Many cons, one BIG pro
UPDATE OCT 2014:
In the 10 months since I wrote this review, I've continued to be thrilled with my X300A's, which I listen to very often. I've played them for friends who include classical composers, professional musicians, and recording engineers, they were all blown away by the X300A's.
Right now, Amazon and KEF Direct have marked these down from $799 to $599. (The price of the wireless model has also dropped, from $999 to $799.) Amazon doesn't reveal whether and when this sale pricing will end. At this reduced price, I think they're a steal. But even at full price, I think they're totally worth it and I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.
You have a tough decision: You can buy them now and lock in this great sale price. The risk is that KEF put them on sale because they're about to roll out a newer, better model that addresses some of the shortcomings I and other reviewers have noted in our reviews.
Or, you can wait in hopes an...
Great speakers! Mac users: beware of Audio settings!
I wasn't satisfied with the B&W MM1 anymore since I want to have a deeper soundstage and a clearer bass (not just the booming base, but a clear, well-defined bass). I actually got the first pair of MM1 but I gave to my dad. Don't get me wrong, this first MM1 is amazing and the soundstage is awesome, but then I had to buy a replacement pair. This time I'm not as impressed. Somehow the sound came out flat and uninteresting. So this time I decided to go up a bit and upgrade to the KEF x300a. First impression? The bass is a lot fuller and "smoother" than the B&W MM1 (well, it's 16lbs per speaker vs. 2lbs something of the MM1...) at a low/medium volume. As of current, I'm still enjoying my 4th song, which is a song by Lizz Wright on her excellent The Orchard album. I'll see how the "breaking-in" goes but I'm sure it'll be a joy to listening to this pair of speakers. So far so good ...
However, I'm running a Macbook Pro with Mavericks. At first, the sound came out...
I like the simplicity--and relative compactness--of the KEFs while not giving ...
I'm not an audiophile so I'll keep my comments relatively short. I have these hooked up to a Mac Mini, playing 24-bit/96kHz lossless through iTunes. I like the simplicity--and relative compactness--of the KEFs while not giving up soundstage. And boy do they pop. I recently experimented with mid-range amp-driven headphones as an economic alternative to high-end bookshelf speakers but found that I couldn't tell THAT much of a difference between Spotify streaming and my 24 bit collection. That didn't seem right. These KEFs, on the other hand, pop with such clarity that the difference is noticeable even to my inexpert ear. Jazz, Classical, Rock, and Electronic music all sound fantastic. The vocals are warm and feel immediate. The only limitation is that orchestral music isn't reproduced all that well, probably due to the small speaker size.
Update:
After 2 months I've had more time to experiment with my setup. Initially I was disappointed by the x300a's ability to...
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