Thanks all! Just to make a correction these are rated down to 38hz in the bass (not 58hz)! The R3 Metas are fine bookshelf speakers. I also added more to my written review of the Metas here: www.stevehuffphoto.com/2023/05/05/kef-r3-meta-speaker-review-juicy-beats/

Just watched darko’s review of these speakers and he loved them and will be buying a pair. I have a pair of the kef R700 towers from 2016 and am still enjoying them with my rx-v3900 Yamaha receiver

Very nice review and comparissons, and you are right ! The Kef´s in general sound simular: Nice bass extention, mids that take a step back, somewhat thin as you noticed and a really nice treble respons on top. I have heard also (I thougt the Kef Q750) and they have tesame V-Shaped frequency respons. I do like the Kef´s. I am curious after the Blade speakers from Kef.

Great review , not sure if I overlooked if you tried the metas with heaven 11 Billie mkii, interested in this mating .

Hi... Love your review. Have been your fans from photography equipment. Will have planned to review Kef R11 meta or R7 meta?

Great review.

Thanks. Nice review. They look beautiful too.

I like your presentation. I went with LS 50 wireless 2 and two KC 62 subs. Very happy. I have never listened to LS50 without the meta enhancement. Would appreciate getting someone to compare meta vs not meta with your level of descernment

How does the R3 metas compare to the Dynaudio evoke 20? Or does the R3 metas compare better with the Special 40's?

Great review. Can you review the Rotel MICHI amps and dacs?

I was hoping you would have talked about the similar priced Bille amp ($1939) with the R3's ($2,199) and how that combo compared to the more expensive Gato.

Yes the Kef r3 meta has now become my favorite mini monitors in 2000 usd pair. Detailed transparent and touch bright. Tight bass.

Bottom line... For a set up without subs in a medium sized room would you buy the kef r3 meta or the buchardt s400 mark2? Thanks

Would these work well in a near field listening setup?

Please do a review of the Musician Night 1. These speakers are something I would appreciate your comments on. Thanks

I want a pair of these so bad. But...I have absolutely NO room for them. I would need to move to a new place to have a spot for them. Ugh, frustrated. Question, gun to your head...You have your Pass amps hooked up to these and the Buchardt's. Which do you prefer? Thanks for a great review.

These are next on list along with the Burchardts'.. gonna pair them with the Rotel 1592 MK II and the preamp 1572

You loved the jbl L82 classics a few years ago. Which would you pick in 2024?. L82 on sale for 2,200 right now. Same price as R3's. Always love your videos👍

Thanks

Piano or any other finishes i use car wax just a drop of wax spray distilled water on a small pcs of paper napkin ..very gentle coat on the surfaces, if its get dry spary distilled water on the surface so it can glide better , use microfiber towel ,now you have shiny finish spot and dust free surface enjoy...

how are these compared to the Monitor Audio gold 100's?

Play the soundtrack of American Beauty on them. In my (large) room the pre-meta version has plenty of bass without a sub (paired to a Blue sound Node streamer, Burson Conductor 3R dac/class A preamp and XTZ A2-300 class D poweramp). And indeed, they are very holographic.

The guys at Alpha Audio also reviewed the R3 Meta's and noticed the timing is off from the uni q and the woofer. Did you notice any of that?

It would seem as though these speakers are exactly as you described in a kind way. KEF in this R3 meta lacks in ways. Nice review. I concur.

Nice homestead, by the way. Very nice setting.

Which speaker sounds great at low volumes?

Just picked this up this week on sale from Kef for $1400, no tax! Replaced my 12-year-old Totem Mites. So far I agree with your review. I have them hooked up to a Peachtree Audio Nova 125, and wonder how they would sound with a Class A/B integrated amp. In the market to replace my Peachtree Audio with something that has an HDMI ARC input and improves low-level listening, because you're right, they do sound flat below say around 90db.

How they compared to old R3?

Kef is developed with Hegel. Hegel have a high demping factor, which works well with Kef.

I like the R3 Meta over both s400mk2 and the special 40. Hands down.

Was just about to buy the Buchardt S400 mk2… Then this… Any comments re vs the Buchardt??

How would these sound with the Yamaha RN2000A?

I was really surprised when you said the narrow dispersion R3 Metas has a bigger soundstage than the wider dispersion Diablos...

Still waiting on my kef r3 metas in blue, they're expecting to ship this summer 😮‍💨😮‍💨

I’ve recently invested in a pair of R3 Metas. I must have read and watched almost every review of them. Honestly, sometimes I had to check myself. Make sure I hadn’t clicked onto a review of a totally different speaker. So many reviewers with opposing opinions of how the R3 Meta sounds, but all brimming with positivity.

The blue suede shoe color looked awesome.

The Gato looks like something a future archeologist finds and says “ what… is this?” Look’s really well built

The R series from KEF are a bit bright for my ears. Unfortunately, I would have to go up to the LS60 or the Reference 1 to get back to their old-school warmer sound signature in their current lineup.

Please test kef reference 1 meta Thanks

Man those Focal's are so forward verging on bright to my ears, anyway.

Yeah when the reference is B&W and Focal Diablo’s I know that reviewers tastes are far different than mine and the treble forwardness is far off my preference.

i have the kef 104/2 restored they just do the job ,never will part from these..also i use concertos in my vinyl system love there sound to...

How do they compare to the more affordable Kef R300? Thanks

I would always be more interested to hear about the measured room response of the listening room, rather than of amplifiers or streamers used.

I owned the original R3s for a short time. Short because there was a hump at 125 Hz that my room made worse and I just couldn't tame. I hope KEF took care of that.

14:43 With the subwoofers, it cost $7,697 for this review. 🔈🔉🔊

Interesting review. I have the original R3 and wonder whether to upgrade…

A small spider runs across the top of the Gato at 12:30.

What is considered low volume listening , anything below 50db?

You intended also to check the floor speakers

Ok we are still waiting to hear your views on the focal and now you're doing KEF.

At 87db you cannot expect to have it all at low level for sure.

Καλό θα είναι αντί συνεχούς ομιλίας να τα ακουμε

Seems like S400 might be better choice between the two, but what if you already have a sub (kef sub actually), still go S400 or R3 meta in that case??

I cant wait to See if D.R, of G.R. Research gets his hands on those & upgrades em.?Still would be hard to compete with The eniineers at kef in this case!

👏👍🙏

Nice looking speakers, but what is up with those hideous grills?

A friend of just got the new TAD stand mounts-$32K. He said they're top notch.

think he tested them outdoors , no photos inside the room properly setuped )

Use some Car Speed cleaner / polish to clean these. Don't dry clean them.

Please teach other Reviewers to integrate “ the repeated “ price “ the way you do - it’s a nice touch - others lack

I have the previous R3s and they are horrible for low volume listening.

End game?

Describing a speaker as “musical” 🤔

KEF R3 are not bad. But if you are looking for the best sounding compact bookshelf speakers, there is one you definitely need to try. Unfortunately, you can't audition this, as it is professional broadcast equipment, it is the JBL 708i / JBL 705i. Driven in an Active Digital Crossover setup, using Nanodigi, a pair of Wadia 122 DAC and Goldmund Job4 (Nuforce STA200 or Stellavox PW1) for HF and Icepower 500w for LF, I guarantee you jaw will drop. The bass is simply astonishing, without seeing the speakers, you would have thought they came from floor standing speakers. The highs are super extended and transparent. Very close to the State of the Art JBL M2 Reference Monitors, but at a fraction of the cost. The 708i/705i inherits the same latest technology breakthrough as the M2 and it is the recommended companion speakers to be used in professional mixing / monitoring studios where the M2 monitors are deployed, as the surround channels. If you have any DVD / Blu-ray, they are most likely mastered in a Studio with the JBL M2 Reference Monitor set up. I used to have KEF Reference series, i initially enjoyed the UNI-Q, but after having experienced quality JBL compression driver and Waveguide set-up, there is no turning back. The high efficiency of the latest JBL 2409h drivers are now using annualar diagrams, eliminating cone breakups. This is similar design to the higher end D2430K used in the M2, but using just a single diaphragm instead of the ground breaking dual diaphragm design. The high frequency also extends to 40khz. This is total unheard of in a 2-way compression driver design. Combined with the Image Control Waveguide, it will do extremely well in ultra low volume listening. You simply have to experience this yourself to get a feeling of what is possible for this setup. It will definitely beat other systems costing 5x more and possibly put systems costing 10x more to shame. It is not a well known secret of the 708i performance as very few people get to hear this speaker, let alone being driven using high end and high resolution gears. But i am sharing this with you, as we have seen case after case of enormous successes, after helping other audiophiles to replace their multiple thousands worth of equipment with this setup. You simply need to look at their faces with both disbelief and enjoyment. 😊👍

Problem with all these designs, 87db.

If you want high end sound build your own speaker. DIY gives you better sound for the $$$!

I keep wanting to like these speakers but after demo’ing them 4-5 times I found them to be somewhat of a “clinical” /tinny sound. Sorry kef fans 🤷🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️

All that expensive equipment just to listen to pedestrian, uninteresting music. Why bother?

the only near negative review of the r3 metas

I love how sound snobs pick the worst music as a gauge for fidelity

Maan what a desirable object to say the least...

FIRST XD

Bu kadar para verilmesi aptalca

i dont understand why this things are uber expensive they are just simple equiptment? LOL..they are much more expensive on my uber high tech Rollable OLED TV hahahaha..WTF!

"Sound"! Fals & Greed!