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(More customer reviews)If you are reading this you likely know how wonderful KEF speakers sound, but if you don't know, they are among the finest personal use speakers around. And that isn't just my random opinion, it is pretty much fact. Because most audio lovers will already know how amazing these are, I will offer the review and advice I just gave my best friend when he was in the market for speakers.
Another fact is that you should purchase speakers for your main purpose. Much like if you have kids you should be looking at minivans, not sports cars as your main vehicle. That doesn't mean you can't still have the sporty red two door, but it shouldn't be your main car. Speakers work the same way--you should select them by first deciding what you main use will be.
For personal use that normal breaks it down into listening to music or watching tv/movies/playing games. These two types speak to what type of speakers you should focus on. Normally music people should look at a really nice pair of American made 3 way speakers which are normally pretty good sized. The result is a nice warm sound that "rocks".
Whereas the second type--TV/Movies/Games do better with more speakers to better build the sound field and create a surround experience. Because we don't have a ton of space, the speakers typically are smaller with a separate sub-woofer helping replace the larger speakers. This allows you to save money, space and to allow you to fill your world with separate "locations" of sound. It is key that all the speakers be from the same manufacturer and the same quality and range (which comes with the same size of speaker). The result is balanced and highly detailed sound.
Now that we have covered that, let us assume you are looking at these because you fall into that second category. One point for me to bring up is that a sub-woofer is designed to replace the largest speaker to cover the low frequencies (the bass). They are not designed to cover the mid-range frequencies (normally voices--both in music and in TV/Movies), but when you get a tiny speaker surround system, you are forcing the mid-range into the sub-woofer and the tiny tweeters (designed only for high-frequencies). This is way the Bose Acoustimass and their more expensive Lifestyle systems are poorly reviewed by anyone who knows what audio should sound like. Bose does wonderful demos that focus on the highs and the lows and allow most people to not realize what is missing.
As you can imagine, voices are VERY important across the board no matter what you are listening to so keep that in mind if you are considering 1-way plus sub-woofer based systems. One quick way of figuring out whether you are looking at 1-way or 2-way satellite speakers is simply to look at the size of the speakers. True 2-way speakers can not be tiny because the mid-range requires a slightly larger speaker.
So we have decided you need a 2-way satellite plus sub-woofer based system so what is next? Should you go with an intergraded system that includes the dvd player, receiver, etc? These are commonly known as a home theater in a box or HTIB for short. The short answer is almost always no. These packages focus on "value" but rarely deliver quality in the speaker department. The speakers are normally decent to down right poor and the other components are almost weaker compared to the stand alone units.
Past that I normally recommend buyers choose a brand to focus on and see what they get at the different price points. KEF is a European designed brand which means they are a little more tight and detailed in sound quality than their US designed competitors. That is exactly what you want in this category. While I think KEF makes amazing speakers across their entire product line, their "Home Theater" speakers really stand out for me because of this detail. The fact that these speakers have cast aluminum cabinets means the sound has a solid base to stabilize itself so you get to enjoy exactly what is produced. That helps create the clarity of these satellite speakers that allows you to here tiny details you might not have heard before, like a breath behind you or soft footsteps to your right. It is that clarity that makes you feel apart of whatever you are using them for--whether it be playing an Playstation 3 game or watching Band of Brothers.
This hauntingly good sound is why KEF has been the number 1 Home Theater speaker in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years straight. You don't hear much about them for two reasons. One they would rather spend their money making better speakers instead of advertising and they aren't sold at many US retailers. Now why is that? Because they don't have the profit for the stores that American designed speakers do and once you compare KEF to others, you would realize it isn't a fair fight. That is why you will find most Best Buy Home Theater Mangers have non-best buy speakers even with their very generous discount.
These KEF 5000 Series speakers are small and compact, but not tiny which allows for a nice full mid-range to come out of every speaker. The fact that you are effectively getting 5 of the exact same speaker means the sound field will be level and you won't have to attempt to adjust it using your receiver controls. They come with built in wall mounts that all you need to do is un-screw the hinge in the back of the speaker, revert it and screw it back in and you are ready to go. Nothing else to buy and you don't have to worry about the mounts breaking or damaging the speakers like other 3rd party mounts can. Buying these speakers separately would cost $1,750 here on Amazon.On Amazon only you can buy these KEF 5000 Series speakers with or without the designer sub-woofer. Everywhere else forces you to buy the set with the sub-woofer or purchase the speakers separately which gets expensive. This might seem minor, but KEF isn't known for amazing sub-woofers and yet with this set elsewhere, you are paying full list for the sub-woofer. Below I have linked this 5 satellite plus KEF sub set on Amazon. KEF KHT5005.2 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System (Black)
Since Amazon normally doesn't allow a lot of prices, I will simply say that if you purchase the set without the sub-woofer (B002KKCS0S, which is what you are looking at right now) you can either save money and go with a cheaper JBL sub-woofer that still has more range and power than the KEF one or you can pick up the mack daddy of them all Velodyne which still saves you money over the all KEF packaged set.
To compare the KEF sub-woofer to the Velodyne, I looked at wattage, sound quality, woofer size and frequency range.
Wattage: KEF 250 watts, JBL 400 watts, Velodyne 750 watts RMS
Woofer Size: KEF 10 inches, JBL 12 inches, Velodyne 15 inches.
Frequency Response: KEF 30-150Hz, JBL 25-150Hz, Velodyne is 14-240hz
Now after reading all of that, realize the sub-woofer with the smallest woofer, the least amount of power and the least amount of range is the most expensive...only because it is prettier than the other two. Now the interesting point to note is that the sub-woofer can be somewhat hidden as it doesn't need to be out in the open to be part of the show so you are spending money to get a lot less sub just so it will look better should someone happen to notice it. Now I can tell you everyone you have over will notice if you have that Velodyne instead because of the range and quality of sound which is why it is so highly rated.
Here is the JBL JBL ES250PBK 400-Watt High-Powered 12-Inch Subwoofer - Black and here is the Velodyne Velodyne DEQ-15R 15-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Black)
Having sold home theater equipment for many years I have been able to experience hundreds of different home theater systems/setups. This set of satellites combined with the JBL (to reduce costs) or the Velodyne would crush even much more expensive systems. The sound is balanced, clear and impressive. They show you can have quality without spending a huge amount. I always tell customers and family to spend more on speakers because if you get quality ones it is common to have them 15+ years and these fit into that category. Over time they will not only not please you every time you use them, they will save you money of cheaper speakers or "packages" like HTIB that you will upgrade at least a few times. If you want a 6.1 or 7.1 setup simply grab the extra speakers from Amazon at this link. KEF HTS5001.2BL Satellite Speaker (Single, Gloss Black)
These speakers are the cheapest I currently own, yet they are my favorites. (Can you tell I am a fan of them?) While you can pay more to get them elsewhere or in the normal bundle, like I have explained, I would grab this set without the fancy looking sub-woofer so you can pick your own for less. Make sure to come back here and review these if you purchase them so other people understand just how great they are.
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KEF KHT5005IISATBL Speaker System (Set of 5, Black)5 -satellite system featuring a dedicated centre channel and four 3-way satellites with high output aluminum 3-Inch Uni-Q drivers and twin long throw 3' mid-bass drivers, cast aluminum cabinets with integrated foot sand / wall mount, fine high gloss black finish
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