Fyne Audio F500E AV Pack 2 vs KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System: which surround sound system is better?

As much as we love a good soundbar, sometimes they won’t always cut it, especially for all-encompassing, cinema-style surround sound.

That’s where a 5.1 speaker system comes in. And we’ve got two premium speaker systems going up against each other – the Award-winning KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System, and the Fyne Audio F500e AV Pack 2.

The names may both be a mouthful, but that’s not all they have in common – both offer cinematic sound at similar price levels, and both are fronted by five-star stereo speakers that made waves in our hi-fi testing room: namely, the KEF Q Concerto Meta standmounts and the Award-winning Fyne Audio 501E floorstanding speakers.

But which speaker system comes out on top? There’s only one way to find out…

Fyne Audio F500E AV Pack 2 vs KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System: price

At the time of our review, KEF did not offer the Q Concerto Meta 5.1 as an all-in-one package, meaning you had to buy all the components separately at a total cost of £3146 / $4050 / AU$5650. This has since changed in the UK, and at the time of writing, the complete speaker system can be purchased for £2549 / $3,428.72 / AU$4,873.28.

However, as the KEF package uses standmount speakers for the front and rear, you’ll have to factor in the cost of speaker stands. KEF does offer the SQ1 stands at £275 / $400 / AU$450 per pair if you want a perfect match, which does drive up the cost substantially.

The Fyne Audio F500E AV Pack 2 comes in at £2500 when bought separately, but is also available as a package at Peter Tyson for £2249 (though somewhat confusingly, it’s listed as ‘Fyne Audio F501E 5.1 Speaker Package’). Note that there are only UK prices here, as certain components – namely the centre channel and subwoofer – don’t seem to be available in the US and Australia.

That puts the Fyne Audio AV Pack 2 as £300 (13 per cent) cheaper, and that’s before factoring in stand prices. We’ll have to see if the KEF’s performance justifies the higher cost, but it’s the Fyne Audio package that takes this round.

**Winner: Fyne Audio AV Pack 2**

Fyne Audio F500E AV Pack 2 vs KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System: build

We start with the KEF system, which is made up of the Q Concerto Meta standmounts, a pair of Q1 Meta bookshelf speakers, the Q6 centre channel and the Kube 12 MIE subwoofer. Looks can be subjective, but we found this to be a swooningly handsome system with a cohesive design language that matches nicely.

We reviewed the satin black finish, but the system is also available in satin white or walnut (the subwoofer is only available in black, however).

A slightly glossy surround to the Uni-Q driver array adds a nice sense of contrast, while the KEF tab at the top of each standmount speaker is a classy touch. A beautiful system all round.

The Fyne Audio system is made up of the F501E floorstanders, the F5E surround speakers, the F502E LCR centre speaker and the F3.10 subwoofer, and is what we’d describe as far more “functional”. The floorstanding speakers in particular look neat, and the black ash vinyl finish feels high-quality to the touch, but they don’t have the same allure as the trendy KEF speakers.

There’s only one finish, black ash vinyl, which looks smart enough, but doesn’t exude a luxurious feel like the KEF package.

You’ll also need to ensure you have ample space if you go for the Fyne set. The floorstanders measure in at a substantial 98 x 25 x 29cm (hwd). The Q Concerto Metas are 56cm shorter at 42 x 21 x 32cm, though once on a stand the two will likely be of a comparable height. The bookshelf speakers are a more similar size - the Fyne Audio F5E come in at 27 x 17 x 23cm, comparable to the KEF Q1 Meta speakers at 30 x 18 x 28cm.

Both have rather bulky centre channels – the Fyne F502E LCR centre speaker measures in at 25 x 68 x 25cm, while the KEF Q6 Meta comes in at a similar 21 x 63 x 30cm. The Fyne F502E is designed to be wall-mounted with screw hooks in the back and no attachable rubber feet, but this may lead to your TV or projector having to be placed quite high up to accommodate the speaker size.

When it comes to subwoofers, it’s the KEF model that starts to look a bit unwieldy – the Kube 12 MIE subwoofer measures in at 41 x 39 x 41cm, a tad larger than the F3.10 subwoofer at 34 x 41 x 39cm.

Overall, the exposed screws, basic styling and mismatch of speaker sizes can make the Fyne system look somewhat slapdash, unlike the sleeker and more uniform KEF speakers.

**Winner: KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System**

Fyne Audio F500E AV Pack 2 vs KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System: features

We’ll get into the details below, but the long and short of it is that these are two 5.1 systems, both with unique, impressive driver technology.

Fyne Audio’s IsoFlare point source driver array is front and centre in their F500 AV Pack 2 system, literally, but is also found in the surround speakers too. This proprietary driver, in which the tweeter sits in the throat of the mid/bass unit, has trickled down from Fyne’s higher-end models to this more affordable speaker range.

The F501E floorstanders sport a 2.5-way design, with a downward-firing port that utilises the company’s BassTrax Tractrix diffuser technology to deliver more uniform bass dispersion around your listening space. Each sports a 15cm multi-fibre mid/bass driver with a 25mm titanium dome compression tweeter, paired with a 15cm multi-fibre bass driver.

The Q Concerto Meta standmount speakers, on the other hand, are packed with KEF’s proprietary driver technology to maximise sound quality and minimise unwanted distortion.

They feature a three-way bass reflex design, and each unit features KEF’s 12th Generation Uni-Q driver array, which combines a 10cm aluminium midrange driver, a 19mm vented aluminium dome tweeter and the company’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT).

The Uni-Q arrangement is backed up by a 16.5cm hybrid cone bass driver, and a rear-firing port is used to tune the lower frequencies. The bass driver cones are constructed with an aluminium skin layered over paper and feature a shallow concave design, which enhances rigidity and dampening, resulting in “improved punch and definition” as we found in our KEF Q Concerto Meta review.

The Fyne Audio F5E surround speakers feature a two-way design, with a 125mm IsoFlare, multi-fibre mid/bass driver and a 19mm titanium dome compression tweeter. Like their floorstanding counterparts, these bookshelf speakers also have a downward-firing port with Fyne Audio’s BassTrax Tractix diffuser.

To compare, KEF’s surround speakers, the Q1 Meta, could be considered the baby brothers of the Q Concertos. They drop the bass driver and feature a two-way bass reflex design, but also feature a slightly larger 12th Generation Uni-Q array comprising a 25mm vented aluminium dome tweeter with MAT, and a 130mm aluminium cone for mid/bass purposes.

The F502E LCR, the centre channel of the Fyne Audio package, sports a 2.5-way design with a 200mm IsoFlare multi-fibre mid/bass driver with a 25mm titanium dome compression tweeter, flanked by electromagnetically damped 20cm bass and 20cm ABR drivers.

KEF’s centre channel, the Q6 Meta, features the same Uni-Q array as the Q Concerto speakers, though it’s sandwiched between two of the same bass drivers from the front speakers.

Rounding things out with the subwoofers, the Fyne Audio F3.10 subwoofer pairs a 25cm woofer with 450W of amplification and a down-firing low-turbulence port. The KEF Kube 12 MIE powered subwoofer, on the other hand, is a 12-inch front-firing subwoofer powered by 300W of Class D amplification.

The Kube 12 is also housed in a sealed cabinet design for greater placement flexibility and includes a room position EQ switch on the rear to change the sound depending on whether you have the subwoofer placed in the corner, out in the room, or in a cabinet.

**Winner: Draw**

Fyne Audio F500e AV Pack 2 vs KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System: sound

With both systems fronted by five-star hi-fi speakers – namely the Fyne Audio F501E and the KEF Q Concerto Meta – our hopes were rather high.

We tested both systems with the same scene from Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, and both rewarded us with a serious dose of punch.

The Fyne speaker system soon proved itself to be a big proponent of immense cinematic scale, reinforcing the punch with bold and dramatic dynamic shifts. Detail isn’t sacrificed as a result, however, with the F501E floorstanders in particular offering plenty of crispness and clarity.

Not to be outdone, the KEF system also offers plenty of muscle, with an explosion at the start of the scene delivering a gut-punch of low end from the subwoofer. The system is agile, however, remaining fully in control while delivering a powerful and dynamic low-end kick.

The scene also reveals just how talented the KEF system’s centre channel is. A hushed conversation between Yelena and Bob results in a supremely natural and realistic representation of voices with excellent projection, which is aided by how forthright and crisp this centre channel sounds.

Despite this, the centre channel remains well integrated into the system as a whole. The left, right and centre speakers mesh seamlessly, and these in turn gel with the surrounds, leaving no noticeable gaps in between the channels.

Moving to the Matera chase scene in No Time To Die, and the Fyne system nails the “surround” aspect of “surround sound”. We’re immediately placed into the centre of the action as Bond evades henchmen in 4x4s and on motorcycles, with effects passing around our seating position and towards the surround speakers with solid accuracy and fluidity.

The KEF system too delivers an impressively coherent display of surround sound, again placing us in the centre of the action as bullets clatter against the bulletproof glass of the Aston Martin DB5. The metallic clinking of bullet casings hitting the ground and the sparkle of fragmenting glass are layered, dynamic and detailed in all of the ways we’d hope, which helps to raise tension and excitement within this sequence.

What’s particularly impressive about the KEF system, however, is how integrated the system is as a whole, with all the speakers meshing together seamlessly and leaving no noticeable gaps in between channels. Despite the Q1 Meta rear speakers being smaller than the Q Concerto Metas at the front of this system, there’s no noticeable tonal dissonance or any sacrifice in scale between the front section and the surrounds.

Which is more than can be said for the Fyne system. As impressive as the surround effect is, it also reveals the biggest drawback of the system: a lack of cohesion when it comes to the sonic character of each component.

This is felt most by the centre speaker – the F502E LCR can sound soft and less defined in comparison with the clean, clear and engaging sound of the F501E floorstanders. The centre speaker does sound better when placed against a wall, but even then voices lack purity and can sound somewhat recessed.

To top it all off, the cohesion problems don’t end there – there’s a slight sonic mismatch with the F5E surround speakers too.

This is more evident when we listen to the KEF and Fyne systems back-to-back, which only serves to highlight the KEF’s stellar sonic cohesion across its respective components. It also reveals how much more agile and precise the sound from the KEF speakers is too, whereas the Fyne package prioritises scale and cinematic punch at the expense of some dexterity.

The Fyne F500E package will have its fans, as it proved to be an exciting and engaging surround sound system with a sheer magnitude that we can’t help but admire. But its disappointing centre channel holds it back, and the KEF Q Concerto Meta system offers a bit more cinematic subtlety.

**Winner: KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System**

Fyne Audio F500e AV Pack 2 vs KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System: verdict

What we have here are two talented 5.1 systems, both fronted by five-star stereo speakers that went down very well in our hi-fi test room. The difference is that the other speakers drag the package down in the case of the Fyne – the F501E front speakers are detailed, crisp and revealing, but there’s a slight sonic mismatch with the F5E surrounds and even more so with the bulky, soft centre channel.

There’s still plenty to like in the Fyne package’s bold delivery, however, and anyone who favours big, punchy and broad cinematic sound will find themselves right at home – it just falls short of true greatness.

The KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1, however, has no such problems when it comes to sonic cohesion. To put it bluntly, the system reminds us why we love proper surround-sound systems so much, and it looks good while doing so.

**Overall winner: KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System**

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