The Blades are the epitome of form following function in industrial design. Not inexpensive, but certainly a reference-level speaker for those who invest in them.
Can you do a review on the Kef Reference Meta series, primarily the Ref 1 Meta for us that prefer bookshelf designs. With some attention paid to the base ports, the long vs short. Seems one port can produce a 40hz low end the other a 30hz low end. How is this accomplished and most importantly which port is more correct to the bookshelf design? It seems like a choice between tight base with snap or lower reaching base with more fullness. The Ref 3 Meta seems to take care of this issue but also adds another $5k to the price! 😵💫
This versus a the Kef Reference 5 Meta? The Reference 5 metas weigh more and give you more bass. Which one sounds better? I haven’t heard eaither but please do tell if you know
You don't. Wilson's are very direct, have a small sweet spot and are time aligned. These speakers throw sound around in a room to get around a sweet spot. Very different speakers in my opinion.
I have a question, why do they only give their speakers 1 UniQ driver? Even on floorstanders? Why not 2 or more? Is it technical limitation? A kind of fatal flaw on the design so that you can only use 1 per speaker?
If you are trying to reproduce a single point source, you only want one driver. And most speakers in this price range only have one tweeter and one midrange as well, just like a Uni-Q in number but not design. The Blade then has 4 woofers on the side.
@@AudioAdvice Really? I thought most floostanding speakers have 3 or more drivers usually, maybe my knowledge is 20 years outdated... I recently bought an lsx Ii, they're good for their size, I know they aren't equipped with the latest kef tech, but the sound in lsx Ii is a bit weak on the upper mid range IMO... I know this maybe have nothing to do with how many UniQ drivers it has I just want to say it lol...
Two drivers crossed properly will not interfere with each other. That's the point of the crossover. Now, in that particular demo you showed a typical bookshelf 2-way. Listening on the horizontal axis will provide a great experience and the drivers will not "interfere" with each other. Obviously as you get off-axis vertically, you will have an issue at the crossover point. But that is a limitation by the speaker designer and the downside to the traditional design. Coaxials do of course have their place (they are my favorite design) with their own pros and cons. The blade's largest con it the tweeter's SPL limits, followed by the mid-woofer's SPL limits. This is the typical issue for most coaxial designs. Power limits. Some might argue another con being the typical on-axis brightness but Kef has proven here that this can be engineered out. Absolutely magnificent speakers. Back to my original point, you're explanation at 1:45 is quite misleading. I wouldn't buy from you guys simply for that fact.
I wonder, how many spouses look at these things and go "Ooh Pretty". If I brought these things home, it would not be long before I had some divorce papers to go with them.
Heard them with 75k electronics. Yes, they are incredible, but they better be for that price. Everyone’s hearing and taste is different, I have heard 15-20k systems, that can match that performance and one can even prefer other sound signature. I did not love Kef’s midrange, at least at that particular setup i heard them.
We review products of all price ranges. We find it fun to review top of the line products every now and then to see how far technology has come. At the same time, we realize they are not for everyone. Thanks for watching
The Blades are the epitome of form following function in industrial design. Not inexpensive, but certainly a reference-level speaker for those who invest in them.
Great summary! Thanks for watching
Wow - just wow! Would love to hear these in person!
We have them in our Raleigh showroom, if you are local, please drop in!
Can you do a review on the Kef Reference Meta series, primarily the Ref 1 Meta for us that prefer bookshelf designs. With some attention paid to the base ports, the long vs short. Seems one port can produce a 40hz low end the other a 30hz low end. How is this accomplished and most importantly which port is more correct to the bookshelf design? It seems like a choice between tight base with snap or lower reaching base with more fullness. The Ref 3 Meta seems to take care of this issue but also adds another $5k to the price! 😵💫
Yes, you are right and the port choice is impacted a lot by the size of the room and where you put them in relation to the walls.
The Blade One Metas are very impressive.
Thank you, yes they are!
i love my non Meta 1s i can only imaging the resolution on the Metas!
Thanks for sharing, yes its very impressive.
Wished I could come to your store!
Thanks, it is a very cool toy store! We appreciate you watching
Just bought some Q750s and I'm well impressed. One can only imagine the performance of the flagship models...
Those are awesome! Enjoy!
Are these designed to be used with SWs? Such as in a 2.2 system?
Subwoofers aren't needed but you can if you'd like.
This versus a the Kef Reference 5 Meta? The Reference 5 metas weigh more and give you more bass. Which one sounds better? I haven’t heard eaither but please do tell if you know
We much prefer these. Although the new Reference Meta products are great for their cost. Thanks for watching
@@AudioAdvice thank you! Figured these were superior!
Very few speakers in the world outdo Full size Blade with Bass. Like. Almost. None.
@@user-ho1yn6ms7ywhat about bw 801d4?
How do you compare them with B&W or Wilson ?
All of those are excellent speakers and it comes down to your musical tastes. Thanks for watching
You don't. Wilson's are very direct, have a small sweet spot and are time aligned. These speakers throw sound around in a room to get around a sweet spot. Very different speakers in my opinion.
I have a question, why do they only give their speakers 1 UniQ driver? Even on floorstanders? Why not 2 or more? Is it technical limitation? A kind of fatal flaw on the design so that you can only use 1 per speaker?
If you are trying to reproduce a single point source, you only want one driver. And most speakers in this price range only have one tweeter and one midrange as well, just like a Uni-Q in number but not design. The Blade then has 4 woofers on the side.
@@AudioAdvice
Really? I thought most floostanding speakers have 3 or more drivers usually, maybe my knowledge is 20 years outdated...
I recently bought an lsx Ii, they're good for their size, I know they aren't equipped with the latest kef tech, but the sound in lsx Ii is a bit weak on the upper mid range IMO... I know this maybe have nothing to do with how many UniQ drivers it has I just want to say it lol...
@@Napoleonic_S imagine a drop of water on a calm lake. You don't want more than one source of audio waves or you get distortion
@@CaseyWilson1This is a wonderfully simple visual analogy.
Two drivers crossed properly will not interfere with each other. That's the point of the crossover. Now, in that particular demo you showed a typical bookshelf 2-way. Listening on the horizontal axis will provide a great experience and the drivers will not "interfere" with each other. Obviously as you get off-axis vertically, you will have an issue at the crossover point. But that is a limitation by the speaker designer and the downside to the traditional design. Coaxials do of course have their place (they are my favorite design) with their own pros and cons. The blade's largest con it the tweeter's SPL limits, followed by the mid-woofer's SPL limits. This is the typical issue for most coaxial designs. Power limits. Some might argue another con being the typical on-axis brightness but Kef has proven here that this can be engineered out. Absolutely magnificent speakers.
Back to my original point, you're explanation at 1:45 is quite misleading. I wouldn't buy from you guys simply for that fact.
Sorry but we are saying it works as a point source, which it does.
For Music, Snarky Puppy yes.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Out of my price range but beautiful looking speakers. Maybe the LS50 for me.
The LS50 is a great value. Thanks for watching
I have a pair of LS50 Metas for sale, let me know if you are interested. I'll give you a good deal.
"You can do anything, but not everything." ---
Haha, thanks for watching
20.7s, 2-Rel carbon specials
JLA cr-1 crossover, Coda v3
That is a very nice system as well, thanks for sharing
I wonder, how many spouses look at these things and go "Ooh Pretty". If I brought these things home, it would not be long before I had some divorce papers to go with them.
HaHa. They are certainly unique! Thanks for watching
Some like the styling - like an abstract modern art sculpture.
Sorry for you
Heard them with 75k electronics.
Yes, they are incredible, but they better be for that price.
Everyone’s hearing and taste is different, I have heard 15-20k systems, that can match that performance and one can even prefer other sound signature. I did not love Kef’s midrange, at least at that particular setup i heard them.
Fair enough. Thanks for sharing your experience!
That base model F-150 will be at least $70,000 out of the door.
The Blade 2 is 28k for a pair and the top of the line Blade 1 is 35K a pair. Thanks for watching
A review, or one, long sales pitch?
Thanks for the feedback.
Wtf 35k for a set of speaker 😮
As with anything high performance, the top end comes at a price. Thanks for watching
If you think these are the most expensive speakers you are not even close.
These are definitely not cheap, but definitely not the most expensive. There are much much much more expensive speakers on the market.
You can spend 20x this
35k for a pair of high end speakers is not uncommon.
stopped watching at 35k, lol
The very high end does come with a price. Thanks for watching
$35,000.
So out of touch. You have 32 QB’s as clients.
We review products of all price ranges. We find it fun to review top of the line products every now and then to see how far technology has come. At the same time, we realize they are not for everyone. Thanks for watching