Latest KEF Uni-Q speaker review

[kenniGT]

25 hours is the point where I can begin to tell a difference. Beyond that I'm sure the system continues to improve, but the difference between 25 and 50 is probably less noticeable, especially in a car.

Exactly, general public has high level of ignorance when it comes to good quality sound systems.

 

[emiraspain]

Im still awaiting an actual customer who has listened to the stereo to say its great, or at least very good...
I listened to the version before the supposed power boost...and it was average.... not even..... but am happy for 3 4 people to come on here after driving around for a few days and say, its very good / comparable with......

but so far the europeans seem very tight with their opinions in general... i mean, it costs nothing to give them... haha

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

Im still awaiting an actual customer who has listened to the stereo to say its great, or at least very good...
I listened to the version before the supposed power boost...and it was average.... not even..... but am happy for 3 4 people to come on here after driving around for a few days and say, its very good / comparable with......

but so far the europeans seem very tight with their opinions in general... i mean, it costs nothing to give them... haha

They are following the 25 hours break in. Be patient!

 

[emiraspain]

They are following the 25 hours break in. Be patient!

you're looking for a big discussion today.....
maybe a 25 hour one....

 

[TomAce]

Im still awaiting an actual customer who has listened to the stereo to say its great, or at least very good...
I listened to the version before the supposed power boost...and it was average.... not even..... but am happy for 3 4 people to come on here after driving around for a few days and say, its very good / comparable with......

but so far the europeans seem very tight with their opinions in general... i mean, it costs nothing to give them... haha

Well, I did already:

More details for KEF Audio

But, back to the topic at hand. I am no sound expert, and even being one of the few on here to have heard said Kef sound system, the best I could say was that it was distinctly underwhelming and yes, certainly needed more power and BASE. From a business point of view though, with potentially...

www.emiraforum.com

To be fair, this listening did take place at standstill, but with running engine at least. I didn't have the chance to test drive on the 27th of September. Connected via Carplay playing my spotify playlist I was really surprised how well this sound system sounds.

It has a clean sound, I did check that equalizer was in neutral for trebble / bass. So I could listen to the system as it was intended. The dealer had done some trebble/bass "adjustments" in advance. So make sure it is not messed up when you listen to it.

At higher levels 80-90% some vibration may occur with the bass punching, couldn't locate where it was coming from and it was also a rather short listening time. But I did play some HipHop, Rock and also Jazz to evaluate the sound.

On test drive day I had the problem that Carplay wouldn't let me connect. So I had no chance to listen my playlist again, which was a pity. Only Radio FM and that sounded more or less a little flat. It would have been nice to listen to it while driving and make a final judgement on this. But it shouldn't be.

 

[emiraspain]

Well, I did already:

More details for KEF Audio

But, back to the topic at hand. I am no sound expert, and even being one of the few on here to have heard said Kef sound system, the best I could say was that it was distinctly underwhelming and yes, certainly needed more power and BASE. From a business point of view though, with potentially...

www.emiraforum.com

To be fair, this listening did take place at standstill, but with running engine at least. I didn't have the chance to test drive on the 27th of September. Connected via Carplay playing my spotify playlist I was really surprised how well this sound system sounds.

It has a clean sound, I did check that equalizer was in neutral for trebble / bass. So I could listen to the system as it was intended. The dealer had done some trebble/bass "adjustments" in advance. So make sure it is not messed up when you listen to it.

At higher levels 80-90% some vibration may occur with the bass punching, couldn't locate where it was coming from and it was also a rather short listening time. But I did play some HipHop, Rock and also Jazz to evaluate the sound.

On test drive day I had the problem that Carplay wouldn't let me connect. So I had no chance to listen my playlist again, which was a pity. Only Radio FM and that sounded more or less a little flat. It would have been nice to listen to it while driving and make a final judgement on this. But it shouldn't be.

yes i was 100% radio listening also..... but I expected more even on the FM...
we shall see over the next few weeks...months....xxxxs

 

[kenniGT]

Regarding judging of any sound system, it is quite important to know what is listening person experience in this regard. What is for some sky, for others can be a floor. The same is true about cars, and everything else

Good sounding car example, of course not easy to judge via youtube, but I think anyone should recognize some good characteristics on decent headphones.

 

[kenniGT]

And here honest talk about premium sound system in cars (here bose in porsche):
Move time to 19:00

 

[Leonard]

Well, I did already:

More details for KEF Audio

But, back to the topic at hand. I am no sound expert, and even being one of the few on here to have heard said Kef sound system, the best I could say was that it was distinctly underwhelming and yes, certainly needed more power and BASE. From a business point of view though, with potentially...

www.emiraforum.com

To be fair, this listening did take place at standstill, but with running engine at least. I didn't have the chance to test drive on the 27th of September. Connected via Carplay playing my spotify playlist I was really surprised how well this sound system sounds.

It has a clean sound, I did check that equalizer was in neutral for trebble / bass. So I could listen to the system as it was intended. The dealer had done some trebble/bass "adjustments" in advance. So make sure it is not messed up when you listen to it.

At higher levels 80-90% some vibration may occur with the bass punching, couldn't locate where it was coming from and it was also a rather short listening time. But I did play some HipHop, Rock and also Jazz to evaluate the sound.

On test drive day I had the problem that Carplay wouldn't let me connect. So I had no chance to listen my playlist again, which was a pity. Only Radio FM and that sounded more or less a little flat. It would have been nice to listen to it while driving and make a final judgement on this. But it shouldn't be.

Was this a production car with the alleged bigger output Amplifier?

 

[TomAce]

Was this a production car with the alleged bigger output Amplifier?

It's a production car, so I assume with the uprated amplifier.

To put it in perspective, it sounds to me like a good HiFi product, so rather neutral in regards to "high fidelity". It really is dependent on the source and quality of the record. If the record is bad it will also sound like it somehow, but if you have good stuff it starts to shine.

But we are still talking about a Lotus, it is no Mercedes S-class or Bugatti Veyron and hence you have to set your expectations accordingly.

 

[Eagle7]

It's a production car, so I assume with the uprated amplifier.

To put it in perspective, it sounds to me like a good HiFi product, so rather neutral in regards to "high fidelity". It really is dependent on the source and quality of the record. If the record is bad it will also sound like it somehow, but if you have good stuff it starts to shine.

But we are still talking about a Lotus, it is no Mercedes S-class or Bugatti Veyron and hence you have to set your expectations accordingly.

Ah but that's the thing. People mistakenly think that "high fidelity" means lots of bass and treble, and that's how companies weight their systems so people will think it's an expensive system. A true high fidelity system does not color the sound like that. And yes, the quality is absolutely dependent on the source, but a true high fidelity system will reveal what's actually there; both good and bad. It won't fix a bad source; quite the opposite. It will show the real difference between a bad to mediocre recording, and a great to spectacular recording. A high fidelity system will be close to neutral, but focused on reproducing the source as close to the original as possible. Some people don't like that, they want lots of bass so to them the system doesn't sound 'good'.

If you listen to a source on an average pair of headphones, even ones that are supposed to be high quality, and then listen to that exact same source on a true high end pair of headphones, the difference is startling. You'll hear detail and position in the sound space you never knew was there.

KEF is known for detail and clarity, and that should be noticeable first and foremost. If you transfer digital sound files to a flash drive, and plug that into the car's system, that should give you the best quality from the source. A cell phone using bluetooth compromises the sound quality. Depending on what you like to listen to, you'll get better results from a flash drive, but keep in mind you're in a car which is not the ideal listening environment.

 

[Evotion]

If you listen to a source on an average pair of headphones, even ones that are supposed to be high quality, and then listen to that exact same source on a true high end pair of headphones, the difference is startling. You'll hear detail and position in the sound space you never knew was there.

This is 100% true...

I recall playing Call of Duty online against a load of other players.
With shitty headphones I could just hear gunshots.
With top quality headphones you can not only hear the breathing of the bloke behind you about to knife you but which street and City he came from.