Kef Blade to Blade meta?


I've gone as far as reaching out to KEF directly to find a pair to demo, unfortunately their choice of retailer, best buy, doesn't hire the most savvy sales rep's so the list of stores that the KEF rep told me had the meta's was incorrect and I haven't been able to find a pair to listen to. I'm not even sure what I'd like improved in the meta's, If anyone can describe the differences they hear in the blade meta's and what listening conditions were at the time I'd appreciate it. tia

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xsteve59

I have heard the original Reference 5, Reference 5 meta and the Blade on different occasions with different equipment, never got to hear the Blade Meta. You are not going to get too much of a sonic upgrade once you get past this price bracket just by getting the Meta version, especially with the same manufacturer and what they claim they improved (that metamaterial whatever, otherwise known as tech saturation).

So...if we're thinking about other manufacturers, I got to hear the Reference 5 meta against some much more expensive Sonus Fabers and a flagship B&W in the same room. The KEF was just a superior speaker sonically for just around 23k, walked all over them. The only true competitor i can think of in terms of bang 4 buck around that price is the Borresen X6.

You could keep the Blade and get a Borresen X6, which would leave you with 2 pairs of very different speakers & different flavors...instead of listening to the same 1 pair of speakers over and over or chasing some miniscule upgrade that may or may not be worth it/audible. It might be a better way to spend your cash...

Since the X6 is also cheaper than the Blade Meta, you could add some some very high quality subwoofers with the cash saved.

Haven't heard the Blades but when it comes to the little LS50 compared to the newer LS50 Meta... I felt like the Meta was just a bit different, not really any better or worse. Not sure how that translates to the Blade though.

I like the idea posted above about trying a set of very different speakers sharing space in the same room. Not everyone can pull this off due to space or lack of family approval. But if you can it might be a great option. All sorts of very fun monitor speakers for example, that would give a different take on your music than the Blades, and not cost a ton of cash.