Hello, I am currently looking to update my B&W 686 speakers. There are two speaker options that interest me, the B&W 706 s2 or the Kef R3 or other suggestions, but it's okay to have two choices. My amp is a Marantz PM7000N. My musical preferences, modern and old Jazz, such as Louis Armstrong, classical (eras; baroque, classical, modern and contemporary), female voice such as Norah Jones ... I wanted to know your opinion on this subject. I live in Canada. So, don't suggest brands that can only be found in Europe. Thank you
I have no personal experience with the B&W 706 s2 but the You Tube reviewer Tharbamar has used them for a reference when reviewing speakers and other hi fi equipment for quite a long time. I tend to respect his opinion more than a lot of other reviewers on You Tube because he's an honest and thoughtful guy who actually as some technical knowledge about what he's reviewing. Since you have hands on experience with B&Ws that might easily be your preference. I have owned the KEF R3 for about a year and find it to be an excellent speaker. When I was investigating various speakers to include in some planned system updates I was impressed by all the modern tech that went into them, that they were solidly put together, very handsomely finished and sold at a very attractive price. Living with them I've found them to have a very well organized soundstage and pinpoint imaging. The bass goes deep considering their size, the treble sounds natural and they have a beautiful midrange. They cover all the genres I listen to which include string quartets, acoustic jazz, rock and vocals.
Thanks Morbius! I've been listening to music for 30 years on B&W. My first real speaker setup was a B&W DM310 with a Telefunkun amp (old generation). I liked the sound of my B&W so much that I bought more years later for my 9.2 Marantz SR7010 home theater setup. I have 9 speakers from the DM 600 S3 series (604, 602.5, 601, 600, ASW600 and HTM61). You will notice that I am a fan of B&W ... I had paradigms too and I like it ... I passed the passion of audio to my son too ... He has now my DM310 with my old NAD. But, I showed him to have a good critical mind on the speakers, it's not just B&W. I read a lot of reviews on Steve Hoffman, Whathifi and many more ... and they don't rate a 5 star for the B&W 706 s2. However, the KEF R3 got 5 stars in almost all reviews. It seems to me so much a better choice this bookshelf category. They are really on the top of my list ... Unfortunately, the pandemic makes visits to dealers impossible. Although well rated, I am a little disappointed to find few comparative reviews for the R3s. There are plenty of comparisons for the LS50 vs B&W 707 S2 , but for the R3? I also read many other reviews on several brands, Revel, Monitor Audio etc ... But in this category the R3 always come back with good reviews. Okay, well, no choice, I'm waiting for the end of the pandemic to listen to the R3s. Thanks again for sharing your experience with me. I find it useful! Have a good day! Donaldski.
Its great that you share your hobby with your son, I've never met too many people who actually share my interest in music and hi fi. Love it though! Too bad you can't get out there now to audition these I think you'd like them but give you're 706 s2s a chance if you can find them to audition all thing considered. If you look up Tharbamar on you tube he compares a lot of speakers to the 706 and he might even review some others that will peak your interest. I think shopping around is one of the most fun aspects of the hobby! Edit: Love your Great Dane.
Thanks Morbius and Winged creature for the information! Thanks Morbius for my Great Dane. He is a very good dog! Good night!
I have the R3 and they're simply fantastic ... and the thing that was a deal maker for me: incredible flat response. No bright, no bassy, no middle frequency lost. I saw that on kef marketing, but also independent reviews testify that. KEF R3 Speaker Review And then I listened the speakers ... done! One pair goes to my home.
ATC it's another animal, great speaker, but you need to add some context ... you have the marantz pm7000. That speakers needs much more "ooomph" to sound at their top and ... they like high volume. With that behaviour and a pm7000 i prefer the R3 hundred times over the SCM19. The R3 are great speakers at low volume and much benign with low wattage amplifiers. Obviously, the SCM40 are directly a bad decision. it's only my opinion.
Thanks everyone for the great advice! A friend of a friend just told me about Dynaudio. What do you think of Dynaudio Evoke 20? Does anyone know this product? Evoke 20 vs Kef R3 with a Marantz PM7000N amp? Is there Dynaudio special forty?
I've only read good things about Dynaudio especially about the Evoke series and the Special Forty, if you have the budget for them and the sound is to your taste why not?
I would not go by reviews - everything gets a good review by someone. I am currently reviewing the Audio Note K/SPe - depending on your budget I would look at the AN K/Lx because I know it is sold in several provinces - Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta off the top of my head. Canada is a big place - my home country - so what is and is not sold is a tough one - most brands are available in Canada. My AN K is on the left - the AN AX Two is on the right. The AX Two is $1000 and I prefer it to the B&W N805, KEF LS-50 and the ATC SCM 11. The AN K Is pretty special - They've been selling them for 30 years. Plus they only need 7 watts per channel. My runner ups would be the Tannoy Eaton SoundKaos would also be worth a look I like these three far more than most. But they're in that $4500 - $6500 US price range so you would have to look second hand.
Sorry! Hello, Thanks for the information and suggestions, such as the AN J. they seem to be excellent speakers! However, even in the user they are too expensive. my choices will be on these: b & w 706 s2, Dynaudio evoke20 as well as Kef r3. now with my CDs in hand, I will be visiting audio dealers in my area. may the best speaker of the 3 win ... thank you
How you like them? I plugged in my R300's tonight in my main system replacing my B&W 803s. 2 very different speakers at 2 different price points. I'm surprised at the things the R300's do better than the 803s. I'm also not surprised about the things the 803s do better. It's possible the R300's are more fun to listen to. Got me thinking about the R3's...
I like just about everything the R3 does. The bass is surprisingly complete and goes lower than you might expect for a speaker this size. The midrange and highs are very clear and detailed which makes them great for vocals and you can clearly distinguish all the technical differences from one recording to the next. The most impressive thing is the way they image. Players are very clearly placed from right to left and front to back and depending on the recording there is actually an illusion of scale and realistic proportion to instruments. They're substantial and very well finished and the color of the anodized drivers blends incredibly well with the natural wood finish. I also got them with KEF's recommended Performance Stands and it all looks really handsome at the front of the room.
I hate to be that guy but I had Bowers CM6 S2 speakers (at least I think that's what they were) and wanted to upgrade to floorstanders so I auditioned the 706 S2 and found them bright. I then tried the Sonus Faber Sonetto line and they are much better for my ears. Ended up with Sonetto Vs but those are again floorstanders. I would check out the smaller Sonus Sonettos just to compare.
I’ve been testing both as I’m trying to make the same decision. I’m coming from 25 year old B&W 802 Series 3 which I ended up selling recently. I’m trying to downsize and these 75 pins beasts were just taking up to much space (in retrospect this turned out to be a big mistake). I bought both the B&Ws and R3s and have been testing them for hours. I’ve ran room frequency responses and tried all kinds of EQ settings including audesey (although I never used EQ on my 802s and they sounded fantastic.). I’ve also tried different height and toe in positions. The R3s have much better bass extension, but I just can’t get over the difference in tonality. While some people find the B&Ws harsh, I find them to be much clearer. The soundstage is also just broader. This was my biggest surprise. I was expecting a depth and breadth due to the coaxial driver on the R3 which I could swear was better in the dealer showroom. No matter what I try they simply sound muffled. The B&Ws can’t match the bass of the R3 but with a subwoofer I think I can get the B&Ws there. I’m surprised how great the 802 sounded. There simply was a reality that is hard to explain. I know trying to compare speakers that in todays dollars would be 3X the price of the K3 or B&Ws but just surprised how good old tech can be. I have a pair of LS50 Metas on order. I’m hoping the new tweeter design will bring that clarity I’m looking for. Stay tuned.
Try the R3 without toe-in if you want a broader soundstage. The tonality goes with taste, that we can't discuss, but remember ... If you come from the 800s you're much closer to the b&w presentation. For me B&w and Focal are ear drilling speakers, as an example
What are you powering the speakers with? If you are using Audyssey (or however you spell it) it's likely an AVR. If so you are not getting the best sound or even close to it out of either speaker. I have 3 sets of B&W speakers and a pair of KEF R300's (the predecessor to the R3) and they all improved dramatically when I went to a dedicated 2 channel high current amplifier and preamp.
You are also moving from the 800 series to the middle range 700 series. I have some old CDM7 SEs, some CDM 1NT (both middle range B&W at the time) and my mains are 803s (from 2009) and the 803s are in a whole other world to the other 2 B&W speakers. If you like the older sound better the Nautilus series from 1999-2003 (approximately) are some of the best used value or the S series (2004-2009). After that they went to the Diamond series which is when the prices started to skyrocket. The current prices are absurd and make them a non-consideration to me if I was looking to buy new speakers (which I never do).
Good tip on the toe in. That helped. On the preference for B&W presentation your right (maybe that’s just me listening to them for 20 years creating an expectation of how a speaker should sound). Having said that, I even feel the new generation of B&Ws are more forward in the treble than I prefer. Spent some more time equalizing using REW and APO. I have a parallel setup with two amps driving each different speaker brand. Then did REW for each speaker and have separate computers running APO with speaker specific equalization from REW. I then added a bit of emphasis on the R3s above 12kHz. I really like the way the R3s sound now when doing back and forth comparisons. The bass is just way better.
I have the R3 since 2 years and they're simply amazing for me. Spectacular flat measurements in the frequency response enables to work very well with parametric equalization to do adjustments in room acoustics. I'll never change them for b&w or focal ... for me they're like "fireworks" speakers (also called "crowd pleasers"). A great first experience and annoying in the long time. Flat response speakers are better (as stated in Floyd Tool's investigation in acoustics) and specially better with digital room equalization. Stay and listen to them more time ... is enough investment to take it easy. You can check measurements in some subjective reviews, like this: KEF R3 I totally agree with this: "High tones are smooth, selective, alert - they can flash, they can murmur subtly. The differences between the recordings are shown with an easily indicative of both neutrality and resolution." When you adapt your ears to a more flat (and accurate) speaker, you begin to listen to the recording. If is bright, sounds bright ... if it isn't ... isn't bright.
so I got the LS50 Metas today and they are the ones. While I agree overly bright speakers mask the music, the problem I had with the R3s was lack of higher frequency extension. There are tracks with cymbals where the R3s miss presenting. The LS50s aren’t too bright but have great frequency extension. No doubt the R3s have better bass, but overall the LS50s sound great. I think they will come out with new R3s with the same tweeter as the Meta. That will be one amazing speaker. For now I’m very happy with the LS50s.
