Q1 Meta Bookshelf Speaker (White, Pair)

These speakers are amazing. I was using Magnepan LSR's with a subwoofer before I purchased these. The Q1's blow the LSR's away. I still use a subwoofer with the Q1's which makes the sound performance excellent. Although simplistic in looks they are attractive and taking the grills off makes them look stunning. My favorite genre is jazz but I listen to all types of music and the Q1's don't dissapoint. You can spend a LOT more on speakers and not get the performance that the Q1's give. I highly recommend.

They're so clear. I swear, I can hear sounds I couldn't before, in the same songs I've listened to hundreds of times before. They do struggle with lower frequencies though, so you may want a subwoofer. Recommend the RSL 10S MKII (I think, these are a best in the market right now for value, better than SVS)

Very good speaker for the $399 sale price. Definitely not worth the full price. Very good near field performance however they are limited in a living room setup without subs. Good bedroom speaker however if you’re using in a living room you need the q3/350 bigger brother to get enough spl.

The Q1 Meta are proof that audiophiles are spoiled now. This is the kind of performance that made me ditch my $2200 Focal aria 906. These are just better. They are pinpoint imaging, very detailed and transparent. A triumph for price vs performance.

Way better than Edifier S880DB MKII.

Now that I'm approaching my late 70s (at the time of this writing), I can say that I've been a KEF fanboy since the early 1980s. Over the years, I've purchased half a dozen higher end KEF floor standing models and loved them all. However, nowadays, my audiophile exploits have been relegated to budget priced gear, used in a desktop, near-field setting. The key is knowing what to buy and what to mate component-wise. I've been using the KEF Q150's for over the past several years, and I've really come to love them. Pairing them with an active 8" subwoofer under my desk, I've spent many an hour listening to various classical and jazz music. I eventually saw all the ads about the new Q1 Meta, but I had initially assumed that there probably wouldn't be a big difference between them and the Q150's. Well, I couldn't help myself and one evening while perusing the Audio Advice website, I saw the Q1 Meta's and thought, "why not..." They arrived the next day - talk about a surprise. The Q150's that I had been using were in the black color, but this time around I elected to get the Q1 walnut color (glad that I did, because it's an attractive speaker to be sure). I was also gratified to now see that the grills (which were an optional purchase for the Q150's) are now included in the kit. As for the Q1 Meta grills, KEF completely redid them in that they are now more open, allowing more of the sound-staging to take effect (great job KEF). To help with my latest listening scenario, I'm using a Balanced FOSI Audio ZA3 Class D 3255 chip amp, with the highly rated Sparkos Labs SS3602 op-amps installed (instead of the stock ones provided by the company). I'm using various DAC's from different brands. My speaker cable is an 8 gauge version from World's Best Cables (WBC), terminated with banana plugs. All the other cables (i.e. USB, RCA, and Balanced) are from Audioquest, Blue Jeans Cables (BJC), and World's Best Cables (WBC). Once I connected the Q1's, I began listening to various music that I was totally familiar with - mostly large orchestral classical, jazz, and big band jazz. I've come to realize that the more instruments you have in evaluating a given speaker system, the better idea you'll have of how they sound. Furthermore, I've got to say that the Q1 Meta's are far more dynamic than the Q150, with uncannily accurate instrument timbre of various instruments, superb sound-staging (and that's with the grills on), greatly improved bass performance, and what seems like a smoother midrange/tweeter arrangement. I was stunned (in a most positive way of course). Familiar music that I've been playing for years and have been using as a measuring stick, sounded brand new to me - discovering small instrumental details that I felt were missing previously. And please, that's not a knock on my previous Q150's, because they served me well, and I'm still using them in one of the bedrooms. But this new Q1 Meta - wow. Several areas that immediately caught my attention was the perception of a greatly expanded sound-stage, and the music was not only more dynamic in nature, but the performance was brought forward a bit - making you feel like you are in the center of the performance - uncanny really. You know, when you read various audio advertisements, most brands claim massive improvements with their new products, and on many an occasion, the end results were not exactly what was anticipated. But KEF was right on the money with what they stated in their ads - this Q1 is a remarkable improvement (in my opinion, of course) in a variety of audio parameters. In addition, they are highly immersive, that's for sure, and make you feel like you're right there with the musicians - well, isn't that what it's all about? I can only give them my highest recommendation. Their quality music reproduction abilities put a big smile on this old face!!!!!

I’m a speaker junkie and own multiple pairs of the following brands: Focal, JBL, Adams, Genelec, Tannoy, M-Audio, JVC, Cerwin Vega, Jamo, KRK, Polk and a few others. How do the KEF compete? They’re OK. KEF is overrated, at least this model. I couldn’t care less how they spec out, or the reviews, they don’t meet the hype.

音質は当然ですが、見た目もきれいでとても良いスピーカーです。 当初はBowers&Willkinsの705辺りを考えていましたが、設置スペース、価格などを考慮して こちらにしました。 Sonyのハイレゾアンプで駆動していますが、かなり大きな音を出しても問題なく再生してくれる ので、良いですね。 この前はBose、Fostexなどのより安価なものと、キット品で購入したバックロードホーンなどを 使用していましたが、音質面ではこちらがずっと良い音質になっています。

Diffusori eccezionali, di livello superiore. Per uso scrivania sono semplicemente la migliore soluzione possibile

I tested these against the Q Acoustic 5020s and the Dali Oberon 1s. The KEFs far surpassed both sets on soundstage and separation. The Q Acoustics were a very close second on tone, and were better than the KEFs on the high frequencies picking out tiny bells and percussion and bringing them to the forefront, but this was almost to a fault being a bit too bright for me. The KEFs are flatter with a fuller mid-range and thicker bass. Round up; the KEFs deliver a fantastic balanced, almost flat, even tone from highs to bass, and an impressively wide soundstage. They may not be the most exciting on first listen, but given a day or two you'll start hearing things you hadn't noticed before in music you've heard a hundred times. You'd have to spend a lot more to get significantly better.