Nothing wrong with these beauties. They do take a long time to run in - 3 months in my case before they sounded like the ones in Sevenoakes. The Midrange is open and detailed and grab your attention and the bass has a discrete presence, it is there but does not overpower the mood.
The highest praise was from a relative 40 years my senior whilst listening to Wifi Country & Music courtesy of Sonos & Cyrus, "They sound just like the records I used to listen to at the record shops in London. I would buy one, take it home and was disappointed by the lack of deep harmonies on my stereo system". Praise indeed if these speakers can take you back through memory lane.
The review pretty much misses the point of the IQ50s - there are a "compact floorstander" and in this respect almost unique at most price points in the current market. It's silly to consider these in a listening room alongside more conventionally proportioned boxes (especially when KEF offer such speakers themselves in the IQ range).
For me these speakers brilliantly fill a gap, both sonically and aesthetically, in a relatively small flat where I am looking for a refined sound without booming vocals into the alcoves or frightening the neighbours with bloated bass notes.
Another much overlooked point is their positional flexibility due to the working of KEF's UniQ driver. No need to toe these in like many other speakers. Again a great feature for smaller rooms, especially when friends come over and sit adjacently, rather than in front of, the speakers.
Overall a great speaker but a rather sloppy review.
I wholeheartedly recommend these too. The running in period is essential. Day 1 they sounded crisp but with very little low end. Within a week I was happy and a month on they are seriously good. Anyone who wants more low end than these can deliver is probably more into showing off and annoying the neighbours than true Hi-fi. I find sound to be well balanced and detailed across the frequency range.
Add that to the fact theat they are very pretty and take up less space than pretty much everything in their class and I am a very happy bunny!
Comments
Nothing wrong with these beauties. They do take a long time to run in - 3 months in my case before they sounded like the ones in Sevenoakes. The Midrange is open and detailed and grab your attention and the bass has a discrete presence, it is there but does not overpower the mood.
The highest praise was from a relative 40 years my senior whilst listening to Wifi Country & Music courtesy of Sonos & Cyrus, "They sound just like the records I used to listen to at the record shops in London. I would buy one, take it home and was disappointed by the lack of deep harmonies on my stereo system". Praise indeed if these speakers can take you back through memory lane.
The review pretty much misses the point of the IQ50s - there are a "compact floorstander" and in this respect almost unique at most price points in the current market. It's silly to consider these in a listening room alongside more conventionally proportioned boxes (especially when KEF offer such speakers themselves in the IQ range).
For me these speakers brilliantly fill a gap, both sonically and aesthetically, in a relatively small flat where I am looking for a refined sound without booming vocals into the alcoves or frightening the neighbours with bloated bass notes.
Another much overlooked point is their positional flexibility due to the working of KEF's UniQ driver. No need to toe these in like many other speakers. Again a great feature for smaller rooms, especially when friends come over and sit adjacently, rather than in front of, the speakers.
Overall a great speaker but a rather sloppy review.
I wholeheartedly recommend these too. The running in period is essential. Day 1 they sounded crisp but with very little low end. Within a week I was happy and a month on they are seriously good. Anyone who wants more low end than these can deliver is probably more into showing off and annoying the neighbours than true Hi-fi. I find sound to be well balanced and detailed across the frequency range.
Add that to the fact theat they are very pretty and take up less space than pretty much everything in their class and I am a very happy bunny!