New KEF Reference 5 speakers


After many months of auditioning speakers (and probably testing the patience of several salesmen) I finally decided to get the KEF Reference 5s.  I just loved the wide sound stage and almost holographic imaging, among other things.  They were delivered in February and I’ve spent many hours listening.  At first I was disappointed.  They just didn’t produce the same imaging at my house with my equipment as in the store.  Also, they sounded bright and harsh with violins and high end music.  The dealer came to my house along with the regional sales rep from KEF to provide advice.  They urged me to allow more break in time (at that point they had been played about 100 hours). After many more hours, I am becoming more acquainted with them.  They are still improving with time.  Them break in period seems to be very lon. They’ve played several hundred hours and are still improving. They are extremely source sensitive—meaning that a poorly engineered record or CD will sound terrible and a well recorded one can be great.  I suppose this is a good thing with the KEFS-that they reveal flaws so well says something about their accuracy. Unfortunately there seem to be more bad recordings than good ones so I’m finding many of my CDs and records very difficult to listen to.  I am still experimenting with speaker placement, learning which recordings are really good and which aren’t and other tweaks.  Not totally convinced it’s love but we are at least in like and the relationship is moving in a positive direction. I’ve delayed posting anything until now because I didn’t want to share any premature conclusions.  
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I just have to say congrats: those speakers are way over-the-top, and likely will do you well for many, many upgrades in the RIGHT direction. And should be for the price, right?

My local dealer has them, and I have to say they are what I said in the above paragraph, and it's obvious. Even though I am not familiar with the system and components, listening through them with the streaming makes it super obvious to me the quality of the streaming lacks from what I was used to. 

Personally, if your system is making crappy sources sound like crap, that's a GREAT system! It's doing what it is supposed to do!
Those Kef are not the last word in resolution (quite British polite in fact) - so I am surprised you find them harsh and bright.

What are you using to drive them? I would recommend a warm tube preamp (not lush but warm). Mcintosh or Conrad Johnson. This will take the edge off everything and give you some mid range warmth.

What is your room like? Do you have absorbing rug or carpet? You might need to reduce reflectivity.
I love my Reference 5s.  Your patience will pay off and you will be rewarded with the soundstage and imaging you experienced in your demo once you dial them in.  You did not say what components you are using, but they do love an abundance of quality high current power.