Naim + KEF =?

How is the general perseption of this combination of brands? There seems to be a solid base of 5-6-7 brands of speakers that is repeatedly mentioned in combination with various Naim set ups. But not much talk about KEF, as I’ve come across.

I just got the chance to buy a next to brand new pair of KEF R7 for £1706. Retail price is £2985. I live in Norway, by the way. The deal looks to be fine, they are only a couple of months old. The seller is a nice retailer.

Any thoughts and/ or experience with this combo? I would love to hear from you eminent people :slight_smile:

-T

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Can you demo them Thomas? The Kef range do not get much of a mention these days, my dealers do not stock them, and your system could probably handle a much better speaker. I just wonder if they will just sound different, not necessarily better than your Dynaudio. Gotta demo them imo.

I used to have 282/250 with a pair of R500’s and liked them, but they did lack a bit of detail and I am not sure they were the best match for the amplification. I did demo some reference KEF’s and liked them a lot when I upgraded but settled on some Neat SX71 in the end, but it was a close run thing.

I used to own some R500’s with a Supernait2.
Nice sounding but needed to be 850mm from the rear wall in my room to remove bass boom and sound free.
If you use the bungs, it completely robs the life out of them.
Also they do seem to like current so Nap 250 or more would be fine.

Personally I really like the Blades, but they will not make it here until the kids are grown up. I might well stick to my SBLs the coming 20 years :slight_smile:

I have been reading a lot about the Kef / Naim match and I believe that there is a shared history in the days of the Reference 104 series. These are speakers I would like to try somewhere in the future.

Hi Gazza,

Thanks for your reply.

Well sort of. I can buy them and return them within 7 days if I’m not happy with them. Full money back, of course.

From what I’ve read the newer R series gets much praise. One of my neighbors is a writer for a Hi-Fi magazine in Norway, and he also said that the new R is a really good speaker. A serious contender up against the B&W 702 S2 as I am curious about that one as well.

I guess I’m curious about the two least spoken of speaker brands on the forum :wink:

-T

Hi Biddler,

Thanks for the reply!

You haven’t by any chance heard the old R series up against the new? R500 VS R5, for example?

-T

@Thomas7string no problems, I have heard the R5, but only in a demo room and amplification was 272/250 if I remember correctly so not fair comparison but to me the R5 sounded a lot better than the R500 but it was a brief listen and as I say different amplification so hard to draw any firm conclusions from that.

Hi popeye,

Thanks for your reply!

How did the SN2 drive them?

Hi Ardbeg (nice whisky)

Thanks for the reply.

The Blade is a special kind of speaker. I have just seen it, not heard it. Looks like the drag race car of speakers :wink:

-T

Ok but not amazing.

I see. I would like something that A) Looks nice, B) Sounds killer and can keep up with the agenda of the 82/200, C) Makes the Dynaudios shy.

And I think that C) will be the biggest problem, as I really like the Focus 160. But I have a small feeling that the sound could open up a bit more. Perhaps, PERHAPS… This could be solved with a different approach; Add a HiCap to the 82. I don’t know. And that approach is harder to audition.

-T

I see. Thanks :slight_smile:

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I used to have a much more modest set-up Nait XS2 into LS50s.

I enjoyed them very much, but they lacked a little detail for me. I felt that this was the Kefs, but to be fair for the price they were a cracking speaker and still enjoyed in my second system.

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If you can return them why not , other than the hassle.

Other than the hassle… :wink: I think I will hit that deal. Worth a shot.

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Always liked LS50

KEF make very good speakers. I used some R3s for a year or so with a mix of Rega and Naim kit, sounded excellent. Just because on this forum they are not fashionable doesn’t mean they are not good speakers and don’t work well with Naim kit which they do.

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Listening to my Reference 1’s right now. I think they are great on the end of my 250DR. Superb build quality and up there with the best on the technology front. I specifically wanted a full 3-way stand mount speaker so choice was limited - but one session with the KEF’s was enough.

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Naim + KEF = Kniefam. Or perhaps Knaimif…

As for speakers, it is all a matter of personal taste: speakers of all components sound the most different from one another, so you simply have to audition against as many possible within your budget and decide which suits you. For myself, transmission line bass is the only thing so far that has cut it, even comparing speakers up to £18k new cost.