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
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.
One would hope that the dealer would allow you to demo the same frontend that was used in their demo room.

A process of elimination is in order here.
Don't wait til the warranty has elapsed with an extended "break-in" period.
A slightly different thought.  Is your room more livelythan the dealers?   It is amazing what $500 of sound treatments placed at the first reflection points can do to improve the sound of a “bright” speaker.  

I do agree with the others, for the amount you spent, you should love your purchase.  
I listened extensively to the REF 1 (well broken in) and it was a big disappointment, especially since I loved the KEF LS50s.  
The REF 1 come off as metallic and un-natural.  If the REF 5s are voiced similarly I can understand your hesitation.  
The REF 1s were hugely over priced even at a substantial discount from original MSRP.  
Strongly consider exchanging them for something more natural sounding.