Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

**joeinid** · January 18, 2020, 11:49 AM

**MPW** · January 18, 2020, 12:05 PM

I have KEF Blade 2’s coming into my listening room next weekend (current schedule subject to change). I sold my Reference 3’s to move up the KEF line. I have listened to them pretty extensively and am pretty excited about finally owning a pair.

Listening impressions - What I really enjoy about KEF in general is the ability to listen for hours without fatigue and the Blades definitely have that characteristic. I think you give up a bit of high frequency energy with these speakers, but you are really able to relax while listening. The Blades create space as well as just about any speaker out there. Soundstage width and depth, if setup well, are quite spacious. The off axis response is quite smooth and the dispersion of the Uni-Q driver allows for an enjoyable experience for those not in the sweet spot.

Visually, they are somewhat controversial, but you have to be in the same room with them to really appreciate their presence. Very sculptural. I happen to love the look. Mine will be a custom color and I will post pics when the room is finished in a couple of weeks.

**Sean** · January 18, 2020, 12:10 PM

Congrats, Morgan! I’m looking forward to hearing more from you when they arrive. Pics, too, please!

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**joeinid** · January 18, 2020, 12:19 PM

Wow! Congratulations Morgan. That’s great. Can’t wait for your thoughts. Thanks.

**still-one** · January 18, 2020, 05:08 PM

Since I haven't heard them I don't know how they sound Joe, but they aren't as sexy as the Muon.

**Billion$Baby** · January 18, 2020, 05:14 PM

Hopefully GREGINNH can chime in. He had them for awhile but switched to the Harbeth 40.2 cause the Blade2 was causing his Tinnitus condition to become more magnified. Too dynamic if I remember his posts.

**Sean** · January 18, 2020, 05:17 PM

I remember seeing a video years ago of someone pushing Blades quite hard with Mac amps to the point the Powerguard function was activated.

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**joeinid** · January 18, 2020, 06:13 PM

Thank you. I know some speakers, even certain Sonus Faber models can do that to some people.

Originally Posted by Billion$Baby

Hopefully GREGINNH can chime in. He had them for awhile but switched to the Harbeth 40.2 cause the Blade2 was causing his Tinnitus condition to become more magnified. Too dynamic if I remember his posts.

**MPW** · January 18, 2020, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by Billion$Baby

Hopefully GREGINNH can chime in. He had them for awhile but switched to the Harbeth 40.2 cause the Blade2 was causing his Tinnitus condition to become more magnified. Too dynamic if I remember his posts.

I tried the NAD M22 (Hypex class D) on my Reference 3’s and both mine and my wife’s ears hurt after a listening session. The control those amps had over bass drivers was ridiculous to the point of pain! Thankfully, once we switched back to my Parasound JC 1’s the pain was over.

**GSOphile** · January 18, 2020, 07:43 PM

Stereophile (John Atkinson) was impressed with the Blade 2 (note cautions on room size):
https://www.stereophile.com/content/...wo-loudspeaker
Also their 2015 Joint Loudspeaker of the Year. Another strong review in SoundStage! Hi-Fi (Doug Schneider).

**Mr Peabody** · January 18, 2020, 10:56 PM

I've only heard Blades at the show, they were always in a large room. They didn't do much to excite me but I don't consider so far hearing them at their best.

If it helps, one demo by KEF went back and forth between the LS50 and Blades to show the similar voicing and how you can start small and move up while retaining the KEF sound. The mids were incredibly similar.

**Sean** · January 20, 2020, 05:02 PM

https://youtu.be/38P8SYLNleQ

Originally Posted by Sean

I remember seeing a video years ago of someone pushing Blades quite hard with Mac amps to the point the Powerguard function was activated.

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**Phishphan** · January 20, 2020, 06:16 PM

I listened to them several times when buying speakers. The Reference 5's had better midrange. The blades have more bass weight. Subs easily solve lack of deep bass performance of the reference.

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**Randy Myers** · January 23, 2020, 09:16 PM

Congratz on the Blades! A true dream speaker for me.

**Camissa** · February 9, 2020, 04:49 PM

I have black Blades and couldn’t be happier.

**joeinid** · February 18, 2020, 05:54 PM

Welcome and thank you.

Originally Posted by Camissa

I have black Blades and couldn’t be happier.

**Audioguru1** · March 20, 2020, 01:31 PM

I feel greatful to be the proud owner of a brand new pair of the Blade 2's in the special Anniversary Frost Blue finish. From an aesthetic perspective, I personally love the form factor and beautiful curves of this speaker. My understanding of the design is that it is a no compromise philosophy, all about optimizing the time domain so that the speaker acts as a single point source for the listener. I feel like pictures alone aren't enough to convey the bold look and beautiful curves, and state of the art materials/fit & finish of this speaker.

As for the sound...all I can say is "Wow". These are truly full range speakers. The bottom octaves are dynamic, powerful, tight and deep, articulate with absolutely no blooming or boominess, despite being placed quite close to my side walls. As anyone already familiar with the Kef Uni-Q driver knows, the midrange is magical, with an open and very natural airiness on the top end. The clarity and transparency is absolutely stunning, almost shockingly so - and this is coming from someone who has lived with and loved electrostatics for years! Transients, leading edges, attack, and especially soundstage, imaging, and coherence have all been materially elevated in my system. The best way I can descibe it is that the sound is so open, dynamic, and effortless. My jaw drops on favourite music and albums that I know so well. It's been an incredible experience to rediscover them on the Blade 2's. I believe the Blade 2s are getting me that much closer to the artists true intent. The emotion just pours through on every recording.

As some background, my system consists of a Lumin U1 source, streaming mostly Tidal Hifi to an MSB Reference Dac, utilizing the MSB proprietary Pro ISL connection. The Dac is hooked up directly to a pair of McIntosh 1.2k monoblocs. Kef and the McIntosh amps pair very well together in my opinion.

**Mike** · March 20, 2020, 01:47 PM

Beautiful!

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**XV-1** · March 20, 2020, 09:56 PM

love the matt finish blue colour!!

**joeinid** · March 20, 2020, 10:07 PM

Awesome!

Thank you so much for posting!

Originally Posted by Audioguru1

I feel greatful to be the proud owner of a brand new pair of the Blade 2's in the special Anniversary Frost Blue finish. From an aesthetic perspective, I personally love the form factor and beautiful curves of this speaker. My understanding of the design is that it is a no compromise philosophy, all about optimizing the time domain so that the speaker acts as a single point source for the listener. I feel like pictures alone aren't enough to convey the bold look and beautiful curves, and state of the art materials/fit & finish of this speaker.

As for the sound...all I can say is "Wow". These are truly full range speakers. The bottom octaves are dynamic, powerful, tight and deep, articulate with absolutely no blooming or boominess, despite being placed quite close to my side walls. As anyone already familiar with the Kef Uni-Q driver knows, the midrange is magical, with an open and very natural airiness on the top end. The clarity and transparency is absolutely stunning, almost shockingly so - and this is coming from someone who has lived with and loved electrostatics for years! Transients, leading edges, attack, and especially soundstage, imaging, and coherence have all been materially elevated in my system. The best way I can descibe it is that the sound is so open, dynamic, and effortless. My jaw drops on favourite music and albums that I know so well. It's been an incredible experience to rediscover them on the Blade 2's. I believe the Blade 2s are getting me that much closer to the artists true intent. The emotion just pours through on every recording.

As some background, my system consists of a Lumin U1 source, streaming mostly Tidal Hifi to an MSB Reference Dac, utilizing the MSB proprietary Pro ISL connection. The Dac is hooked up directly to a pair of McIntosh 1.2k monoblocs. Kef and the McIntosh amps pair very well together in my opinion.

**Andik777** · March 20, 2020, 10:26 PM

Beautiful!

**MPW** · March 20, 2020, 11:08 PM

I love the frosted blue color! That is the color I would have purchased had I not had the unique opportunity to acquire a one of a kind Porsche blue pair. The Blade 2 is an outstanding loudspeaker. I absolutely love mine and am glad to hear you are enjoying yours.

**steve59** · March 21, 2020, 12:40 PM

Are there any advances in the Blade 2 or is the only difference size of woofers and cabinet?

**MPW** · March 21, 2020, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by steve59

Are there any advances in the Blade 2 or is the only difference size of woofers and cabinet?

Nope. Blade 2 has 6.5” vs 9” Bass drivers for original Blade. Cabinet is sized accordingly.

**Randy Myers** · March 21, 2020, 02:16 PM

Simply awesome. Definitely a destination speaker for me. Congratulations to all you Blade (2) owners!!! I also love the blue, but I think Piano Black would be my choice to fit with my system

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**yyzSB** · July 3, 2020, 01:58 AM

The Frosted Blue and Porsche Blue are outstanding colors, congrats. My favorite speaker is the Blade, just love the way it places everything on the stage.

I have a question for the Blade owners. I finally have a medium sized room that I can now share with my toddler (living room + play room). It has the following dimensions,

Length: 21’ + opens up to a family room with a huge cutout in the wall between the 2 rooms.
Width: 12’
Ceiling: 25’

I can only place the speaker on the short wall (12'). Can the Blades work in such a confined space with the side walls so close? I spoke to Vivid Audio about their speakers and the side firing woofers (similar concept as the Blades). They said that it did not matter so much as to what the distance to the side walls and speaker was, it was the material the walls were made of that mattered. So if it was drywall, the low frequency waves would just go through the drywall and not cause booming sound inside the room. Anyone with Blades have the placement close to the walls? I am extrapolating this logic to the Blades.

**steve59** · September 25, 2020, 06:37 PM

I think I’m going to try a pair in my 17x27x7’ room, if it works I’ll post.

Thread: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

Re: Anyone own KEF Blades - either version? Thoughts?

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