Audiophilepure

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/kef-lsx-ii

We’re used to KEF’s UniQ driver producing a stereo image that’s like a bubble of sound and this quality is apparent with the new LSX. Play Tina Turner’s Proud Mary and the system gets the layering of all the different elements of the track spot on. As different elements introduce themselves such as the guitar, drums, Turner’s voice and the accompanying male voice hanging in the background, the music becomes more interesting to listen to – and that’s before she launches into the more frantic section of the track. Tonally, the whole presentation is extremely inviting and shows a lot of natural warmth. And this rings true whether you’re listening to the speakers in a more conventional set-up on the stands or you’re sitting more up close and personal using them on a desktop. The closer you get, the more precise and focused they sound – so from this point of view, they’re extremely flexible too.

I was surprised overall at how well these babies performed, but I feel that the mid-bass driver is being asked to do too much. Perhaps a small cap to roll off the bass sharply below 70 Hz. I know that would induce some phase shift, but that is not quite so noticeable in the very low frequencies. However, if you have room correction, this can easily be accomplished in the preamp or processor. If your preamp or processor has tone controls, then simply roll off the bass below 70 Hz.

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/dali-oberon-9-speakers

A true three-way design is relatively rare at this price and means that the midrange and bass units can be properly optimised to work in their specific part of the frequency range. The crossover points are relatively conventional, being set at 780Hz and 3400Hz. In contrast, the mid/bass unit in a two-way configuration is inevitably compromised by having to accommodate a broader spread of frequencies. Of course, a two-way has a simpler crossover network and so gains an advantage there.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/janszen-valentina-p8-loudspeaker

The reason I discussed the setup of the JansZen Audio Valentina P8 at such length was that this is a speaker that requires such attention to detail in order to get it to sing. But as I found in my auditioning, when everything is just right, this made-in-America loudspeaker can indeed sing, as long as you are in the sweet spot. I particularly appreciated the detailed, transparent midrange and treble, the articulate, reasonably extended low frequencies, and the well-defined imaging. To repeat J. Gordon Holt’s words about the 1966 JansZen speaker, the Valentina P8 offered a “musically natural window” to the sound of my favorite recordings. And I must include a tip of the hat to David Janszen for his comprehensive manual, which I found essential during the setup process

What can I say more about these that I haven’t already covered in the Trio review? They are more of everything! Volume, heft, SPL, and stature. If that is what you’re looking for—you came to the right place. And don’t worry about your room size too much—honestly, due to them being dipoles, you can run them in awkward rooms and get very pleasurable nearfield listening out of them. I can say this with actual experience (they currently are living in a 22′ x 12′ room) so they are quite versatile. If you have the Trios, consider this a major upgrade (if your room allows it) or if you’re considering a PAP system then I say skip the smaller one and just go with these! I can’t recommend the company or the speakers enough. 

https://www.hifinews.com/content/kef-blade-one-meta-loudspeaker

At the heart of the Blade One Meta is the latest version of the Uni-Q, now in its 12th generation and complete with KEF’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology – also used in the company’s updated Meta versions of its Reference series. The driver combines a 25mm dome tweeter with a stiffened dome and a revised tweeter gap damper to accommodate the metamaterial absorber behind it. This circular device uses a complex maze-shaped structure of channels to absorb a claimed 99% of the sound from the rear of the tweeter – or, as KEF puts it, it acts as ‘an acoustic black hole’ – to give a purer, cleaner mid/treble output [for a deep dive into Meta, see HFN Jun ’21].

Finally, the company’s familiar ‘tangerine’ segmented waveguide is used to control, and widen, treble dispersion. The tweeter sits in the throat of a 125mm aluminium-cone midrange unit with a new motor designed for extremely low distortion. The surround is redesigned to allow longer excursion while the profiles have been reworked to smooth the transition from the face of the driver to the cabinet geometry.