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KEF Q500 Loudspeaker Review

KEF Q500 Loudspeaker Review

Raymond Cooke, himself, would be proud of these speakers. KEF, which from the beginning has sought to take advantage of new, synthetic materials and state-of-the-art technologies, has remained true to its founder’s legacy of innovation to the present day.

The KEF Q500, a two-and-a-half-way bass-reflex design, is the introductory point for the company’s “Hi-Fi Speakers” Q Series loudspeaker line that also includes the Q700 and Q900 models. The obvious primary differences between the $1199-per-pair Q500 and its smaller siblings are the Q500’s larger drivers and cabinet dimensions. All Q Series loudspeakers use a high-quality, aluminum-coned driver complement, including the namesake Uni-Q array (which I describe later), with the Q500 employing drivers that each measure 5¼”: one woofer, two auxiliary bass (passive) radiators, plus one Uni-Q midrange/treble array. (The Q700 and Q900 utilize 6½” and 8″ drivers, respectively.) First introduced in the late 80s, the company’s unique (pun intended) driver is now in its 11th generation.

Upon opening the review samples’ cartons, I found the installation manual conveniently placed under the flaps—a nice, easy-access touch. The speakers were held in place by closed-cell foam inserts and carefully wrapped in both a foam sheet and a protective cardboard sleeve. All components associated with installing the speaker, i.e., the plinths, plinth-mounting hardware, spike feet, etc., were also carefully packaged in their own discrete containers.

The black oak finish of my review samples was flawless, and the overall build-quality of the speakers very impressive. Installing the spike feet on the plinths and leveling the speakers was an easy task. The spike adjustment is performed from above using the supplied hex wrench and a spirit level (not supplied). My listening room is in an old wood-frame house with floors that are far from being perfectly flat, but happily, the spikes’ extended adjustment range allowed a perfect level to be easily obtained. This was the fastest I have ever accomplished that task!

The KEFs are equipped with high-quality five-way binding posts, allowing for the use of almost any home-audio connector available. In addition, the Q500s are designed to be bi-wireable with an additional pair of binding posts to facilitate independent connection to the tweeters. When not bi-wired, rather than being fitted with external shorting straps or bars, the Q series speakers utilize the KEF link—a clever, internal shorting mechanism. Per the manufacturer’s description: “The link is done internally with an impedance-neutral short-run copper circuit. The electrical connection is made to the link run via a threaded connector that opens or closes the connection based on the position of the external knob. By using the circuit-board-based shorting link, no skin effect or capacitance difference between the planes of the connectors is introduced.

KEF Q500 Loudspeaker Review

The heart and soul of the loudspeaker series is the Uni-Q array, which provides the mid and high frequencies. The current version of the array resulted from engineering development during the company’s recent Concept Blade program. In brief, the Uni-Q array places both the midrange and tweeter drivers concentrically within the same mechanical structure to form a single acoustic source that’s coherent in position, directivity, and time. This is in contrast to the old “whizzer cone” drivers, which placed the tweeter in front of the lower-frequency driver, and not at the same acoustic point. Moreover, the manufacturer states that this alignment of the midrange (which provides many of the spatial clues in stereo listening) and the tweeter improves the tonal balance characteristics and broadens the listening area rather than limiting it to a sweet spot.

My listening room is 13′ by 21′, with lath-and-plaster walls, hardwood floors, and a 9′ 4″ plastered ceiling. The speakers are located on the long wall. With the exception of some large record-storage shelves along portions of two walls and a large floor rug, the room is “live.” I initially installed the Q500s 19″ from the front wall with the faces toed-in towards the listening position, similar to the way my reference Sunfire CRM-2 speakers are oriented. My listening seat placed my ears level with the tweeters.

On first listen, I was immediately struck by the Q500’s clarity and articulation. In fact, during early listening to “Eleanor Rigby,” from Dick Hyman’s Brasilian Impressions [Command], I could hear the vibrations of the clarinet player’s reed—quite impressive. Listening to “Waltz For Debby” from Bill Evans’ CD of the same name [Original Jazz Classics], as well as tracks from Bob Brookmeyer and Friends CD [Sony], I was able to easily pick out and identify instruments and voices within the soundstage. It was also obvious that the upper-frequency limit was quite high, likely in excess of 20kHz (the manufacturer claims 40kHz) and was not lacking in output. On “Captain Caribe” from Dave Grusin Discovered Again! Plus [Sheffield Lab], I noticed the cymbals shimmered without sizzling, and the overall amount of high-frequency content and rich harmonics was amazing. On “The Peacocks,” from The Bill Evans Trio featuring Stan Getz CD [Milestone], the full-bodied timbre of Getz’s saxophone was well represented, as was his “spitting” into his instrument while playing to produce sharp, staccato sounds. At the same time, the Q500s revealed the very soft sounds of his fingers on the sax keys. Closing my eyes for a moment, I could envision Getz onstage playing.

On Yellowjackets’ Shades LP [MCA], Jimmy Haslip’s bass lines were, within the lower-bandwidth limit of the speaker, well represented, with a solid foundation. Subsequently, listening to “The Love Nest,” from Leroy Vinnegar’s Walkin’ the Basses CD [Contemporary], I found both the strings of Vinnegar’s upright bass and the rich harmonic content they generated to be well defined, with even more lifelike realism than the Shades LP.

The Uni-Q array is complemented by one 5¼” driver with two similarly sized auxiliary bass radiators to enhance low-end response. Though initially I noticed edginess in the midrange and tweeter, I assumed that everything would smooth out following adequate break-in. And, indeed, after some 60 hours of playing time, the edginess disappeared. I was still aware of some forwardness in the midrange and treble, i.e., those frequencies reproduced by the Uni-Q array, relative to the upper bass around 150Hz. Some genres of music were more forgiving of, perhaps even enhanced by, this trait, though the phenomenon was exacerbated when listening to highly compressed recordings and/or substantially increasing the volume level. Starting with Yellowjackets’ Shades CD [MCA]—an extended dynamics, high-energy, jazz-fusion recording—the perceived lack of warmth due to the aggressive upper midrange and treble response became immediately apparent as SPLs increased. Substituting the LP of the same recording (from the same digital master, released simultaneously with the CD), I found the tonal balance somewhat improved, likely a result of that medium’s lower upper-frequency limit, though the presentation still proved a little too forward for my tastes.

The worst scenario I encountered was listening to highly compressed rock recordings loud, but certainly not at ear-splitting levels, where the screaming voices and guitars were punishing to the eardrums. Attempting to alleviate this, I tried toeing-out the speakers, making them perpendicular to the front wall and not directly pointed toward the listening position. While that orientation did ameliorate the effect a bit (as did different distances from the front wall, i.e., 9″, 12″, and 30″, with various combinations of speaker toe-in and spacing), the Uni-Q driver’s acoustic output in this configuration simply overshadowed the amount of low end that the woofers were producing. That is not to say that the woofers were underperformers—more likely they were victim of design choices in the second-order crossover—but that the Uni-Q drivers are hot rods. With the level of performance that the Uni-Q array delivers, I would have appreciated some adjustment(s) to fine-tune their response and to allow the overall tonal balance to be brought more in scale with the rest of the system. The absence of adjustments to effectuate such changes, and the fact that the existing balance seemed relatively constant regardless of position and orientation, suggests the sonic presentation is by design—and perhaps a compromise between music listening and home-theater use (for which the speakers are also marketed). After several different placements and toe-ins, I finally settled on a location 18″ out from the front wall with no toe-in as the best compromise in my room.

Thinking that my perception of the Q500’s leanness in the upper bass might somehow have been due to listening to loudspeakers (such as the Sunfire CRM-2) that not only use but also require a subwoofer, I connected my Sunfire TS-EQ10 sub and made the appropriate adjustments. While the overall low-bass response was bolstered with the sub’s inclusion (as expected), the previously described accentuation of the midrange and treble regions was unchanged, confirming that the response characteristics I was hearing were “errors” of commission rather than omission. Using the KEF Q400b series subwoofer, which was designed and co-engineered for use as part of a total system with the Q Series speakers, will definitely improve the bottom end but will likely not change the overall tonal balance.

Utilizing the Link facility to bi-wire the speakers was easy—merely rotating the dedicated knobs a few turns on each speaker to connect/disconnect the internal shorting mechanism instead of dealing with or, worse, losing pesky external shorting bars. While bi-wiring the Q500s, I experimentally (using resistors on hand, and don’t try this at home) connected my Sunfire 300~two current-source outputs, first through a 1.9-ohm resistor, subsequently replacing it with a 3.3-ohm resistor, in series with each tweeter input. (The amplifier’s voltage-source outputs were connected directly to the speaker LF inputs at all times.) The upper-octave response diminished substantially with 1.9 ohms in series, and continued to do so with 3.3 ohms. Indeed the experiment reinforced my thinking about the value of a proper adjustment control.

As stated earlier, one of the goals of the Uni-Q design was to improve off-axis stereo imaging and the uniformity of tonal balance across the listening area. The listener is not, therefore, as limited to a central sweet spot as with conventional speakers. Based on the various speaker placement locations I tried, I must say that some level of success was achieved. This is in contrast to my reference, the Sunfire CRM-2, whose optimum soundstage only occurs within the confines of a small well-defined sweet spot, causing Robert Harley to comment in his review [Issue 183] that “every parameter must be perfectly dialed-in to realize the CRM’s potential.” Though each placement I tried with the Q500 did change the soundstage presentation somewhat, its integrity and tonal characteristics stayed the same.

From the outset, the Q500’s quality is evident—and it befits a product much more costly than its modest price. From the moment one opens the packing cartons, peruses the assembly instructions, and finally, connects the loudspeakers to the system, virtually every detail is well thought-out and every practical nuance addressed. This is even more impressive considering that the company—which is also committed to the protection of the environment—manufactures the fine-furniture-quality cabinets from wood pulp, whose handsome appearance easily swayed my significant other (they successfully passed the “spouse acceptance test” for inclusion in the living room).

The Q500 is very articulate; perhaps one of the most articulate loudspeakers I have ever listened to. Its clarity and presentation of detail, including what I might call selectivity (i.e., its ability to reproduce low-level information accurately in the presence of high-level signals close in frequency), exceeded my expectations. It creates a very believable soundstage despite various different placement schemes (though with the expected obvious and subtle differences), making it room-friendly. Though its sensitivity is specified as 87dB, the Q500 is easy to drive with as little as a 15-watt amplifier. Keeping the volume level in mind, no matter which recording I listened to, be it acoustic jazz, chamber music, and all but the most over-compressed sources, I found my attention immediately drawn to the distinctive and compelling sound. With the simple addition of a control to adjust the output level(s) of the Uni-Q driver to more closely match that of the woofer (or the listener’s tastes), this speaker has the potential to compete with many others, so exceptional is its quality and performance in most respects. In any estimation, the Q500 offers a noteworthy value for overall quality at its price point. Those who appreciate a very articulate sonic presentation should give them a listen.

SPECS & PRICING

Type: Two-and-a-halfway bass-reflex floorstander
Drivers: Aluminum Uni-Q with 5.25″ midrange and 1″ teeter, one 5.25″ aluminum woofer, and two 5.23″ passive radiators
Frequency response: 40Hz–40kHz
Crossover frequency: 2.5kHz
Sensitivity: 87dB
Impedance: 8 ohms
Maximum output: 110dB
Dimensions: 7.1″ x 34.3″ x 10.7″
Weight: 33.1 lbs.
Price: $1199

Associated Equipment
Rega P5 Turntable, RB700 tonearm, Shure V15VxMR cartridge, Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player, Sunfire Vacuum Tube Control Console, Sunfire 300~two Amplifier, Sunfire TS-EQ10 True Subwoofer

Tags: KEF

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