British speaker manufacturers KEF have released a revamped version of their Q-Series speakers and have got off to a fantastic start with their Q350 bookshelf speakers picking up a 5 star review from What Hi-Fi? earlier in the year in May.
The range sees KEF stick to their traditional Uni-Q design but with enhancements made to the tweeter loading tube and an improved paper cone for the mid-range.
Sat in the middle of the floorstanders above the small Q550 and below the gargantuan Q950 is the Q750 model. Featuring a 6.5″ bass woofer and two auxiliary bass radiators along with the Uni-Q driver, the Q750 is set up to give plenty of punch with its infinite baffle design. Looks wise it’s pretty similar to its predecessor (the Q700) only with a darker trim to the driver’s enclosure and cone. In fact, even the KEF logo at the top of the cabinet is dark making the black oak finish look stylishly understated.
We set up our demo pair with the Cambridge Audio 851A and matching 851C CD Player and got started with the tune “Ziggowatt” by American funk band Lettuce. We weren’t immediately overwhelmed by bass as you might expect from having the extra auxiliary bass radiators but what we got was controlled and focussed. The clean guitar lick running through the intro was smoothly presented too without any brashness allowing it to sit nicely amongst the rhythm section. It had quite a laid back feel in fact without any particular frequency range outdoing the others.
Moving on to Sevendust’s acoustic album “Time Travelers & Bonfires”, the full bodied-sound of the Q750 still comes through well and the accompanying strings aren’t too piercing, although they do sit back slightly from the mix in an almost polite way. In fact, it almost feels a little like someone has turned the treble down on the 851A (despite us using “direct mode”). Wanting to get a bit more energy out of the KEF’s, we switched to “The Way It Is” by The Prodigy and we’re soon treated to a thumping drumbeat and vibrant synths. However, it still feels like the Q750 are holding back though and that snappy top end that we were looking for just doesn’t appear. If you close your eyes it feels like the speakers have been placed further away from you than they are.
Ultimately, it seems like the Q750 have got the basics right; nicely balanced with a reasonable sense of scale and dynamics. The problems arise though when you compare what its competitors can do such as the stunning Monitor Audio Silver 300. The Q750 just doesn’t have the same crisp top end and rich tone that consistently featured through all of the frequencies with the Silvers. There’s still enough going for the Q750 though, especially if you like a smoother, more relaxed sound to your music. Their size means there’s enough bass to feel it in your chest and the mid-range integrates nicely without becoming fuzzy and unclear. Why not see if they’re the ones for you and pop into your local store for a demo?
Click to find out more about the KEF Q750 speakers.
Author: Steve, Bristol Store
