Table of Content
In total, we found that 11 reviews (or 50%) are within an overrepresented word count group. This is an excessively high number of reviews in overrepresented word count groups. 12 of the 22 reviewers have had at least one of their past reviews for another product deleted. This is an excessively large percentage of Take-Back Reviewers which may indicate unnatural reviews. Was about to get the Bose 5.1 speakers when I was introduced to Kef and the rest was history. Kef gives you High Definition sound to complement your HDTV.
I can see people being tempted, due to the T-2's slender dimensions, in sliding it behind a sofa. I feel that would tend to absorb some of the upper bass, that the package as whole requires if it's not to sound slightly hollow. So, it's best to take advantage of it's shape to make sure it's squeezed in up front and there's no reason why you can't position it sideways. That also saves you having to look at another bloody blue LED. It's red when in standby and blue when awake but I guess I'm getting used to being a lone voice on the AV beelzebub that is blue LEDs.
Setup
I mounted these using wall brackets directly to studs in my wall. Rumbles my entire room like I'm in a theater seriously. I only watch 4k Atmos movies now and my son plays his VR with the system. Don't be turned away by the critics saying you cant get good sound from thin speakers. All too often, clever engineering can deliver as many compromises, as solutions, to the problems it claims to counter. I've lost count of the times I've heard an 'invisible' speaker, where you ultimately excuse it's distinctly average reproduction with a qualifying "But it is very flat/small/pretty/etc".
They're available in various system packages; the T305 package includes four T301s, a T301c center speaker , and a T2. So while the home theater performance is excellent for a small system, the music performance is just OK. But I imagine most of the people who buy this system would use it primarily for movies and TV, secondarily for background music, and almost never for serious music listening.
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5 of the 22 reviewers have substantial overlapping product review history. This is within an acceptable range and it does not appear to be significantly affecting the overall rating for this product. They may be slim, but the T301 and T301c boast heavyweight build quality. Their faultless construction offers a rigidity and robustness that should stand them in good stead for life in the living room. The front panel of these 600mm-high speakers is almost entirely covered in a cloth grille with glimpses of black aluminium down the sides and gloss-black at the bottom.
In that recess are a power ON/OFF switch, an AUTO ON/ON selector, a 0/180deg phase selector and a three position 'Boost' switch. That offers a +3dB, or a +6dB boost centred on 40Hz, or a flat/defeat position. That will be down to your AV processor which, because of the single input option, is all you can use the T-2 with. Speaker ads are getting to be as misleading as online dating profiles.
T101c Centre Channel Speaker
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That said, I don't regret getting the 305 in the least. I actually got another set of 2 to run 7.1 but selling the house within the next year and I'd really rather go into drywall than plaster...sounds great as-is anyway. Sure, the T301s, like any £250 speaker, have their own set of compromises, but as an even handed reproducer of all programme types, there's very little to complain about and much to like. They aren't a spotlight on mid range expression, but they are very consistent in their even handed presentation and have a remarkable dynamic capability. That makes them an easy listen, with movies or music, at all volume levels.
Keep in mind that you will not get low end from a driver this small, and it has nothing to do with depth. However, you can't listen to the T305s without a subwoofer - their response is designed to have a sub present and so the sound has to be considered as a package whole. The higher than average suggested crossover of 120Hz, does place demands on the quality of upper bass from the subwoofer, if it's not to start sounding obvious. Fortunately, it appears to be very clean in this area and even when I experimented with it 90cm to the outside of the right hand speaker, it's location wasn't obvious. Still, I would recommend trying to keep it near and preferably, in between the front speakers, but that would hold for most subs.
That said, it's quite discrete and at least it is right at the bottom of the cabinet. I have been a KEF proponent for more than 2 decades with floorstanding speakers, a subwoofer and surround sound ceiling-mounted speakers in our family room since the late 90s. We recently finished our basement and I wanted to continue with KEF as the sound system for both big screen entertainment media as well as surround sound audio. The T305s were the perfect solution for an "on-wall" product that comes awfully close to floorstanding system in terms of sonic excellence. I could not be more pleased with the results - great balanced approach for the audiophile as well as the AV junkie.
Talking of music and as no review of mine is ever complete without it, I'm pleased to report that the T 305 system is a qualified success. The pin point placement of movie effects, transfers to the more more subtle landscape of stereo with aplomb. The height of the stand mounted fronts, underpinned by the smooth integration of the T 2 subwoofer, gives a remarkable sense of scale to the presentation. The soundscape is high and wide, giveing a convincing illusion of extending beyond the speakers, if not a huge distance behind them, but placement within those bounds is pin point.
Speaker cognoscenti may wonder if the tweeter is mounted concentrically inside the midwoofer, as in the Uni-Q designs for which KEF is known. Although this is no downside - Uni-Q has its pros and cons - the audio geek in me is a little disappointed. The dome of the 1-inch tweeter sits behind KEF's Tangerine Waveguide, a series of vanes intended to increase sensitivity and dispersion of the tweeter.
There was no such trouble with the slightly higher average levels of movies and music, even when more sedate fayre, without guns, bombs, death, etc, was the order of the day. Output in general from the T-2 subwoofer is actually pretty impressive, considering it's internal volume. But the T205 is about more than flat-out muscle-flexing. During quiet passages the speakers create an immersive soundstage by filling it out with subtle details, and this is most apparent during Avatar’s frequent forest expeditions. You’re plunged into a cloud of chattering creatures, softly rustling foliage and swirling, other-worldly effects that some inferior systems struggle to reproduce with the same level of clarity. Whether it’s quiet or loud, action scene or talky bit, high-frequency reproduction is mesmerising.
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