KEF - Q1 Meta Bookshelf Speakers (Pair) - Black

I did a lot of research for a music centric system for my living room in a 20x25 ft condo, open layout into kitchen. Critical listening spot is about 8-9 ft from tv/stereo wall. The Q1's in Walnut have a nice look to them. A bit more character than the black to me. I think KEF heard customers and included magnetic grills this time. I keep them off when listening, you should too. My goals were all in under 2k all components to get started. I auditioned Polk XT20(boosted base, muddy mids, shallow soundstage), Sony SS-CS5M2 (very crisp, shallow soundstage, decent vocal/instrument separation) and these KEF Q1 Metas. Amplifier/Power needed for 4 ohms: I initially drove these using a 70watt Denon AVR high end from mid-2000's using pure direct. The imaging, soundstage and separation were leagues ahead of the others. Felt like the people and instruments were in the room, wider, deeper, more realistic. This was driven source-wise from a Wiim Ultra using Spotify Connect lossless, Amazon Unlimited lossless and CD via optical. They just didn't feel as punchy and tight as they should have. Being 4 ohm rated, they demand power to really open up and old AVR wasn't quite doing it. Kept reading about Fosi V3 monoblocks (get 1 power supply per amp, not splitter). Technical reviews noted their low noise/distortion, real world RMS power that could drive these at a low price to high performance level. All I can say is WOW, they opened up the performance of these even more. Tight, clean, crisp, unveiled, quick power. The lower frequency range really came alive. So the core was there. Subwoofer to help: These have a nice punchy lower end when driven properly, but being bookshelves benefit from handing off low frequencies to a subwoofer. Luckily I came across a James 10" emb1000 600w sub from mid-2000s. The Wiim passes over 80hz and below (THX standard that felt right). Another WOW! The depth, fullness, richness was there all the way down. Sources/Streamers/DACs to pair: If you go down the rabbit hole further, you will be looking for different sonic flavors or just one you prefer. This ranges from crisp, accurate, analytical listening provided by the digital to analog converters in most receivers/integrated amps or streamers (like the Wiim Ultra). Others chase the next level like holographic soundstage and vintage sound that's warm, rich, soft around the edges, less fatiguing. I did too. The Fosi V3 delivered power, Wiim Ultra delivered the source/pre-amp function, then I added an external DAC and RCA a/B switch to try Fiio K13 R2R DAC. Why? R2R dacs (resistor ladder vs. Delta/Sigma chip) are known for that warm, realistic, organic sound with even better soundstage if done right. The K13 delivered!!! Another WOW! For a budget build, I cannot believe how well this has done. VERY wide, deep, soundstage, clear, warm vibe you can listen to for hours. KEF's ability to provide both a precise and expansive sound in the sweet spot along with a room filling capability is really impressive and can't be touched in this price range I feel. I don't even want to listen to the LS50 Metas or I might spend another $1000 lol. I did find an eq profile recommendation to tweak the Q1's toward the LS50 sound profile and I do feel it made it just a little more elevated in vocals and airy on top. Summary: Buy them! Be sure to power them with 100watts ++ amp at 4 ohms to really open them up. I feel they are perfect for near or mid-field listening alone at lower listening levels (up to 70-75db), get a good, quick musical sub and you're good to 90+db if you want it. Hope this helps others.

Got a pair of the walnut color refurbished that are BEAUTIFUL. The tone is perfect and has worked excellently paired with my Q6. I truly don't think anything beats these dollar for dollar. Not many downsides, only issue was they didn't come with speaker grilles but it was open box so not a huge issue. Everything else was awesome. Have it driven by my onkyo NR7100. Dirac calibration shows these best buy open box speakers match exactly with the new Q1s I bought as well, so no worries for quality or anything. 10/10 would recommend, especially if open box

These KEF speakers sound amazing! They are really far superior than I expected. I was on the fence about buying this model or the Q Concerto Meta ($1000 a pair) since they have a dedicated bass woofer. But these are amazing because they have a significant amount of bass surprisingly since they are relatively smaller bookshelf type speakers. I was considering buying a subwoofer, but I really don't even need to with how much bass these produce. I am extremely happy with them. I did so many hours of research trying to figure out if my Sony receiver had enough power to power these since they require more power than the previous Q150 model, and they definitely have enough power. No concerns over here even listening at extremely loud levels. Sometimes I am worried I'm bothering the neighbors since the bass is so much it can rattle the floor. The two main things I use them for are either House music, or watching movies. And they work amazing for both. I decided to purchase a 3rd speaker for a center channel speaker for when watching movies and tv shows, and its worth every penny. I highly highly recommend buying a 3rd center speaker for tv and movies as all of the dialogue will come out of the center speaker. When listening to music I just put my Sony receiver into 2 channel music mode and it works great. I decided to buy the wood color for my center speaker and it looks amazing as it matches my wood tv stand. The 2 black speakers also look great. Best Buy delivery was amazing, they delivered very fast and made everything a breeze. I also feel safer having expensive and delicate items delivered through them instead of Amazon. I believe they arrived in only 2 or 3 days. Very fast. Also the room I use them in is very large, 30 feet by 30 feet and the sound is very crisp and fills the space easily. Highly recommend.

The Kef Q1 Meta Bookshelf speakers provided a huge boost to my home audio system. I primarily use them for tv and movies, but they have also been incredible for music.

I was looking for a rear surround speaker, Best Buy representative recommended these to go with my cinema 30 Great choice ! All,around good bookshelf speaker