Which is Better for Home Theater: (3) Kef R3 or (3) Kef R2c Center Channel speakers?

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

If you are interested in buying either of these, please consider using my Amazon affiliate link as it earns me a small commission which helps me fund the channel. Kef R3: amzn.to/3At62Pp Kef R2c: amzn.to/2U5RIwy

[@stevenswall]

9:00 According to B&W, and Genelec if I recall correctly, as long as your distance from the wall to the speaker is the radius of the port, you're not restricting it in any meaningful way. So if you have a 3" diameter circular port, you'd need it to be 1.5" away from the wall. The area of a 3" port is 7.07" square. If we take the 9.425" diameter of the port and multiply it by the 1.5" wall distance we get about 14.14" square, so twice the area to vent into compared to the port exit, which is plenty to not effect it.

[@martifilipponi1024]

I just bought r11's a couple of weeks ago and I'm using a q100 as a center because I originally had a 6.1 setup using all q100s I've been thinking of buying the rc2 because the sound quality of the r11 is just so superior to the q100 that it sounds like a tin box. I wish I could use a phantom center and keep my surrounds going but there's no way to do that anymore as in two channel setup the center image is spot on

[@keepingupwiththejones2933]

Yes , I love hearing Erin speak about what if scenarios.

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

What if I won the lottery? Don't even get me started!!!! 😂

[@marcbittner]

Awesome info here. Part of me really wants to replace my r2c with an r3 (i have r3's for my surrounds)....hard to justify the cost though, especially since the r3s aren't sold individually

[@zombielandiii2711]

Is it better kef r100 ( or kef r50 ) than Klipsch RP 500m for Atmos and surrounds? I'm asking because I just bought a pair of Kef R3 for left and right mains. Any way thanks for the review.

[@peerguy]

Good answer. Thanks. I purchased R2C and 2 R3s for home theater and saw this video. Oops.. I would’ve gotten the R3 for center.. ugh!

[@mikedinno8413]

So does a bookshelf placed vertically perform better than a typical center channel?

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

Generally speaking, yes. That is why it is often recommended to use the same speaker for your center as you use for your mains.

[@mikedinno8413]

@@ErinsAudioCorner Audioholics did an article stating that but then Gene wrote another one to counter it saying that an MTM is better than a bookshelf so the data is all over the place.

[@slyfoxx8540]

Do you prefer the r3 over the elac unifi refrence considering the more wide sound stage of the uni?

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

A hybrid would be ideal. But I’d probably go with the Kef based on what I thought of them at the time.

[@slyfoxx8540]

@@ErinsAudioCorner interesting, thanks. Just don't what to think of some opinions of it being a tad "boring". Does look badass though.

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

I don’t know why anyone would say it’s boring unless they’re talking about bass and at that point, there aren’t many bookshelf speakers that don’t require a subwoofer.

[@slyfoxx8540]

@@ErinsAudioCorner true. Think I'll have to try for a demo to see for myself.

[@nezukokamado5888]

Hi, which LCR is better ? run 3 x Polk xt15 or 3 x Polk xt30 ? Pls help

[@dontpokethebear3893]

R2c seems to be almost 2 inches shorter than the R3 on its side. Frankly I don’t think I can find anything that performs anything even remotely close to the R2c that can be less than 7 inches thin.

[@TH-lo8mq]

It's true. There is no other 3 way this small that I am aware of because they are not coaxial. They have to offset the midrange and tweeter which adds to the height.

[@Alex-du2cx]

Do you know much about kef r600c middle

[@4khill462]

Have you done this test on ELAC Uni-Fi series? I'm using 2x CC-U5 centers vertically as L/R

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

I tested the UBR62 last summer.

[@josegazal701]

Thank you, great video as usual!

[@online_screen_name]

Should be selling these in a 3 pack

[@abdo-dr1tu]

What really surprised me in the R2C is how the sensitivity is not increased at all with the additional woofers. Is the setup midrange limited?

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

Most certainly. The raw driver is likely mid-80’s. I tested the R500 raw driver hears back and that’s what I found.

[@ACM1000000PT]

the r2c use 5.25'' x2 and have the same sensitivity as R3 6.5'' woofer..., it does

[@werissonws]

I always have the impression that the old r900/r700/500 are still better than the q950/750/550. I can not accept with the 2 fake subwoofer.

[@4khill462]

They're not fake subwoofers, they're woofers that are dedicated to sub-400 freqs. Makes it easier/cleaner for woofer and midrange

[@streamnoremorse]

Is R3 good for classic heavy like Iron Maiden? 2000 recordings with good quality

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

Sure. Just don’t expect chest pounding bass out of it. Get a subwoofer for that.

[@streamnoremorse]

@@ErinsAudioCorner So thank you. I do not need deep bass. But bass is important. I need good quality.

[@streamnoremorse]

@@ErinsAudioCorner any alternatives to R3? Eve SC207?

[@abdo-dr1tu]

The KEF R3 showed deficiencies in the data? Are we looking at the same data here?

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

Yup. No speaker is perfect.

[@Psyphonyx_Life]

Always wondered about this in many models.. This is great

[@BenjiGator23]

Great videos! Based on what you’ve seen from the data and heard, would you EQ the R3 and R2C (ex. Audyssey) through the entire range (20Hz - 20KHz) or would you limit the EQ up to a certain point (say 300Hz)?

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

I would only eq for the speaker of either the R3 and R2c in a couple spots. For example, the R2c needed cutting around 8kHz. I wouldn’t let full-blown room correction run any higher than maybe 400/500Hz (depending on your room size).

[@marcbittner]

@@ErinsAudioCorner Random: is there a way to isolate the transition frequency of a room based on measurements? I roll my own room correction using eq and published spinnorama data as target curves, but my room has goofy dimensions, so i struggle to determine where to bound the correction.

[@davidfuller581]

Seems like the R3 is probably the better choice overall, at least for L/R, but I suppose due to the coaxial design they could probably comfortably be turned on their sides for a center channel. What I don't understand, though, is _why KEF designs in that LF down-tilt._ It doesn't make any sense to me, and just makes the speakers harder to drive in the low end than strictly necessary.

[@joelopez7459]

Who is going to let you buy a single speaker tho? This aint CSS audio

[@joppepeelen]

l just discovered this channel (due to a friend ), a question. how did you buy a 50.000 klippel system ? of do i miss something. i would love to see a planar magnetic in the measurements if you can magnepan, or apogee, or something i make ;) i know they wont measure all that glorious (seen some in the past of the LRS and klippel. although its the most populair maggie :). but i would be interested anyhow :) but im not sure witch klippel system you bought since some planars.. are well hugh. :) anyhow interesting stuff !

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

The Klippel Near Field Scanner is the system I use to measure loudspeakers. I also use other Klippel products to measure subwoofers and raw drive units.

[@Canadian_Eh_I]

right on! This puts a big 'what if' to rest. Purposeful design is usually better than adhoc use cases.

[@IrenESorius]

Thanks Erin,, 👍‍‍😎👍‍‍!

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

👍

[@richm4402]

You mentioned the R2C being a sealed box? It’s actually ported

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

No, it’s not. The R2c is a sealed enclosure. Look at the photos on my website. www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/kef_r2c/

[@richm4402]

@@ErinsAudioCorner apologies Erin ! I was on the Kef site looking at this speaker today and they make reference to the R series’s using their ‘ flex port’ technology. I should of looked at the specs that clearly state the R2C is a sealed design. Thanks for the review!

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

No worries. It happens.

[@milan616]

Erin, I know you said you want to use the Klippel more so ... how much of a pain in the ass would it be to do all your measurements of ported speakers sealed up as well? 😅 Think it would be interesting reading/viewing like with the Neumi's

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

I do that for some already. Usually if the results or my listening tests indicate the port being a problem.

[@pyrocrew17]

Goonies 👍👍

[@ErinsAudioCorner]

Heeey you guys!

[@pyrocrew17]

@@ErinsAudioCorner 🤙🤙 stay to the right lol ha ha