cafe67 Posted March 11 Posted March 11 (edited) I’ve been curious about some cheaper speakers to have a listen to and was lent a pair of Kef Concerto Meta bookshelf speakers to try by the friendly guys at @Douglas HiFi Getting them home and moving the box around , proved to be weighty and solid without being back breaking like my Marten Parker Duos. Packaging consisted a single box with the speakers wrapped the usual foam sheeting and held in place by generous foam corner pieces with the grills being held in a smaller cardboard box. The speakers are well made and feel solid with sharp corners and all fixings hidden add to feeling above the price point. Like a model T Ford, mine came in black vinyl wrap. Black satin in this case which with the glossy finishes around the drivers adds to an understated but classy. Decent single wiring terminals and a largish port finish off the rear. At the moment my room is a bit full of speakers with the Marten Parkers and also the Dali Epicon 6 floor standers. Moved the Parkers off their stands which stand about 60cm high, placed the Concertos in place and plugged them in and now to listen. How do they sound - very good. First thing I noticed was how well the highs and mids were presented , plenty of detail without being overly bright and a good quality to the bass. Plenty deep without being boomy. I did have them toed in towards the listening position, but I did find this seemed to narrow the soundstage ( more than I’m used to with either the Epicons or the Parkers and also seemed to add a bit of brightness to the detail. Facing them pretty much straight forward , opened up the soundstage and also removed the brightness for a more natural sound. Given more time and more room, I’d position the Concertos wider if I could - ie move the Epicons inside and place the Concertos outside of them. The bass is goes deep and seems well controlled, I did have them out a bit from the front wall, they do come with the Kef inner/outer style foam bungs, but I didn’t feel a need to use them. One of the first tracks, I played was Yello’s “Rhythm Divine” for the One Second Album. The Concertos did a great job of conveying the big sound glamour of the song with Shirley Bassey’s soaring vocals and the accompanying orchestrations. Next up “Spor” from Norwegian Kari Bemnes album Det Vi Har. A simpler track and perhaps the most electronic one on the album. The Concertos do well in keeping up with bass lines and again Kari’s vocals. “Think” by Kaleida is a similar style track , but again the Concertos manage to play the deep bass of the drums and electronics while also playing the female vocals. Next 2 tracks are from The Durutti Column - Obey The Time album which is a personal fav of mine. First track is “Hotel of the Lake". Fairly straightforward tune, but the Concertos did a good job of defining the crunchy bass guitar - better ie more expensive speakers like the Parker’s do a better job of defining this sound , but I’ve also heard other speakers just present it as poorly defined bass note. Second song is “contraindications” a faster song with a lot happening. Speakers have to be able to keep up with the fast drum programming , guitar playing and then unusual synth tune that comes in and out through the song, the concertos keep up just fine. Final track so far, another (Norwegian) female vocal track - Ane Bruns “ These Days” from the It All Starts From One album. A less electronic song , the star being Ane Bruns vocals with a fairly sparse accompanying tune. The Concertos do an excellent job of portraying those vocals from the quieter verse to the louder chorus. more listening They play loud with getting out of shape , on an early listening of this track, I was hitting 84db peaks on the drums. “Fallujah” by the Black Cat Neighbourhood. They do jazz well, keeping up with the tempo and brass of Too Darn Hot by the Jan Harbeck Quartet. Edited March 11 by cafe67 5
Recommended Posts