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!
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.
Love you RUclips 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! 💪🏻👍🏻
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.
Great review! I have been using the Q350 in a near-field desktop setup for about 3-4 years now and have only grown to appreciate them as time goes by. Even recently tried the LS50 Meta(~$1500) for about 3 weeks in the same setup and ended up returning them due to them being too harsh where I was constantly trying to EQ them into being enjoyable. Current setup that gets double-duty for Music while working and PC Gaming: Mini DSP SHD DAC/Streamer w/ DIRAC Live digitally crossed over 75hz > XLR > Crown XLS1002> Q350(port plugged) Under 75hz > XLR > Monoprice 10" Studio Sub Time/Phase alignment using the software has only made a decent setup sound holographic now.
@@trapperxzw Yes, at the time MiniDSP sold their Umik-2 for a discount with the SHD as a combo. There are other compatible calibration mics at different price points but I just went with something from the same in-house ecosystem. As long as the mic is powered by an interface or direct USB and has the calibration file for that mic you are ready to rock. Loaded the calibration file, placed the mic, kicked my cats out of the room and ran Dirac. Because I have the q350 on stands at ear-level I only needed to EQ up to about 500hz to deal with room gain I was getting and I could time-align my 2 subs to the speakers. It pushed my setup from pretty good to the best I have heard. Some people run Dirac for the whole frequency band but I had better results just compensating for the peaks/valleys.
@@GreyTileGaming thanks. I bought a diff mic will arrive soon. I have minidsp 2x4 hd, no Dirac yet. Interesting note regarding 500hz. Btw have you ever experienced harsh sounding highs on the KEFs?
@@trapperxzw Awesome, I think the cheapest path to Dirac is the DDRC upgrade for the 2x4HD but would definitely research to make sure before shelling out anything. REW is a great alternative too at no cost. Harshness is tough to pin-point and can be subjective to ears, brain, room and setup so I think the above is a bigger influence on polarizing opinions regarding harshness but I will share personal experiences and theory. This may prevent others from dumping the KEFs before unlocking their magic. I have used the Q350 in about 6 different rooms and setups over the last 4 yrs. from LR home theater main channels to near-field desktop monitors. The perceived harshness from my experience usually was an indicator that my bass and mid-bass was being reduced in the room and making perceived upper-mids elevated in contrast. I'll explain in more detail but the port-plugs that come with the Q350 make a difference here, check out the sterophile.com Q350 review which includes multiple measurements and you can see their impact on the bass drop-off slope around 100hz. For me, using the plugs reduced the impact of bass room gain and preventing the upper-mids getting out of line with bass/mid-bass at the cost of low-end extension. Otherwise, if I want to rock out with the q350/LS50 full range, no plugs and no EQ and crank them up the bass might be about -3db lower than upper-mids so if I get a recording with any kind of gain around 2.5-3khz I am going to get blasted if I am using the sensation of bass to get my volume dialed in. This is why I think you see so many people pushing for Subwoofer integration with the Q350/Q150/LS50/Meta. For me, letting the Q350 handle anything above 100-120hz I have not run into the upper-mid glare since they are practically flat from 500hz and up and using EQ/Measurements you can see if there is a bass drop and upper-mid bump to correct in your room. I currently use a Schiit Freya+ with the stock tubes to add more soundstage and reduce point-source detection and have a SMSL AO200 level matched to two Monoprice 10-inch studio subs. With my setup I just turn the amp volume up or down to regulate bass-levels to upper-mids and have had no harshness for at least the last year since putting together my current desktop setup. I know this is a long response but I hope it helps. Much of what I mention can be applied to other speakers since 0-300hz can get pretty wonky in some setups and I think it is unfair to blame the relatively flat speakers.
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.
@@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
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.
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?
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.
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???
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. 😡
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.
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!
![Tee Grizzley - Blow for Blow (feat. J. Cole) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wNLN5xsx5dc/mqdefault.jpg)
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!
I see a shootout between Unifi 2.0 and the Kef q350 in the future
I've got both hooked up in my living room right now driving myself bananas over which I want to keep!
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.
Love you RUclips 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 $455 🙌🏻👏🏻
So thx man, for the great work you present us low budget audiophiles with!
Keep up the good work! 💪🏻👍🏻
These are 350$ over here but I can't get over the fact that they look like washing machines.
I knew they reminded me of something 😂
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.
Yeah, can't get over the ugly on these KEFs.
Yeah but they sound better than the Maytag any day of the week.
A front loader?
Great review! I have been using the Q350 in a near-field desktop setup for about 3-4 years now and have only grown to appreciate them as time goes by. Even recently tried the LS50 Meta(~$1500) for about 3 weeks in the same setup and ended up returning them due to them being too harsh where I was constantly trying to EQ them into being enjoyable.
Current setup that gets double-duty for Music while working and PC Gaming:
Mini DSP SHD DAC/Streamer w/ DIRAC Live digitally crossed over 75hz > XLR > Crown XLS1002> Q350(port plugged)
Under 75hz > XLR > Monoprice 10" Studio Sub
Time/Phase alignment using the software has only made a decent setup sound holographic now.
I had the same experience with the LS50's
For DiracLive did you buy a mic for calibration?
@@trapperxzw Yes, at the time MiniDSP sold their Umik-2 for a discount with the SHD as a combo. There are other compatible calibration mics at different price points but I just went with something from the same in-house ecosystem. As long as the mic is powered by an interface or direct USB and has the calibration file for that mic you are ready to rock.
Loaded the calibration file, placed the mic, kicked my cats out of the room and ran Dirac. Because I have the q350 on stands at ear-level I only needed to EQ up to about 500hz to deal with room gain I was getting and I could time-align my 2 subs to the speakers. It pushed my setup from pretty good to the best I have heard.
Some people run Dirac for the whole frequency band but I had better results just compensating for the peaks/valleys.
@@GreyTileGaming thanks. I bought a diff mic will arrive soon. I have minidsp 2x4 hd, no Dirac yet. Interesting note regarding 500hz. Btw have you ever experienced harsh sounding highs on the KEFs?
@@trapperxzw Awesome, I think the cheapest path to Dirac is the DDRC upgrade for the 2x4HD but would definitely research to make sure before shelling out anything. REW is a great alternative too at no cost.
Harshness is tough to pin-point and can be subjective to ears, brain, room and setup so I think the above is a bigger influence on polarizing opinions regarding harshness but I will share personal experiences and theory. This may prevent others from dumping the KEFs before unlocking their magic.
I have used the Q350 in about 6 different rooms and setups over the last 4 yrs. from LR home theater main channels to near-field desktop monitors. The perceived harshness from my experience usually was an indicator that my bass and mid-bass was being reduced in the room and making perceived upper-mids elevated in contrast. I'll explain in more detail but the port-plugs that come with the Q350 make a difference here, check out the sterophile.com Q350 review which includes multiple measurements and you can see their impact on the bass drop-off slope around 100hz. For me, using the plugs reduced the impact of bass room gain and preventing the upper-mids getting out of line with bass/mid-bass at the cost of low-end extension.
Otherwise, if I want to rock out with the q350/LS50 full range, no plugs and no EQ and crank them up the bass might be about -3db lower than upper-mids so if I get a recording with any kind of gain around 2.5-3khz I am going to get blasted if I am using the sensation of bass to get my volume dialed in. This is why I think you see so many people pushing for Subwoofer integration with the Q350/Q150/LS50/Meta.
For me, letting the Q350 handle anything above 100-120hz I have not run into the upper-mid glare since they are practically flat from 500hz and up and using EQ/Measurements you can see if there is a bass drop and upper-mid bump to correct in your room.
I currently use a Schiit Freya+ with the stock tubes to add more soundstage and reduce point-source detection and have a SMSL AO200 level matched to two Monoprice 10-inch studio subs. With my setup I just turn the amp volume up or down to regulate bass-levels to upper-mids and have had no harshness for at least the last year since putting together my current desktop setup.
I know this is a long response but I hope it helps. Much of what I mention can be applied to other speakers since 0-300hz can get pretty wonky in some setups and I think it is unfair to blame the relatively flat speakers.
Oh, I can hang out with this guy! Great video my man, keep em' coming!
Great flow today sir. Stream of consciousness was well above average.
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.
Agreed that would be a good one
Yepper.... Great Album / CD .... That would be one for testing stereo sounds...
You should talk about the markup situation with Ron next time you guys get together.
we've briefly touched on it. the industry needs to get their pricing stable. it's wrong and it's a cash grab and it makes me mad
@@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
@@cheapaudioman If you don't get it on a 40% to 50% off from MSRP, you've paid too much.
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.
Did you pair them with a subwoofer?
@@shawnorjiakor yes, with and without. But hey, might just be my setup, room, or personal taste.
@@chrisAclaes Okay... Cool.
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?
I may have missed it, but I don't think we ever got to why these are better than the '50's. Please good Texan, expand, expand....
they have bass
Thanks, Randy. Pulled the trigger on the kef q350 over the q acoustics 3030i. Do you think the Emotiva basx a100 amp will be enough?
Advice needed: Q350 or Elac Debut Reference? Using Marantz PM7000n
150's on sale $300 best for price. 350 just more bass but same at $150
How do you think these would stack up between the B&W 606s?
Haven’t heard the 606’s
I actually got a coffee sat down and watched. Great way to start the day.
having this as my first comment with a cup of coffee in front of me is a great way to start my day, brother. Thank you!
Me too
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!
Difference between ls50 and q series, is that ls50 is usable in the nearfield and the q series just need space to shine.
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
The UNI-Q is known for having great imaging, because the two drivers emanate from the same point, making it more like the ideal point source.
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?
Good advice at the end, but Ricky Gervais' 'After Life' is worth the time investment.
So these are a definate buy at €369.00 FOR THE SET? They're on sale now.
Thanks for the great vids, regards from The Netherlands!
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.
I've got the powernode I am thinking of purchasing these. Already got the q950 but they are too big for my room
@@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!
KEF Q350 Vs Polk R200.... which will be better?
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.
Thanks ! Looking forward to/curious about these vs Novus & UniFi 2.0.
it's coming
Love you Randy!! Should I get the Q150 or the Q350?
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!!!
"binge listen to music and FILL YOUR SOUL WITH HAPPINESS!" thanks for the words of wisdom cheap audio man!
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
I like the idea of getting great sound quality without spending what it would cost to buy a luxury sports car.
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 love my KEF Q350s.
Great review
Sharpie ticked boxes has to be the way forward for reviews
Peace from not so sunny Scotland
Are these better than edifier s2000mkiii in terms of sound quality. They both are the same price where I live
Hi Randy! I’d love to hear a review of the Fyne F500’s. Under $1k, so I think they fit the Bill.
Hi @cheapaudioman thanks for the review, enjoyed. Will these speakers pair well with Yamaha RN-602 amp, please could you let know.
Hey Randy, looking forward to a review of that Xduoo MT-602 you've got in the background, keep up the good work dude.
going to be in tomorrow's video. not a full on review but I'll touch on it.
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 $700, are you still recommending the SVSs as overall No. 1 pick? . One thing that i would want to point out about the Kefs. According to info , the Kefs can be placed on their side , and Kef provides specific " bumpers" for that reason. I saw that regarding the Q150s, and I presume that is the same for these? I may need to place them on their side on a actural Bookshelf .
Also...talk more about use cases....speakers can e good for one thing and bad for another and that matters,.....small rooms, large rooms, flat ceiling, vaulted ceiling, clarity at low volume, tolerance and low distortion at high volumle, etc.
Never tried the Dali Spector 2? They are amazing at a third of the price.
Got a pair of discounted q350 for 200$ and a pair of klipsch's are maybe 500 , for me they are a bargain for my home cinema
How would they pair with Marantz Pm7000n ? Thank you.
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.
Ouch that cost analogy of comparing travelling to audio equipment kind of makes me want to cry
Thoughts about running 3 of these as my left right and centre for around £650 and then £100 for stands
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 do you know how it compares to B&W 606 first version?
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
How is this comparison to Polk r200 using klipch now x4800h
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. 😡
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.
How does it compare to Q 150's flavour wise?
How do you think they will work with the new Bluesound powernode?
I’ve got a pair of Q300s. Recently bought JBL studio 530s on sale which I’ll prob return since the Q300s sound better to me.
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 👍
I like this Trader Joe's concept of pricing. But really better than the LS50?
A reviewer that uses the concept of data, measurements, etc. gave it a score heigher than the LS50s
I have a great song for testing deep bass. Boz Scaggs - Thanks to you. Very deep bass if the speakers can do it :)
LOWDOWN RIGHT?!
Which song ? Let me guess, “Low Down” , from the ‘Live” album ? It has a great bass line and I love it. Cheers.
These vs your new favorites Polk r200?
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!
Your Prince voice is amazing! 😁
Somebody get Randy some caffeine, STAT!!!
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!
Should i buy them new for 225 euro?
Have you ever done a double blind A/B matched within 1dB test with these amps? Im skeptical of unintended bias.
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
@@cheapaudioman just block those that can't behave
That’d be an awesome video to wrap up 2021 with and a fun way to highlight Randy’s success with this channel.
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!
A hat!😂
I'm not sure most people would consider $500 for a pair of speakers qualifies as "cheap audio", but whatever...
He only goes up to like $600 dollars.
Kangaroos are awesome pets. Yes, I’ve had one and I’d have another in a heartbeat.
Would love to see a review of the Tekton Mini Lore Monitor
@2:07 #YEET! I tune in every video just to see what gets yeeted next! HAHAHA!!!
Machete!!!!!
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.
These are back on sale for $499 now....
Hey Randy, q350 or emotiva xb2?
I tried to order a kangaroo as suggested and am still waiting. I smell a scam ;)
How about these pairing up with yamaha rn602?
You should do Martin Logan Motion 15's they're about $200 each.
Ls 50's are ugly looking speakers!! LOL😂
Mate, why would I have a piping hot coffee at 12:30am?
because you like to party...
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.
they're fibbing about their sensitivity and their nominal resistance. check out the ls50 review by ron at new record day
@@cheapaudioman Randy was able to pick up a pair of the Q150 for $300 for both. cant beat that, right big guy?
These Kef Q350"s are beauties.👍
they're a good looking speaker
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
How this Q350 compare to elac UB52?
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.
What confuses me is, how the Q150 have more bass (at least on paper) than the Q350...
These need to go head to head with the Q150
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!