New 2018 KEF R series...?

Its definitely based on the Reference 1, but less robust cabinet and baffle, smaller overall cabinet, and drivers that are tapped instead of bolted through.

Stereoplay has tested the R7 and they indicate a step forward in the latest UniQ. Kef details a 12th generation of the driver that reduces the air gap between the tweeter and midrange. Seems the shadow flare also helps dispersion as that shows some improvement. For the asking price, its a competitive product and should be auditioned if one was in the market for something like this. You can also try the Elac Adante, which is rather similar in design. Sonus Faber Sonnetto II will have a distinctly different sound. This would in the least be a good starting point.

Read through the (very detailed) white paper on the new series. Of course a lot of ad-speak, but it seems a lot of facts and illustrations to back it up. I should get to hear the R3 this weekend.

[url]http://us.kef.com/media/doc/r2018_whitepaper_en.pdf[/url]

Any updates here? Curious about the new lineup, specifically the R3’s. It would be interesting to compare them to the R5’s as the bookshelves have a larger LF woofer (6.5" vs 5.25") albeit only one of them.

I see that some colors of the new R series are in stock at kefdirect. I’m really curious to see how good they sound. 

I brought home the R 3s last night. After setting up and getting positioning right I began to play with them. Streamed a little of everything on Amazon, then played some of my favorite Jazz cds and finished with some vinyl. it's only been one night, but I'm pretty happy. Vocals are incredibly clean, mid range is detailed and the sound stage is well defined. The bass is ample and tight for a speaker this size, but I did add a old Polk sub I had laying around, and preferred the addition of the sub with most music. I'm gonna live with them for a while, but I feel I will be shopping for a new sub shortly. My listening room is 13 x 17 and the ceilings are 16 feet high, no problem filling the room. The speakers are beautiful, I bought piano black, they compliment my other equipment.

Yamaha AS2100
Yamaha CDS2100
Dennon DP51F
Grado Red2