Kef R3 Meta / Triangle LN 05A

[kpp]

Looking for a set of stereo speakers. Room size is 25 by 15 ft. however audio stage would be 18 by 15 ft. only (15 ft. is where you will face the speakers)

What would be a better choice in between Kef R3 Meta and Triangle LN05A? What amp would pair well with the Kef? I had Atol in mind.

Any other speakers that would be recommended within similar budget range?

 

[jai1611]

One is an active tower speaker and the other is a passive bookshelf. Not really comparable

The R3 meta is a great speaker and would work in that room size

 

[Analogous]

Hi,
Haven’t heard both the speakers mentioned above, but how did you shortlist these, considering your room is large
Wondering if a larger floor stander would fill the room (pressurise?) it better than stand mounts.?
Unless you plan on adding a subwoofer or two anyway.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Looking for a set of stereo speakers. Room size is 25 by 15 ft. however audio stage would be 18 by 15 ft. only (15 ft. is where you will face the speakers)

What would be a better choice in between Kef R3 Meta and Triangle LN05A? What amp would pair well with the Kef? I had Atol in mind.

Any other speakers that would be recommended within similar budget range?

If you look at objective data, you would be hard pressed to find anything better than the r3 meta at its price class. From my experience, the KEF R and Reference series have large ports on the back and without proper placement they activate room modes and result in boomy bass. But once properly set the woofers are great on them and the bass is accurate. The meta version has very low distortion and no compression issues. The sound on them remain same in tonality when kept at whispering levels and deafening levels.
Once you live with coaxials and got he hang of that coherent nature of its sound, it’s hard to switch back. But again, without proper placement, it may sound congested and lack seperation. Overall I find them very difficult to set up in a room right as opposed to the popular opinion.

 

[reignofchaos]

If you look at objective data, you would be hard pressed to find anything better than the r3 meta at its price class. From my experience, the KEF R and Reference series have large ports on the back and without proper placement they activate room modes and result in boomy bass. But once properly set the woofers are great on them and the bass is accurate. The meta version has very low distortion and no compression issues. The sound on them remain same in tonality when kept at whispering levels and deafening levels.
Once you live with coaxials and got he hang of that coherent nature of its sound, it’s hard to switch back. But again, without proper placement, it may sound congested and lack seperation. Overall I find them very difficult to set up in a room right as opposed to the popular opinion.

Surprising! According to the objective data, they have a bass shelf built into the response and are meant to be placed close to walls. Else they will sound lean.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Surprising! According to the objective data, they have a bass shelf built into the response and are meant to be placed close to walls. Else they will sound lean.

Bass shelf down or up? Up means it would be even more enhanced when kept against the wall

 

[reignofchaos]

Bass shelf down or up? Up means it would be even more enhanced when kept against the wall

Down - check Erin's review. He explicitly mentions due to this, it can be kept closer to the walls than other similar size speakers.

 

[Analogous]

The sound on them remain same in tonality when kept at whispering levels and deafening levels.

That’s a really good endorsement.Any Bangalore FMs have a pair? Would love to have a listen.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

If you look at objective data, you would be hard pressed to find anything better than the r3 meta at its price class. From my experience, the KEF R and Reference series have large ports on the back and without proper placement they activate room modes and result in boomy bass. But once properly set the woofers are great on them and the bass is accurate. The meta version has very low distortion and no compression issues. The sound on them remain same in tonality when kept at whispering levels and deafening levels.
Once you live with coaxials and got he hang of that coherent nature of its sound, it’s hard to switch back. But again, without proper placement, it may sound congested and lack seperation. Overall I find them very difficult to set up in a room right as opposed to the popular opinion.

Very well articulated

 

[prateekatasniya]

Looking for a set of stereo speakers. Room size is 25 by 15 ft. however audio stage would be 18 by 15 ft. only (15 ft. is where you will face the speakers)

What would be a better choice in between Kef R3 Meta and Triangle LN05A? What amp would pair well with the Kef? I had Atol in mind.

Any other speakers that would be recommended within similar budget range?

Depends on what type of sound you are expecting from the speakers.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Down - check Erin's review. He explicitly mentions due to this, it can be kept closer to the walls than other similar size speakers.

You Are right. May be where I demoed them it must have been reflecting somehow, it was booming and my own speakers are the floorstander versions and I felt it had a huge peak at around 40 hz and was overbearing that I had to plug in the ports. Also once I kept them car away from walls they started sounding the “holographic” way everyone describes. Mine are not meta though.

 

[kpp]

A few things that trickled

1. LN05A is out as it is powered. While it felt less of a hassle repairs can be an issue.
2. I took a demo of Indiq diamond towers and really liked the vocals. However I may need to take one more demo with Class AB amp that I want to purchase.
3. The room is quite empty so I may need fill it little bit is a great suggestion I recieved

For Amps these are the ones I have shortlisted

1. Nad C399
2. Audiolab 7000A
3. Atoll IN100
4. Roksan Atessa
5. Any other recommendations?

Leaning towards the Atoll IN100 unless you suggest otherwise. I prefer warm soundstage with opened up vocals mostly. I do not have a way to demo all 4 amps together.

Plan is to buy the amp and take demo between Kef r3 Meta and diamond floorstanders from indiq audio.

 

[Analogous]

A few things that trickled

1. LN05A is out as it is powered. While it felt less of a hassle repairs can be an issue.
2. I took a demo of Indiq diamond towers and really liked the vocals. However I may need to take one more demo with Class AB amp that I want to purchase.
3. The room is quite empty so I may need fill it little bit is a great suggestion I recieved

For Amps these are the ones I have shortlisted

1. Nad C399
2. Audiolab 7000A
3. Atoll IN100
4. Roksan Atessa
5. Any other recommendations?

Leaning towards the Atoll IN100 unless you suggest otherwise. I prefer warm soundstage with opened up vocals mostly. I do not have a way to demo all 4 amps together.

Plan is to buy the amp and take demo between Kef r3 Meta and diamond floorstanders from indiq audio.

Hi,
I had the Atoll IN200 for a while.
I found it very analytical and revealing (good and bad recordings) with Harbeth P3 and Indiq Diamonds. I sold it relatively quickly as it did not have the musical and engaging quality that I wanted. But that’s just my opinion with the two speakers mentioned. The N100 might be very different. Your plan to demo with your new amp is a very good idea I feel. A short playlist with familiar sounds and rhythms for the audition might be helpful too.

 

[Phew]

A few things that trickled

1. LN05A is out as it is powered. While it felt less of a hassle repairs can be an issue.
2. I took a demo of Indiq diamond towers and really liked the vocals. However I may need to take one more demo with Class AB amp that I want to purchase.
3. The room is quite empty so I may need fill it little bit is a great suggestion I recieved

For Amps these are the ones I have shortlisted

1. Nad C399
2. Audiolab 7000A
3. Atoll IN100
4. Roksan Atessa
5. Any other recommendations?

Leaning towards the Atoll IN100 unless you suggest otherwise. I prefer warm soundstage with opened up vocals mostly. I do not have a way to demo all 4 amps together.

Plan is to buy the amp and take demo between Kef r3 Meta and diamond floorstanders from indiq audio.

Amplifier budget?

 

[kpp]

Amplifier budget?

About 1L. But if spending 1.2 L gives me something that exceeds anything in 0~3L types in real world I am fine stretching it by 20K. I am open for used amps too.

 

[Phew]

About 1L. But if spending 1.2 L gives me something that exceeds anything in 0~3L types in real world I am fine stretching it by 20K. I am open for used amps too.

Quite optimistic, the amplifiers you have chosen might be good bring out the potential in the kef ls50/ fyne f500/SF lumina's and the like but for the Kef R3 meta you will need better amplification along with equally good source. For amplifiers Rogue sphinx/exposure 2510/unison research unico primo/Rotel 1572 MKII should be where you begin having a look(even better if you can find them used). Try talking to some FM's who are using O&B amplifers, Haven't heard them in person but seems like the crowds favourite in the budget segment.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Quite optimistic, the amplifiers you have chosen might be good bring out the potential in the kef ls50/ fyne f500/SF lumina's and the like but for the Kef R3 meta you will need better amplification along with equally good source. For amplifiers Rogue sphinx/exposure 2510/unison research unico primo/Rotel 1572 MKII should be where you begin having a look(even better if you can find them used). Try talking to some FM's who are using O&B amplifers, Haven't heard them in person but seems like the crowds favourite in the budget segment.

Thr kefs open up with lot of power imo. For me the moment I tried mono option of my stereo power amp and fed to the same speaker, even at whispering levels I could hear a more open presentation as opposed to how it sounded in the normal stereo mode. I do not undertand how that is even possible as at that low levels I am not even drawing few watts from the amp, from a reserve of around 300w.

 

[kpp]

Thr kefs open up with lot of power imo. For me the moment I tried mono option of my stereo power amp and fed to the same speaker, even at whispering levels I could hear a more open presentation as opposed to how it sounded in the normal stereo mode. I do not undertand how that is even possible as at that low levels I am not even drawing few watts from the amp, from a reserve of around 300w.

You have the R3 Meta? Which Amp?

 

[kpp]

Quite optimistic, the amplifiers you have chosen might be good bring out the potential in the kef ls50/ fyne f500/SF lumina's and the like but for the Kef R3 meta you will need better amplification along with equally good source. For amplifiers Rogue sphinx/exposure 2510/unison research unico primo/Rotel 1572 MKII should be where you begin having a look(even better if you can find them used). Try talking to some FM's who are using O&B amplifers, Haven't heard them in person but seems like the crowds favourite in the budget segment.

These are all over 2L... do we really need a class A or a class AB would be better if a bit of house progressive rock is thrown in?

 

[Phew]

These are all over 2L... do we really need a class A or a class AB would be better if a bit of house progressive rock is thrown in?

I haven't mentioned any class A's. Class AB is the way to go in your case.