KEF R3 VS Buchardt S400 VS Triangle Comete _ Best Speaker around $2000?
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
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Gear I Use
Denon 3600H AV-Receiver
Emotiva Basx A-300 amplifier
XTZ EDGE A2-300 amplifier
Chord Cables
Nordost Cables
4S11 Cables
Audioquest Cables
Triangle Comete Here - www.trianglehi...
Tune HiFi for ordering Comete - tunehifi.com/
Buchardt S400 Here - www.buchardtau...
KEF R3 Here - www.amazon.com...
UB5 Mentioned - www.amazon.com...
Even if here in Italy the availability of the Buchardt is not so immediate, I have had the opportunity to compare all three loudspeakers in my audio setup.
The S400 MKII, which at first impact I found somewhat below my expectations in terms of quality and general finish, immediately struck me positively in terms of a correctly extended and developed scene in the three dimensions with the image of instruments and vocalists correctly reproduced with the right sense of air around them. It stands out for a great power handling, but at low and normal listening levels it has the tendency to lose the ability to correctly reproduce the dynamics of the instrumental phrasing, but more than that I noticed the general lack at all listening levels of not excelling in the precious Mid range, which always seems quite backward and recessed.
On the other hand, the KEF R3 loudspeakers unquestionably strike for their great authoritativeness, the correct extension both in the Treble and in the Bass (magnificently fast and articulated) with a Musicality characterised by an impeccable Balance, a refined Detail that returns with extraordinary ability and resolution the Instruments with all the fundamental Tones and the rich harmonic baggage. It is, however, a loudspeaker that in order to express itself at its best and beyond the deceptive 8 Ohm impedance figure, needs amplifiers above suspicion due to its relatively low sensitivity of 87 dB (but which I suspect is even lower) and a minimum impedance that falls well below 4 Ohms. With this loudspeaker, the wrong amplification means running into a sound devoid of pathos and emotion, where only timbral rigour and detached neutrality prevail.
Finally, the TRIANGLE Cométe of which I tried and eventually kept, buying them without the slightest uncertainty😄😄, the 40th Anniversary Limited Edition version, which unexpectedly seduced me and completely enraptured me. Far from the slightly too bright and shiny sound of the first TRIANGLE productions, the Cométe impress with their great naturalness and the incredible realism with which they reproduce voices and acoustic instruments. Unquestionably in the trio of loudspeakers, the TRIANGLE (surely due to the refined Tweeter with horn tuning and the particular crossover frequency at 4,000 Hz) are those that reproduce an extraordinarily refined midrange register that generally belongs to loudspeakers of a much higher rank and price. All this, added to the great skill with which it reproduces an acoustic scene that, although not particularly extensive in width but correctly developed in depth and with instruments and singers that are almost tactile and palpable, make it a very refined loudspeaker, endowed with an emotional and overwhelming musicality even at low and medium listening volumes and a true "Best in Show".
But in the video he said that the Triangle doesn't gave a good midrange. But you say it does. Why is that?
I've spent time with all three. All good speakers, but I prefer the R3's by a wide margin
Finally someone did this comparison.. thank you for that :) i have the triangle comete and looked for a comparison of them against the s400
Good review, you explain yourself very well. A lot of these reviewers throw these words around like warmer, sweeter and so on but don't explain themselves so it could mean anything.
Thank you for sharing these speakers. I have the R300 kef i love them
I have Focal 807W and am quite happy driven by a Hegel. I don't think any speaker up to 2000 will outright beat it. I also like Triangle speakers and yes, comparatively thin to some speakers, but can be very refined. Of the three, and from other reviews, it seems the S400 is not as impressive regarding build and component quality but does achieve a high level of performance in regards to the materials used.
The R3 seems like it would be harder to drive and wants power to sound its' best. Nothing wrong with that but I am dome getting more amplification to make a speaker sound best at both price and weight go up. 40 lbs is more than enough. Also, my listening habits are low to moderate volumes and listen very little to loud music at home. So a speakers performance has to excel at these listening levels.
Once tried Boston M25s which I bought new for under $400 but still returned. Very dark and unresolving at low to moderate levels, but feed them power and turn them up really loud and they were among the best sounding speakers with heavy metal...but I typically listen to classical and other genres.
Triangle 40th anniversary cometes do not sound thin. What's also great is my 30 wpc tube 1959 Bell Carrilon el34 tube Amp drives them effortlessly.
@el34glo59 I've since listened to many speakers and found that triangle doesn't sound thin in comparison.
Because I have Focal Chorus 807 V 😊😊
Speaker reviewing is HIGHLY Subjective. Even among REVIEWER S. All Theee Speakers are good. But Different.
Great Job with the overview ! Glad you added what amps your using in the description thats a big plus 😆 Thanks for the Video
You can visit my speaker store,it' s very good
www.hiendchina.com
I think your amplification is more geared toward the Kef and Triangle. The Buchardt has a less efficient design and would have sounded better if they had better, more powerful amplification.
Jack PRick ya I know the s400 love power, when I do the review on the s400 I was pair them with crown 1502, it got plenty of power, and it’s a very neutral amplifier to test out speaker’s sound
@@skysreviewdesk TBH I think Hegel would made big difference, but it would have made a big difference with all 3 speakers, and not really change how the non-vocals in the back if thats what you heard. Don't use Crown or AVR with these speakers, else you're limiting yourself
Great selection of speakers for this review. Thank you!
Appreciate your thoughts! I'm looking at all of these as well as some others.
For my particular use-case, the KEF's seem to be emerging as the most consistently recommended choice. I listen at low volumes and mostly to what might be described as "hotel bar jazz," people like Tommy Flanagan and Cedar Walton Trio and Beegie Adair -- with lots of off-axis listening.
I felt like I had it down to the Kef R3 (meta), the Amphion Argon 1, the PMC Prodigy 1, and the Dali Menuet SE (with a REL t5/X subwoofer), and most of the people I've asked about those four candidates have come back with an unqualified preference for the KEF's, given what I want to do. But there's a problem: My brand-new amplifier is an SMSL AO300 (not the similarly named AO200 or the similarly named A300) and I'm hearing a lot of reviewers say that the KEF's might need a little more giddyap to sound their best, even at low volumes? Anyone have any opinions or reactions they'd like to share?
You’re right you’ll never go wrong with Kef R3. Got my piano black sound amazing.
You can visit my speaker store,it' s very good
www.hiendchina.com
Around 2k there's no other speaker I'd want more than the 40th triangles
Really great comparison. Subscribed ✌️😎
Onkar Indurkar thank you for your support
In my country, Kef R3 & Triangle Comete cost 1150 euros-ish, while Buchardt S400 cost 1800. The speakers competing with the first 2 are Canton Vento 826.2, Focal Aria 906, Bowers & Wilkins 706 S2 or Definitive Technology Demand D11. Buchardt S400 is in another league, with speakers like Triangle Genese, Svs Ultra, Atc Scm11 etc. But yeah, these are based on the prices in my country. GG for the comparison, nonetheless. 👍
Very good and practical review. These are great choices to put against each other. Thank you.
What amplifier were you using to power these speakers?
You claimed the speakers instruments sound "below"? You mean, closer to the floor? To me they sound GIGANTIC and life like.
How did you measure the vibration on the cabinetry?
Regarding Imaging, how far do you sit from the speakers? The S400 do require distance because they lay out a massive soundstage, so instruments sound very sizable, thus the comments seen about them regarding these sounding like bigger speakers. It's because they sound very large and when you sit closer to them imaging would not be as sharp as KEF. I did not have the R3, but had the LS50 and R700. What SPL were you putting on the speakers for testing?
The S400 images incredible! It feels like you have ghosts on your room placed behind your speakers, and scale is wide and massive. But they shine when you put volume on them. You can get 90dB + at 3 Mts and things sound so natural, with layering, so "laid back" translates to the voice in the front, guitar a bit back further, hi-hat and ride a bit further back, snare even further back, and if there are strings or chorus voices even further back from it all. That's astonishing! I can point where things are in placement and depth. But I grant, at low volumes, it feels like it lacks sparkle, and sitting at 1.5 mts you would not get a sharp image. I got rid of the R700 years ago, changed for Tannoy. The LS50s were replaced too.
And yeah, at the end, we swap things and realize what's the sound we want. Glad you found your house is more KEF. Mine isn't. Their tone is not as believable. I am actually puzzled at your consideration of Buchardt not sounding realistic, while I think Sax, membranes, and wood is quite impressive!
Bastian Felipe S. Thank you for taking time commenting, i use Emotiva a300 and xtz edge, I had all the gear I use for testing under the description. The vibration is pretty easy to tell when you have all speaker , and just place something on top of the speaker or your hand on the speaker when it’s playing, and for the imaging, the distance from me and the speaker is about 8ft, and I did say more details in the s400 review, I did think they sound wide and massive, when it play loud, it just their layback sounding seems too lay back for me, like other reviewers mentioned U Shape, the meaning of my below is the instrument play under/ behind the stage. Don’t get me wrong the s400 is awesome speaker, but it’s just not for my taste. I tried so hard to convince myself to take the s400, cause I really love the look of the s400. But at the end I don’t wanna regards the deal that I can get at that time for the R3, in the future, I will always have chance to buy back the s400 or the upcoming A500
@@skysreviewdesk I totally understand. I got rid of KEF, Focal, Elac. Some sound isn't just our thing!
@@BastianUllr which speakers did you end up buying? I find KEFs a bit bright.
@@phoenixkiula9554 Buchardt S400 and Fyne F502.
@@phoenixkiula9554 i never found the R300 bright, they are neutral and slightly lean on the laidback and warm side. Had Q300 earlier which sounded lively, open sounding highs, bright but had no heft nor warmth which the R300s have. I have kef r300 paired with hegel h80 & its def not bright. Have a marantz pm8005 amp as well and though it pairs well, i think the hegel gives the speakers a slight warm vinyl like sound signature. So it depends on the tonal signature of the amp you use with the speakers.
So you chose the KEF R3. Would that have been with the XTZ or Emotiva? Great review ..thanks.
How does the Triangle sound vs. B&W “sound”? I have the CM8 S2.
Which do you think is better between"overall" sound, the Triangle Comete or Bro 3 or the Elac Reference?
MrRonnmaui , our of these 3, I haven’t listen to the elac reference yet, I do have their UB5 before, if their sound signature is about the same, the Reference will have less details, but more layback/relax sounding, the Comete will have more details, but at the same time, you need to make sure it isn’t too bright for you, and also depends on what amp you plan on use on them, I do not recommend using class D amp with the Comete unless you like brighter sounding
I auditioned a pair of S400's after the rave reviews and had similar findings to you. They just didn't sound balanced, the midrange seemed quite recessed and muddled to these ears. They do have bass and scale a plenty but like a lot of power to really get going, because of this they were not a neighbour friendly speaker. I have some PMC DB 1 Gold as well and when I put them back my system in they were just so much more lively and natural sounding compared to the Bukhardt's, ultimately I returned the S400's.
The PMC DB 1 Gold in terms of great balance, tonal refinement and realistic reproduction, are also in my personal opinion a good step ahead of the Buchardt S400, which perhaps only excel in terms of instrument image and soundstage.
how's the colour of the drivers of the kef r3 in real life, it looks pink on pictures and video.
Got memes? They more like matte rose cold color to me in the wood color
Good review. The room matters so much, too. Others say the S400 imaging is amazing, I'm wondering why you weren't getting that. Also on the midrange, the S400 has a 2500 Hz cancellation above the tweeter axis (nearly all 2-way speakers do, but it's usually toward the floor when the tweeter is on top, the S400 is reversed), so it's best to not be sitting too high above the tweeter, and give them a good 6-9 feet of distance from your listening position to fully come together.
Eric Franke I agree the room matters, I do get their imaging, specially on the depth, but if have them compare to the R3 for flat imaging, the R3 will have just a bit better than the s400. And when I listen to the s400 I am sitting about 8 feet from the speaker
How about those JBLs in the background?
I am not a fan of quirkiness. So when I see a speaker with the tweeter on the bottom or something, I automatically hate it.
Is that an JBL HDI 1600 in the background? How does it compare?
Great video sky! Prices here in Canada are way different though.. Triangle gloss 1,900$, S400 2800$ and R3 2,800$ The thing is.. I have the LS50s with a svs sub.. I feel like the R3 won't be much of an upgrade. Maybe I'm wrong..
Bun C I also has the ls50 as my rear surround, and sometime I will use them in the front, and I will talk about an comparison between the R3 and the ls50 in the future, I would say they sound different
@@skysreviewdesk Hi, thanks for the review. I would be interested in LS50 vs R3 comparison. Right now, LS50 is available for US$900. I am wondering if it is good enough or will I get a lot more with the R3? No sub for me. Thanks.
@@skysreviewdesk so white one sound better kef ls50 vs R3 plz plz plz plz answer
Great! I enjoyed this! Sounds like the things the Comete do well; it does really well.. like sounding very realistic? But with the thinner mid-range.. do you find that taking away from the sense of realism? Or does it just sound thin in comparison to the R3 and S400 mid-range?
Would love to see you review the Focal Chora 806 and Aria 906, Revel M16 and M106 :)
T P N it just sound little bit thin compare to R3 & S400
Revel performa 3 m106 is another bookshelf worth a comparison with these
You can visit my speaker store,it' s very good
www.hiendchina.com
you should check the magnat 903, half the price of these
Excelent review, thank you!
Are the triangle really around 2000$? Because they are 750€ a pair in France 🤔
They are about $1500 usd a pair in the US
Hi, have paid eur 600 for the Triangle here in Poland, quite a speaker for the price, have Buchardt S300 as well, and quite frankly I needed something more lively, S300 could be boring at times, but agree Cometes sound thinner in midrange, still have to figure out if can live with that long term, they are only 3 days with me so far, how the sound changes when they break in?
@@yesther9506 try tube amps... I’m getting triangles because been told they go well with tube.
You should try the Sierra 2EX.
Kef badge is mega wonky on the left speaker
That's just the protective plastic covering they ship with.
how is the bass quality and presence on triangles?
bad
@@user-qb9lu8ln1e thank you, especialy in HiFi I apreciate straighforward and clear claims :)
These speaker is very good
Please review the Philharmonic BMR monitor. By Philharmonic audio 1700$ Salk Audio Version. 2300$ Excellent Speakers
Surprise you can speak well in english! Yes You never know how good or less good a speaker is in your room unless you have a comparison. Someone has a video on the interior of the S400 and seems like it matches your findings.Not sure if you will have more reviews coming but guess i will subscribe first. THanks.
Thank you for supporting, I will have more reviews coming up November, I moved out from US, so it took me a while for getting everything setup and ready, I will have the new kef ls50 reviews and comparison , plus H390 , and Denon 4700h receiver review and others in line
You should try the Vienna Hayden grands. Great speakers
i recently just bought a second hand Hayden grands. its on the way of delivery, but really haven't heard them before but Haydn jubilee. how do you think this speaker's in terms of performance? what the differences between Haydn grands and the SE version? thank you
@@user-hy2jq4zf9c I think the woofer is a newer model. As far as sound quality. They sound great. Very nice tweeters. Deep deep bass. I was using a 200 watt amp. These speakers can handle big watts.This is a top quality speaker. I am going to try some gr research DIY. Check out their utube. Let me know what you think of the hadens.
madmannkc thanks for your reply! i'll share my thought as soon as i received the Haydn. Im so excited! btw im still considering whether to purchase the Nuprime ida8 or Nad c368 to mach with Haydn. do you have any thoughts of them?
@@user-hy2jq4zf9c I am a big fan of nad. Quite good for the money.
If you want older but great equipment. Apt holman pre amp is still considered one of the best pre amp ever made. Along with a apt 1 amp. Or use 2 apt Holman amps for mono. Even today its is still considered 1 of the best pre amps ever made
madmannkc thanks!! i'll go check if i can get this preamp at the local dealer or used market.
Must say these Triangle & Kef models seem to have a big design problem here in this video... or just me.
Don't forget to reach 70 to 150 hours with normal music, that's one to two week for breaking. After one week, u should be ready to start a video. If not u will have people like me saying there is a problem.
What design problem do they have?
@@brave1671 As much as I remember, their sound. Personnal feedback about specific tech design : nop, didn't look inside.
Are you sure what you're talking about? First, you said there's big design problem, then later you said sound problem!? So what problem really is? You don't like the sound/look personally because you have a chance to experience them or from other opinions. It's so confused.
@@trucchuong1726 Seems you have some illumination incoming. I change the comment for you especially.