My friend heard and loved the Larsen 8 speakers at the show (in the Audio Emotion room?) - but I did not go into that room.
Did anyone else hear them?
I think they have won (among other awards) Absolute Sound’s Editor’s Choice Award in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
They have some Shahinian-like design features.
I second that with the R3 Metas, I was very impressed by them. It was great to hear them driven by the new Naim Classic kit. The LS60 Metas were also extremely good producing a sound stage and punch which bore no relation to their diminutive size. If I wasn’t already down the Naim rabbit hole (and an inveterate tinkerer) I’d be sorely tempted by the LS60’s as a system. Having listened to a long interview with Dr Jack Oclee Brown of Kef I’m quite sold on the concept of the LS60’s on the basis of the holistic development of a specific cabinet for specific amp for specific drivers at specific crossovers etc. It really did sound good to my ears.
After enjoying the Kef demo, I then went next door to the Innuos demo which was playing through a set of Kef Reference 1’s. I was so impressed by the Reference 1 that I could have stayed there all day listening to them.
Having attended Cranage Hall on the Saturday (thanks again for your company Gadget Man), the following Wednesday I was dropping off beloved daughter and her partner at Manchester airport and decided to visit a nearby dealer as the R3/Reference 1 experience had been niggling away at me non stop. Whilst I really enjoy my LS50 Metas, I couldn’t stop thinking about those Kef speakers. My intention was to demo the R3 and Reference 1 to establish if the difference between the two justified the increased cost relative to my budget. Sadly, the Reference 1’s weren’t available for demo but a pair of R3 Metas were quickly hooked up to an NDX2 and SN3 and a demo commenced. The second act was a pair of Proac D2 R’s which were then followed up by a pair of B&W 805 D4’s on the basis of being price equivalent of the Reference 1’s. I then listened to the R3 again immediately after the B&W.
The Proac and B&W were very impressive but I had really enjoyed the R3. I was then in quite a dilemma. I’d wanted to compare the R3 Meta and Reference 1 but was also mindful that the R3 with stands weighed in at £2.5k whilst the Reference 1 with stands come in at £8.5K. Following a cup coffee and some quiet contemplation I decided to take the R3 Meta home with me on the basis of how much I’d enjoyed them and how they’d fared against some very stiff competition. I was also conscious of the fact that the Reference 1 may have been a bit of an imbalance considering my current setup.
As I type the R3 Meta are working their magic and loosening up as the hours pass by. A pleasurable afternoon awaits fiddling with the KC62 sub to ensure optimum integration. Well done KEF!
Photos of new speakers just posted in System pics.
I visited the show on the Sunday and was surprised at the amount of folk there compared to last year.
My main aim was to have my first listen to ATC speakers, enjoyed the set up in Brian and Trevor’s room, scm40a’s with a pair of rel subs, not sure what they were using to feed it but very nice sound.
Moved on to hear the active 50’s with an auralic 2.1 really liked that set up a lot but price wise a little out of reach for me but very enjoyable could happily live with those.
Called in to listen to Naim/Kef blade set up inDoug Brady’s again very impressive but again cost is out of my budget.
To be honest the difference from room to room was amazing, most were very good a few not so but everyone has different tastes.
A room that surprised me the most was the Kudos/Chord room, heard it at the Bristol show and wasn’t impressed at all but at this show to me from what tracks I heard it was fabulous just shows how two demo’s of the same kit in different surroundings can result in totally different outcome.
Enjoyed the show immensely considering I wasn’t going to bother but so glad I did.
Still came to the same conclusion though, everything I really liked was expensive, so nothing has changed much, still really enjoy listening to music and tinkering so all good.
Many thanks to everyone involved in the show, first class effort and free entry as well, win, win, will definitely go again next year.
The R3 Metas were very impressive indeed and seemed to me to be a very good match for a naim system. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them!
Does anyone have any pictures?
Mike, I wrote a very detailed two part show report for Soundstage Global which has a load of pictures and gives pretty good overview of the show for those who are curious. I won’t link here for obvious reasons but it should be easy to find.
Brg, JonathanG
I’ve just looked as my phone and I’m afraid I didn’t take any - I must do better next year!
Thanks for your detailed reply. I also went to the show and was blown away by the little Kef standmounters.
I am waiting for Pete to let me try them on demo with my 282/ HCDR/ 250 DR / CDX 2 / XPS DR . The big question is whether they will out perform my Wilson & Benesch Arcs
Hi Nick, thank you for that. I suspect the Arcs will be a tough act to follow. Having said that the R3’s are growing on me on a daily basis. And thankfully are proving to be a great purchase. Hope you enjoy resting them.
Appear to be lots on other places and some cracking videos on YouTube.
Wasn’t the Auralic/ATC system even more of a mullet?
@penllyn Interestingly Pete from Acoustica thought they were the Reference when he first heard them. Superb little speakers , can’t be beaten at that price.
Yes, the ATC actives 50s…I’m not a fan of Auralic, and the level was too loud for me, and the room and set up were way sub optimal, so I didn’t get the best experience of those marvellously designed speakers.
But I bet they can do some magic in the right time and place.
Nice to see the comments re Kef speakers. As an owner of Reference 1’s for the last 6 years I have never understood why the make is seldom mentioned on the forum compared to, for example, PMC, Kudos and B&W. (I’ve owned PMC (GB1i) and B&W (P4) in the past and have heard various Kudos models on black box demos over the years - all are excellent at their price level).
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