Thread: Reference 8b

After over a 18 months of moving, consolidating 2 houses in to a significantly downsized empty-nester home.. and then renovating. I FINALLY have some of my gear back up. Right now just a MA3 -> Bryston 4b3 -> KEF Ref 5's.

During the downsizing I got rid of my 2 JL 212's because I knew I wouldn't have room for them, and given my gear is now in the main living room there was zero chance my wife would've been ok with keeping them.

As I'm sitting here listening for the first time again, I'm realizing that I need to find a sub. I want something compact, that'll still get low frequencies.

Has anyone heard the Reference 8b? Seems like a good compact solution.

Have you played with placement of the Ref 5? My friend had a set driven by Levinson monoblocks and they were far from bass shy.

I've never gotten great low end response from them. Had Bryston 28b3's powering them at my house up north.

Great mid-bass. Not great low end.


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Check this one out, SVS SB-2000 PRO. SVS SB-2000 Pro Subwoofer | 12-inch Driver | 550 Watts RMS
We used the even smaller brother (SB1000) for our show at Lone Star Audio Fest and it worked great with the KEF LS-50 Meta, in our hotel room and it's only 12 inches square. I think the 2000 is 15 inches square.

I personally would doubt you will get a better match to your Reference 5s than the matching Reference 8b sub. KEF does indeed make some really good subs. I am constantly amazed at how good the tiny KC62s are, and how good they perform for me in my system.

Originally Posted by Phishphan

After over a 18 months of moving, consolidating 2 houses in to a significantly downsized empty-nester home.. and then renovating. I FINALLY have some of my gear back up. Right now just a MA3 -> Bryston 4b3 -> KEF Ref 5's.

During the downsizing I got rid of my 2 JL 212's because I knew I wouldn't have room for them, and given my gear is now in the main living room there was zero chance my wife would've been ok with keeping them.

As I'm sitting here listening for the first time again, I'm realizing that I need to find a sub. I want something compact, that'll still get low frequencies.

Has anyone heard the Reference 8b? Seems like a good compact solution.

I have not heard the Reference 8b sub, but I think Randy made a great case why it should be a winning solution for your setup. I looked at the specs for the Reference 8B and was impressed. This is a serious sub from KEF and hopefully it will give you exactly what you are looking for.

Am I reading correctly that KEF wants $7500 for that sub? Perhaps not wildly expensive compared to other pieces in your system, but that's silly money for a sub - up in the Magico A-series or Wilson Loke price range. I fear you're paying for the name and the miniaturization. Is a 16" cube your absolute maximum size? At that same size the Rythmik F12SE digs even deeper - down to 14hz with a single 12" driver and is a mere $1259 delivered. I have a pair of their big brother F18SE in my theater, but briefly used them with my Focal Sopra 3's in the 2-channel system to help break them in before theater duty. They were a nice match and were easy to dial in, and the piano black finish is of a very high caliber. The grille is a bit less successful aesthetically, but I leave them off so that's not an issue for me.

Now, if perfectly matching your main speakers appearance is just as important as size and performance, and budget is truly of no concern, then go for the Ref 8b. You won't find anything else that meets that particular set of requirements, and I would hope it's a capable performer like most of the rest of KEF's lineup.

Edit: Wow, I just noticed the original post is from 7 months ago... Did you end up getting the Ref 8b?