KEF R300
I’m a big fan of KEF LS50 & Blade 2 speakers, I do own a pair of LS50s speakers that I enjoy listening everyday. When I have chance to review R300 speakers I jumped on it, even though I was not that optimistic because I did not like most of small to mid-size 3 way bookshelf speakers I’ve tried in the past but it is about to change even before I know it
Build quality of R300 is very good but cabinets are not in the class of LS50s cabinets, in this price point most of bookshelf speakers have similar quality of craftsmanship with high quality drivers. I do like the look and build quality of R300 speakers
Out of the box sounded bass heavy with thin top end that really turned me off but never sounded harsh or bright, I did break them in for a few days(40+hours) and listen to them again, everything seemed settle down but bass is still heavy so I pulled them out 3ft away from the wall and moved my couch to 10ft away from speakers, that was it, nicely balanced natural sounding pair of reference grade bookshelf speakers that I can enjoy listening for many hours. When I’m typing this review R300s are at 100+hours of playing time in my system
Great dynamic sound stage, very detail transparent sound yet not analytical, smooth but not too warm, very good natural balanced tone quality, with careful placement right equipments these are hard to beat because when I’m playing at 90+db of loud level sound quality is still the same and stereo image does not collapse, do not get harsh or anything that can throw off the sound stage but I would not use them in smaller room because it can get bass heavy with some recording even in my room(14x24 with 9ft ceiling)
Impressive sounding at any volume level, even at late night low volume level listening detail and sound stage is pretty amazing. These are the speakers that hard to go wrong with them. I only rate them 4.5 stars because it’s missing the sweet mid range like LS50s otherwise everything else is great, I still preferred the mid range of LS50s over R300 but don’t get me wrong I could live with R300 for long time without thinking of upgrading
R300 speakers are musically, aesthetically very much enjoyable, the most stand out performance is sheer ability to play loud, bass performance like tower speakers, I have listen to them for 3-4 hour straight without getting tired. Sured, I like them a lot.
Also, could be the only bookshelf speakers that can easily compete with many towers in price range for sound quality, bass response, power handling etc
Highly Recommended
Pros: Build Quality, Sound Quality
Cons: Price
Highs:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mid-Range: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bass: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sound Stage:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️