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.  
fast
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@fast

First, congratulations on your Kef Reference 5 speakers.

Second, trust the process you went through, as evident from your other thread. You took your time to research, ask for advice, listen and evaluate before finalizing a choice and purchasing them.

Third, continue to be patient, as you have been. Break in does take time and since you have tubed components (ARC) you are likely not running the speakers continuously.

Fourth, as you know, good/great relationships take work and effort. And importantly, that effort does and will pay off. I’m assuming here, but I’m sure it took some time to dial in your system to satisfaction when you brought your Proac speakers into it.

Fifth, give yourself (your ears) and your system credit and kudos for being able to easily differentiate between better and poorer recording quality.

Looking forward to your ongoing reports on your very personal journey. All the best.
What was the amplification used at the store? I wonder if your dealer could help you out experimenting with a pre/amp other than ARC. I do not know specifically about KEF break-in, but speakers do not generally go from bad to good sounding. Brightness doesn't improve over hundreds of hours. Not that you asked but like others my suggestion would to very actively find a solution instead of giving it more time. 
It might be the aluminum tweeter giving you that bright harsh sound that you describe!
Ditto to bojack. After a couple hundred hours of burn in, if you are still trying to convince yourself you like something, it’s probably not for you. Doesn’t necessarily mean there is something inherently wrong with the product, it just means it does not float your boat the way you want it to.