearly as bad as Klipsch. I once heard that speakers are by far the biggest profit centers in audio.
Hey randy, if you could can u compare it with the q300 s, i know these are better but wanna know how much. If any one have heard it in person, reply is much apreciated
Poor Mama Josie.😱😢 The pricing system is crazy but makes people feel like they are getting a deal. Even worse when you go to a going out of business sale where the 70% off is still higher than the regular price. 😡
Hey Randy, how's it going? One of these days try Paul Simon's "Graceland" album for checking audio gear quality. It's got great songs, great musicians and the sound quality is to die for. Good old 80's analog recording magic.
I'd be very interested to see a head to head with the Model 2b Fibhorn Speakers. They are 600 + shipping, 42-20,000hz, 88db and roughly the same size. So very comparable in that regard. Because one is coaxial and the other single point source, I'm guessing the response curve will be a bit different though.
I know there is a lot of competition and a lot of Speakers in the 500-1k $/Eur price range. I heard the LS50 (Active & Passive - great speaker) but even this are not as good (for my taste) as my Abacus C-Box 4 Monitors wich i prefer. For 890,- you get a closed, active Speaker with an great neutral, powerful Soundstage (maybe a speaker for you to review?!). As a Coaxial Owner (KSdigital c88) i prefer normal 2 or 3 way concepts - Solid informative review 👍
was so curious about your opinion on Q350. got these at an incredible sale, around 250 and i love them. idk what some people require in terms of bass, but these offer great bass also. kind of sensitive about positioning, but great sound whatsoever. thanks for the fun delivery!
Randy, fantastic review, and great to see you so excited! you obviously really like these ones! wow!! any thoughts compared to Elac DBR62 you also like so much...? I guess my question is: which speakers give your more "insight" into the music and more enjoyment? (they have very very similar price)
great question. I'd say the kefs are more neutral and the elacs more buttery. I could live and be happy with both for sure. which one you get would be the type of flavor you like. and I will be living with both because I bought them and have no intention of selling. i think down the line a bit there will be a saturday speaker shootout between the two
@@cheapaudioman you bought them both! coooooool!! hope one day, after you have lived with both pairs enough time...you do that shootout...it will be fascinating! thanks again!
I've started to look forward to the intros to your videos every day. You should do a compilation someday. Thanks for gearing the channel towards quality audio that is affordable. Last night saw one of your early videos about how you got started in audio and the importance of music in our lives. I couldn't agree more. Well, my coffee is ready so I'll sign off. Thanks for what you're doing.
thanks, Kevin. That means a lot. I've been struggling with the comments lately. Not ones like yours but as the channel has grown there are more and more critical comments and despite my reasonable nature it still hurts a bit. Comments like yours reinforce and reinvigorate me. I needed it. Thanks, brother
After i picked them up in Nov 2021 and have listened to them with all kinds of music, these are the end game for me, yes R3's are tempting, but then I would need to upgrade the rest of my stuff and in my little apartment these are to die for, definitely a break in period, about 6 months for the q 150, and these have just come alive at around 11 months, so, note to the wise, don't pre judge them, they are Really good!
got a chance to hear these in a store and they are fantastic! If I hadn't found a steal of a price on some wharfedale denton's I honestly would have gone with these more than likely.
Love you RU-vid channel and I am slowly but surly getting sucked in to the 2 channel audio bug!! Just want to let you know that you have helped me to get my best speaker upgrade I could wish for! I just bought a set of KEF Q350 for $455 on sale here in Denmark 💪🏻👍🏻 Based on your reviews on this speaker I now own a pair and I think they are hard to beat for $455 🙌🏻👏🏻 So thx man, for the great work you present us low budget audiophiles with! Keep up the good work! 💪🏻👍🏻
I find the specs interesting on the modern Kef UniQ's. I have a pair of Q15.2s from 2001 which are the Q150 and 350's antecedents and have a 61/2" bass/mid and a 1" tweeter. They still sound great and are rated at 8 ohm, 91db sensitivity, 50hz to 20K. So go lower, and easier to drive by a wide margin. I wonder why modern Kefs seem to be much more demanding? Still, love to get my hands on a pair of the Q350's. Great review as always.
Dan, I got a pair, and I left my comments in a different post to Randy. They are Great. I play them in unison with a pair of Elac 6.2 Reference (in parallel) on one side of my Basement Sound "studio" created in the COVID Hibernation. One point that is NOT mentioned by Randy and in other reviews, is an important fact: These can be Placed on their sides w/o any effect to their Clarity and Sound separation..Many Bookshelf speakers advise against that, the KEFs do not . I really Enjoy these speakers and they "play" so nice together (with the Elacs). Connected to my Denon DRA-800H Receiver.
I am a KEF acolyte lol....Q950s up front, Q150s for surround and whatever the fuck the center and sub were....they image and envelop like nobody's business...and I'm talking about BS like old Phish and Dead bootlegs....they have "respect"" even with tat kind of material///great for versatile system meant to serve both music and HT use because they do the disappearing trick so well if driven correctly
I have a pair of these that I picked up on sale last year after listening to about 10 different speakers at a Best Buy Magnolia store. Their imaging was a huge standout to everything else there, and they were nowhere near the "correct" listening position. I've been very impressed with them in my home office. I'm driving them with the Sonos Amp since I already have so much Sonos and their feature set is so nice.
Thinking of doing exactly this. In our new (upcoming) home we want to go Sonos, because ease of use for everyone. But I have a turntable I want to add into the matrix. Girlfriend wants 'simple' Arc soundbar under the TV and be done with it, not because she likes Atmos or anything, she hates anything surround actually, or so she says (yeah, I know right ?!), she wants a soundbar because it looks super clean. ... Meanwhile there's the aspiring audiophilicus maximus inside me that is looking at the Sonos Amp (instead of the Port) to add the turntable ánd be able to run a pair of decent speakers that can sit on the modern floating TV furniture thing and not look totally out of place. Should I persist in my attempts to persuade my significant other to go for 'ugly' speakers instead of an Arc to enjoy my precious vinyl's or is it not worth the hassle? Please send help.
WINK WINK.....next review should TRASH all speakers. Prices be dammed online. Yall UToob influencers keep price whacking these "deals" Can't get ANY on sale no more. IDK, Covid cleaning fee or something? Please tell US you HATE KEFs.
Check out the frequency graph over at audio science review for this speaker. It stars rolling off on the low end around 100Hz, but hangs in there down to about 45Hz!
Love it! ❤️ In this year the 100th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party #CCP, stoked to know KEF is owned by GP of China #MadeInChina2025 #BeltAndRoad #BeijingOlympics2022 #OccupyMars2024 🇨🇳🇨🇳🇨🇳
I bought these on sale and they sound amazing. Paired with topping d50s and denon pma-600ne plus klipsch R-100SW subwoofer this will be my setup for a long time. I just wish the build quality was better, my unit came with some glue markings and poorly wrapped edges. Its almost as if kef designed the cabnet and driver then sent to some cheap shop to wrap it. I payed 1/4 the price on a pair of JBL A130s and the overall build quality is better on the JBL
@cheapaudioman Just bought a pair of Q350 for a 70% music 30% movie use. Any suggestion for a good matching AV Receiver? Marantz NR1711 is a good one? Audio lab 6000? What’s your top suggestions? Thanks for taking time to answer and continu the great work, I really like what’s you’re doing! 👍👍
