Amazon has
KEF Q1 Meta Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Walnut or White) on sale for
$399.
Shipping is free.
Available Colors:
Note: Usually ships within 1 to 2 months
Best Buy also has
KEF Q1 Meta Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Various Colors) on sale for
$399.
Shipping is free or select free store pickup where stock permits.
Available Colors:
Note: Availability for pickup may vary by location
Thanks to Community Member
gabe23111 for sharing this deal.
Product Details: - Maximum Output: 150 Watts
- Q1 features KEF's revolutionary Meta material technology that can absorb 99% of the unwanted noise from the rear of the driver for pure and natural sound.
- KEF's 12th Generation Uni-Q driver acts as a single point source to disperse sound more evenly for an immersive and cohesive soundstage with better clarity.
- A critical component of the Q series is the refined crossover, which ensures seamless integration of all speaker parts. More than 1,000 specific measurements are taken for each speaker model, allowing precise signal path and optimisation for best possible performance.
- The Q Series speakers feature a contemporary minimalist design with a satin finish that offers a premium, subtle glow. Available in Satin Black, Satin White, and Walnut finishes, they are designed to blend effortlessly into any interior.
- Complementary colour-matched grilles offer the perfect balance between driver protection and aesthetics.
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The Costco LSX II LT's, on the other hand, are an all in one solution - nothing else to buy unless you want to. So they'll be cheaper (unless you use a cheap no-name amp for the Q1s). And they're more compact, which makes them better suited for something like desktop monitors, or a small near field listening space like an office or dorm room. Not that they can't play loud enough to fill a large room, just the bigger speakers, with proper power behind them, will do it more naturally.
One isn't inherently better than the other. They both have relative advantages and weaknesses, and which is best depends on your use case. Both are great speakers, though. And both will benefit massively from a good subwoofer.
Pretty darn longer answer = LS50meta owner, KEF Q150 owner (nearly the same speaker as the Q1, but without metamaterial), Q100 owner, former two time R3 owner and general audio user who has tested some 60+ pairs of various speakers over the last 6-7 years as I am a design hobbyist who DIYs speakers.
I'm comparing the LS50meta and Q150 here, I have not actually heard the Q1 but understand the data and can surmise what follows from my use of the Q150.
The upgrade is minimal and mostly just a slightly different tuning. Both speakers sound good out of the box but slight different. If you have PEQ and the know how to implement it using the available Spinorama data you can make the Q150 sound almost identical to the LS50meta and certainly 95% as enjoyable. I'm certain the Q1 would be similar in the same comparison.
The biggest change with the Q150 is to turn/shelve the treble down a little bit to sound more like the LS50meta & if you have PEQ clean up the midrange a bit with a few tweaks.
The LS50meta does have a slightly larger soundstage at all times. The Q150 can not be adjusted in way to match that property. This is a slight difference and really a personal preference as the Q150 is slight more 'pinpoint' while LS50meta slightly larger and more life-sized but also slightly more diffuse.
I prefer the LS50meta.
The LS50meta's build quality is superb but that aspect of a speakers design offers almost no sound quality gains vs the totally decent build of the Q line.
The LS50meta has an iconic look that I prefer but again not a huge SQ thing. The smoother cabinet edges might offer some gains in the goal KEF has of achieving a very even & smooth frequency response. In blind testing in niche testing arenas some listeners seems to prefer smoothed cabinet edges even when the frequency response is otherwise unchanged.
All of these speakers are small and need subwoofers for low bass and satisfying midbass. They will all sound tonally thin in comparison to speakers with deeper, fuller bass but add the sub and that fills in nicely.
All will require a high pass filter/bass management to play loudly(in all but the smallest rooms) with bass and midbass heavy content, if adding sub - make sure you remove the bass signal from these tiny woofers.
I listen to a lot of electronic music and music with bass and like moderately loud to even loud levels & none of these speakers are happy doing that without sub(s) and bass management at about 100-110hrz, yeah that high or even higher if you know what you are doing.
Don't buy the LS50meta for $1600 unless you really just want them or maybe if money is not an issue at all for you. (I own then as they are great for me as testing devices and I appreciate their iconic fame) Better options exist for most buyers at $1600, typically good towers or these Q1's with 1 or 2 subs would be much more satisfying vs the LS50's for the same $ for most people. Any decent $300-600subs would do well. This is the general objective winner in this price point, Rogersound Labs Speedwoofer 10S MKII.
KEFs own Q Concerto Meta, would likely be a better 'value' choice at the LS50meta price point.
You could also grab a set of the AsciLab C6B Passives for $1000, the BMR monitors for $2k(these are some of, if not the most incredible medium sized speakers I have ever heard) or any number of options with better bass and more output capability which I think would serve most users better than any 4-5.25" woofer monitor. If not ever using subs subs, even any well reviewed 6.5" above budget class will have a much fuller sound vs these tiny KEF drivers.
In the end you will have sighted biases and preferences and beliefs that will affect the sound along with actual personal preferences which all can't be easily parsed out.
That said there is only a little relationship between price and performance these days. Some examples, I have an older pair of Boston Acoustics A26 speakers that sound amazing to me that were $100 used. Yah, I think I'd pick them over the LS50s. I tested my JBL Studio 530s many times against more expensive speakers $ would absolutely take them over the LS50metas.
For the price they're very hard to beat, and if you want to do a Left, Center, and Right channel setup you can easily buy two of these pairs and sell off your spare speaker. You won't necessarily need the Q6 Meta or Q250c for a center.
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For the price they're very hard to beat, and if you want to do a Left, Center, and Right channel setup you can easily buy two of these pairs and sell off your spare speaker. You won't necessarily need the Q6 Meta or Q250c for a center.
For the price they're very hard to beat, and if you want to do a Left, Center, and Right channel setup you can easily buy two of these pairs and sell off your spare speaker. You won't necessarily need the Q6 Meta or Q250c for a center.
For the price they're very hard to beat, and if you want to do a Left, Center, and Right channel setup you can easily buy two of these pairs and sell off your spare speaker. You won't necessarily need the Q6 Meta or Q250c for a center.
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The Q series can be laid either horizontally or vertically right?
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That is correct. These have a single coaxial speaker so orientation doesn't effect the sound the way speakers with separate tweeters are effected. The drawback is they tend to be lacking on the low end, so they benefit from being used with a subwoofer tremendously. I recently set up my home theater with 3.1 system with 3 q150s and I really like them.
For the price they're very hard to beat, and if you want to do a Left, Center, and Right channel setup you can easily buy two of these pairs and sell off your spare speaker. You won't necessarily need the Q6 Meta or Q250c for a center.
Apparently I'm an outlier, but I didn't like how they sounded - kind of 'tinny', and lacking in the low end range as someone else already mentioned.
For the price they're very hard to beat, and if you want to do a Left, Center, and Right channel setup you can easily buy two of these pairs and sell off your spare speaker. You won't necessarily need the Q6 Meta or Q250c for a center.
I have a KEF Reference Series Model 100 for my living room center channel. If this performs anything like that, it would make a fantastic center channel.
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They are FANTASTIC. Sooo bright and detailed. Some say they are too tinny. Before or after calibration with the receiver I think they are really nice sounding (not too bright in my opinion and worth the crisp detail) They were a substantial improvement over the polk and infinity separates I had before. Listening to a well mastered rainstorm in surround is very lifelike and realistic. Even the cat gets more freaked out by the sound from the Q150s.
Note that the Q1s should be smoother sounding due to the MAT meta material behind the tweeter (no idea if it really makes a difference) Otherwise they look to be pretty similar to the Q150 other than the lower impedance.
In any case it made me a believer. I really do love the KEF speakers.
Anyone who is curious or doubts they do work great laying on their side as a center channel.
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The Costco LSX II LT's, on the other hand, are an all in one solution - nothing else to buy unless you want to. So they'll be cheaper (unless you use a cheap no-name amp for the Q1s). And they're more compact, which makes them better suited for something like desktop monitors, or a small near field listening space like an office or dorm room. Not that they can't play loud enough to fill a large room, just the bigger speakers, with proper power behind them, will do it more naturally.
One isn't inherently better than the other. They both have relative advantages and weaknesses, and which is best depends on your use case. Both are great speakers, though. And both will benefit massively from a good subwoofer.
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