Kef Surround System Setup

[lse1]

I have just imported a used Kef Surround setup with an Onkyo Amp. Does anyone have experience in setting it up?

Where to buy top quality Bi-Wire in Islo as I fogot to get that! Will be posting pics of the setup! No need to say that it was sounding out of this world when I tested it!

[fazalwahab11375]

which series and model#?

[lse1]

Kef Q5 Front

Kef Q800DS Dipole for Surround

Kef Q6c Centre front

Kef PSW 3000 Sub

Onkyo TX-SR608 7.2 Channel 100 Watt Receiver

[Naweed]

Nice System ... asking cost price would be indecent

• setting up involves more of listening portion than guidance, meaning you focus on few listening points and then adjust the frequencies, position and volume of each speaker independantly provided that the amp offers you such facility

• i haven't gone through the specs of your amp, but the best i can offer is my services to visit you help setting up (in return i'll listen to kef of which i've heard a lot but never got an oppotunity to physically check)

some general points

-- keep towers and sub away from wall atleast 2 feet
-- the towers should be max 12 feet apart ... this can increase depending on sound they generate
-- centre should be in centre and underneath the tv (if possible)
-- crossover freq of sub is generally around 100hz (phasing of sub is important or it bass will be offset)
-- rears are mounted not too high say 6 feet up
-- sound damping of room is important ... thick walls and plenty of stuff gives an ideal listening environment

there is a set of focal test cds, use them to test and adjust the system ... i've got these in flac .. if you want i can upload them on skydrive ... just send your email address

wish you the best

[Naweed]

Wires are just current carriers ... heavy current requires heavy wires ... just use electrical wires (the heavy ones) and you won't loose any signal or quality .... if you buy the same in the name of audio wires then these are expansive ... i've got two audiophle recommended wires for front speakers (not selling ... keeping them as a momento) and a set of stereo cable with gold plated connectors ... these costed almost the price in which you get a small audio system but practically these wires is a mess ... too hard to bend and hide under carpet and eventually lying in the store

[lse1]

Nice System ... asking cost price would be indecent

- setting up involves more of listening portion than guidance, meaning you focus on few listening points and then adjust the frequencies, position and volume of each speaker independantly provided that the amp offers you such facility

- i haven't gone through the specs of your amp, but the best i can offer is my services to visit you help setting up (in return i'll listen to kef of which i've heard a lot but never got an oppotunity to physically check)

some general points

-- keep towers and sub away from wall atleast 2 feet
-- the towers should be max 12 feet apart ... this can increase depending on sound they generate
-- centre should be in centre and underneath the tv (if possible)
-- crossover freq of sub is generally around 100hz (phasing of sub is important or it bass will be offset)
-- rears are mounted not too high say 6 feet up
-- sound damping of room is important ... thick walls and plenty of stuff gives an ideal listening environment

there is a set of focal test cds, use them to test and adjust the system ... i've got these in flac .. if you want i can upload them on skydrive ... just send your email address

wish you the best

Thanks for the great help! Definitely will get in touch with you soon to set it up! you are welcome to come and enjoy it! no problems! I cannot disclose the cost price, but it is an absolute bargain from UK. Thinking of importing a KEF reference speakers now, the biggest headache is the risks of freight!

Whats the best way to sound damp?

[Naweed]

Thanks for the great help! Definitely will get in touch with you soon to set it up! you are welcome to come and enjoy it! no problems! I cannot disclose the cost price, but it is an absolute bargain from UK. Thinking of importing a KEF reference speakers now, the biggest headache is the risks of freight!

Whats the best way to sound damp?

setting up and placement should not be tricky, it is better to experiment that way you get to know the capabilities of your system better ... still i'm available to assist when ever you want (preferrably on weekends and after 8 or 9 pm on working days)

rugs and carpets are good dampers plus the furniture .. walls cannot be changed ... some enthusiast go a long way and put damping sheets on walls and doors (the cloth used in speakers - called namda)

my contact no 0333-510-9707

[enerlevel]

I hope I can help u with this.
1) you are running a 5.1 setup so u still have two channels to spare.

2) you dipole surrounds have to go on the left and right wall rather than normal surrounds which go at the back of the listener. Due to their more revolving voice nature, they sound best on the walls facing into the listener.

3) bi-amp means to run seperate wires for the tweeter and woofer/mid.
Although I have not heard any difference, but I have done it on my system

4) always use "small" size on your front/center/rears and let's the sub handle all the bass. Cut it off at 80hz.

5) try using spikes on any speaker which is moving. A moving speaker will lose a lot of it's energy and would sound distorted.

6) when listening to music, just use 2.1.

I got a similar setup like yours but different brand.
Hope this helps

[enerlevel]

some pics of my setup to get an idea.

This is my room setup

and finally this is my Bathroom Setup:D

[born_2b_wild]

those fronts looks too beautiful...ma sha Allah...

[lse1]

I hope I can help u with this.
1) you are running a 5.1 setup so u still have two channels to spare.

2) you dipole surrounds have to go on the left and right wall rather than normal surrounds which go at the back of the listener. Due to their more revolving voice nature, they sound best on the walls facing into the listener.

3) bi-amp means to run seperate wires for the tweeter and woofer/mid.
Although I have not heard any difference, but I have done it on my system

4) always use "small" size on your front/center/rears and let's the sub handle all the bass. Cut it off at 80hz.

5) try using spikes on any speaker which is moving. A moving speaker will lose a lot of it's energy and would sound distorted.

6) when listening to music, just use 2.1.

I got a similar setup like yours but different brand.
Hope this helps

Thanks for your advise. I did get spikes for Floorstanding. Will post pics once my cargo arrives! The woofer is really powerful, so don't think I need to two subs!

However, thinking of which speakers to buy for center surround to complete the 7.1 element of the surround?

Love your system, where did you get this from?

[fazalwahab11375]

NOT a very HIFI system (Bose V35 ) but serves well the purpose as far as watching movies. @enerlevel and I had a detail discussion on the topic more than a year ago. Poster good luck with your installation and congrats on a new system.

Untitled by wahab11375, on Flickr

[lse1]

[QUOTE=fazalwahab11375;4225445]NOT a very HIFI system (Bose V35 ) but serves well the purpose as far as watching movies. @enerlevel and I had a detail discussion on the topic more than a year ago. Poster good luck with your installation and congrats on a new system.
@fazal brother thanks for your compliment! btw its not a new system, but I got a very good bargain used! had to drive 3 hours from Leeds to London to get it! like they say 'shauk ka koi mul nahi'... but I do think getting value for money used high end systems which are well cared for is a good risk to take! and I can always sell it for thrice what I paid as I already have offers from two friends who are dying to buy it off me! I still havnt even got them in Pak!

Next in line is a Kef Reference speaker set, which is even more top of the range! but I will need even more expensive Meridian amp to run it on to get the full quality!

Btw BOSE does the job very well for cinema system, but for stereo music, Kef you need to hear once to fall in love!

[enerlevel]

Thanks for your advise. I did get spikes for Floorstanding. Will post pics once my cargo arrives! The woofer is really powerful, so don't think I need to two subs!

However, thinking of which speakers to buy for center surround to complete the 7.1 element of the surround?

Love your system, where did you get this from?

1) You might need spikes for the sub as it will move a lot.

2) two sub config are very very hard to set as there will always be dips and peaks and a spot where the bass effect will totally cancel. I once tried two sub setup but couldn't config it properly

3) I suggest to hear your system once and then go for any add on. We all wanna add more to what we have but is it worth it? I always wanted to trade my surrounds for the same Q acoustics bookshelf but .... O well....

4) I am a fan of Bose. As you can see half of my stuff are all Bose along with my headphones. They have some appeal to it. My wife along with most of my friends think my room setup sounds better than my living room because they just believe how loud these small speakers can play.

5) the setup is in London as I live there now. You must have heard about Tottenham court road. It's a very famous place for electronics ... I got my system from there mostly.. As I own a business there , it was not hard to get good rates lol

[lse1]

Tottenham court road is pretty expensive! i manage to get better bargains in Ebay! Kef Subs come with these rubber legs so they should be good? I find the clarity of Kef to better than Bose in a number of trials! B&W is pretty good too, but i found Kef to have the best Mids and High tones!

I am waiting to get my hand on some Kef Reference .. nothing beats them.. trust me!

[Naweed]

Tottenham court road is pretty expensive! i manage to get better bargains in Ebay! Kef Subs come with these rubber legs so they should be good? I find the clarity of Kef to better than Bose in a number of trials! B&W is pretty good too, but i found Kef to have the best Mids and High tones!

I am waiting to get my hand on some Kef Reference .. nothing beats them.. trust me!

there is not much variety in Pak when it comes to high end systems but still i've always been impressed by B&W ... now i'm really intrigued to listen to kef .... still waiting for you to settle down your system .... do try the focal test audio cds they really help a lot

[enerlevel]

Tottenham court road is pretty expensive! i manage to get better bargains in Ebay! Kef Subs come with these rubber legs so they should be good? I find the clarity of Kef to better than Bose in a number of trials! B&W is pretty good too, but i found Kef to have the best Mids and High tones!

I am waiting to get my hand on some Kef Reference .. nothing beats them.. trust me!

i have always found good deals on the road... or maybe because of personal discounts...
bose is a Small HT system. you cannot compare it to a full floor standing setup. however where you have to sit in a specfic position to enjoy floorstanding, bose can give you good sound all around due to their direct reflecting technology.
i have used tannoy, mission, wharfedale and Q acoustics...
for me the best so far are Q acoustics. they have been also awarded as the best floor standing

Best Buys Hi-fi speakers | whathifi.com

i think your amp should have an auto calibration unit with it. once you use that, all the speakers will setup accordingly.