Q350 Bookshelf Speaker

For a retail price of $500 I am so incredibly blown away. Trust me and ignore any negative reviews for this speaker. I have listened to many many speakers around this and we'll above this price range. I just sold my beloved focal 726 tower speakers that cost 3.5 times are much at the Q350s, and I also own a pair of Polk A3s. These Kefs blow all the speakers in this price range clear out of the water. I have barely even set these up and much less broken them I'm but here's a quick summary of what I'm hearing in order of WOW...Soundstage: wow wow wow, did I say wow? These suckers soundstage better than ANY speaker I've listened to, which is really hard for me to grasp. No matter the placement (we'll get to that!), Soundstage is on point and EXTREMELY wide.Bass: let me just say, I am a huge advocate for a small sealed subwoofer with any system. However, you COULD run these without a sub if you're really on a budget. In my room and 14in from the back wall, the Q350s sing all the way down to 45hz!!! (Then they fall off hard) But 99% of music never even reaches down that far. But more important to me, the bass is extremely clean and clear, being a 6.5 woofer. It is also extremely present and punchy, and I did have to EQ off a little of the low end since it seemed over balance the mids.Build: though not as solid is some other speakers I've owned, the Kef Q350s are absolutely stunning, even more so in real life. The finish is a really nice texture, and welcomed break from the over-poluted fake wood vinyl that nearly every speaker sports these days.Treble: despite what I've heard and read, the upper end of these speakers is very detailed. They are definitely warm speakers, so "S" "P" and high hats are a little "rounder" for a lack of a better word. But female vocals are very crispe and breathy enough for me. Too much "detail" and you get fatiguing speakers, and I think kef got the treble just about right for the Q350s.So what don't I like about these speakers so far? Well as everyone warned me I'm the internet, placing these speakers is NOT FUN!! They have a sweet spot that they like, and probably rooms that they don't like. They aren't very forgiving with placement, and I'm sure that causes most of the negative reviews (which is probably something they won't admit I'm their reviews, haha). As a helpful reference, I have my 350s intersecting at a relatively standard 2-3ft behind my listening position. They are 14in from the back wall, and I sit relatively close to my back wall. They are also quite far apart from each other in comparison to how close I am to them. They need a fair bit of toe in compared to what I do for most speakers in this room.So basically if you are tempted to buy these, do it! You won't be disappointed. And if the Q350s are a little high on price for you, I'd imagine the Q150s are an even better deal for $300!

Before buying these KEFs, I like many others obsessionally belabored the choice. I read a zillion reviews. Watched a zillion YouTube reviews. I considered all the current bookshelf speakers that are being talked about in the current year. I bought and auditioned the Triangle Bro 3, the Klipsch RP 600M, Elac Unifi 2.0 and this KEF Q350. All of these speakers are highly regarded. The Q350 was not released recently but the KEF sound with the Uni-Q drivers has been praised for many years. (The new KEF LS50 Meta is their current media darling. Would have loved to buy it but it costs literally twice as much. And these are already pretty pricey for my budget. 😊)After much critical listening I decided to keep these.Their precision and detail are simply better and more exact than the others. Their imaging is remarkable. And aside from that, they simply sound more beautiful. Like the difference between a really nice Yamaha piano and a Steinway. The sound is richer. The notes resonate better.My second favorite was the Elac Unfi 2.0. Really great also. But didnt quite have as good separation as the Q350s. The KEFS also have a comforting sound. That’s why I use the term “warm”. It’s not that it is colored. It just sounds more real. (Like the difference a tube amp makes. Just more realness.)As many reviews have mentioned, these speakers will sound pretty different depending on how you position them in the room. I intend to try many more configurations as time goes on to see where they work the best in my given space. These speakers have a very strong centering of the vocals. I wouldn’t mind diffusing that a little bit if I can. Ive already heard that I can alter that a bit by placement changes.I’m running these with an Elac 10” subwoofer which fills out the sound nicely at the bottom. I may try another woofer to get a faster tighter bass hit in the future.I use Qobuz and stream high bit rate files whenever available. Definitely ups the game well beyond typical streaming (Spotify)I will report back on this review after Ive “broken them in” (Some people claim this opens the sound stage over time. It may simply be a placebo effect or my own hearing re-learning what to expect from the given sound source. We shall see...)At close range with a bit of toe-in, these speakers are like listening to giant studio-grade headphones. The exactness is thrilling. Like headphones without anything clamping your head. 😁Oh, and looks wise, they are very elegant. Unique.So far I’m digging these KEFs 👍🏻

Excellent sound and build quality. I was surprised how much bass they can produce, but really work best with a sub. The unique driver really gets the mids and highs correct. These are truly audiophile speakers! Plus they lend themselves out beautifully for both modern and vintage amps.