KEF show at Alpha High End with the Reference Series & Blade 2 - March 2016

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Impeccably built:






I stayed quite a while in this room.
Heard different pieces and styles.
I moved around a bit until I found the sweet spot.
Unlike expected from a Uni-Q driver, you have to consider that the sweet spot is really small.
Stevie Ray Vaughan sounded good, as long as I didn't move my head too much.
Bass extension was very decent for a stand mounter.
Compared to the Ref 3, the enclosure was even playing more along with the music, which was a bit disturbing for me.

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Now to the last room.
Some personal audio underway.




Has somebody heard this?
If I understand well, it doesn't need batteries.

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The new Naim:

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The last room, the Tintin Room, seen through the door:




A very well treated room.




Musical Fidelity amplification, the KEF Reference 5 and... Meta.
The highest end possible.




Sources: a Naim streamer/DAC with separate power supply, and the T+A HV series SACD player.

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As said before, the Ref 5 has the 4 same 6.5" woofers as the Blade 2.
The Uni-Q driver is only slightly different.

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Once again, one can only stand in admiration for the outstanding quality of manufacturing.








First, we heard a couple of tracks from the Naim.

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A lot of detail, clarity, and... hifi-ness.
Like the other times I heard Naim DACs, the sound was too bright for my taste.
It's like the music becomes a bit edgy.
I'm sure a lot of audiophiles will like this but I really prefer it a bit more rounded.
I asked for some tunes via the T+A, a source I know quite well by now.




Chris, Sammy's colleague played this SACD for me:




The tune 'Fever' from the splendid Analogue Productions remaster sounded like it has to: detailed, deep, huge soundstage, and... not edgy.
There will be no Naim in my house in the near future.
A T+A?
Much more probable.

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Thanks to a very good room, this system sounded, with the T+A, good, to very good.
Some of the listeners preferred it even to the Blade 2s.
I didn't.
Although even more discrete than with the Ref 3s, the sound was still a (very) little bit boxy.
And the Blade sounded more musical overall to me.




Power amp: 2x50W in Class A:








Pre: with tubes.

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Elsewhere in the room: some very fine, but unemployed gear:




But the star of the show was KEF!

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There was another team shooting.




Again: I think Ivan has to make a Blu-ray about hiding cables.




Although, for a show, that could be overkill, and Meta would have less objects for her photographs.