January 2024

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TIME FOR POWER
D’Agostino’s MxV Integrated
moves the dial!

NREVIERed is thenew black

CPT. BEEFHEARTSAFE AS MILK

GoldenEar T66
tower speakers
with active bass

Mola Mola Lupe

Archive-grade phono
preamp – we’re hooked!

DS Audio Master 3
Is this the sweet spot for
optical pick-up tech?
VINTAGE REVIEW

PLUS...
Top 20 Xmas Box Sets,
Rotel Michi X3 series 2,
PS Audio StellarGold DAC,HFN Vault & KEF R11 Meta

Musical Fidelity A1First full technical review!

Pioneer PL-600’70s Direct-drive deck

• OPINION 12 pages of letters and comment • VINYL RELEASE Joni Mitchell’s Ladies Of The Canyon• CLASSICAL Haydn String Qt. Op 76 No 2 ‘Fifths’ • STUDIO TOURS Louisiana’s Studio In The Country• SHOW BLOG UK Hi-Fi Show Live 23 at Ascot • READERS’ CLASSIFIEDS More hi-fi bargains galore

UK £5.99 Aus $15.99

L ICO

WNYVI

Floorstanding three-way reflex-loaded loudspeaker
Made by: GP Acoustics (UK) Ltd, Maidstone, Kent
Supplied by: GP Acoustics (UK) Ltd
Telephone: 01622 672 261
Web: www.kef.com
Price: £5500

LOUDSPEAKERKEF R11 Meta
KEF’s R series adopts all the ‘acoustic principles’ of its far
costlier Reference range, but is the big R11 Meta a ‘disruptor’
Review: Andrew Everard Lab: Paul Miller

How to make sense of the KEF speakerrange? A sideways glance helps noend: comparing ostensibly similar
models from across the company’s
four mainstream lineups – five, if you countthe highly polished Muon flagship [HFN May’08] – will give a clearer idea of the way thesevarious loudspeaker series dovetail together,even when the similarities seem greater thanthe differences.
Take the Reference range, for example. This
does what it says on the tin, if you rule out
the sculptural Blade speakers [HFN May ’22]that sit above it, while the R series snaps very
close to its heels. For each Reference speaker,
there’s a parallel R series model, so the £5500
R11 Meta seems very similar
to the £17,000 Reference
5 Meta [HFN Jun ’23] – bothhave KEF’s latest-generation
Uni-Q mid/treble driver,complete with the company’s
MAT (Metamaterial AbsorptionTechnology), straddled by aquartet of bass units. However,while the Reference 5 Meta has alloy-coned
bass drivers, those fitted to the R11 Meta arealloy-skinned with a pulp cone connectedbehind and to the motor system. The
450Hz/2.1kHz and 330Hz/2.5kHz crossovers,
respectively, are also clearly ‘tuned’ differently.

Of course, the adoption of the MAT ‘maze’behind the aluminium dome tweeter, thebetter to control its rearward radiation andthus clean up the high frequencies [seePM’s Lab Report, p67], has had the effect ofbringing the R Series closer to the Reference
models. Now used in many of KEF’s designs,including the LS range of wireless speakers[HFN Sep ’22] and Blade, it works together
with the Uni-Q technology the company
has been applying to its designs since this‘coincident source speaker driver’ waslaunched back in the late 1980s.
Serious thought has even gone into thedesign of the full-length grilles – instead of
relying on a fabric cover being sufficiently
acoustically transparent,
KEF has punched each grillewith a huge number ofmicroperforations (1801, infact) to let the music flow
through and still provide
protection to the drivers.
The R11 Meta speakermight look big in ourpictures, but in fact it’s slender, with thecabinet just 20cm wide – any narrower would
make it tricky to fit those 165mm diameterbass units into the baffle. It’s room-friendly
too, with two-piece foam bungs provided forthe rear reflex ports, enabling them to be
used as close as 20cm from the back wall. Andwith their high sensitivity and modest load
they thrived on the end of the Constellation
Inspiration monoblocks [HFN Oct ’19] driving
them in PM’s listening room. The new Michi
X3 Series 2 integrated [see p56], which isseriously powerful and rather more pricecompatible, also makes for a grand partner.

‘It’s a fabulously
big, powerful
sound withbags of detail’

Sibling rivalry
The Reference 5 Meta also pips the R11
Meta slightly in size – at just over 1.4m tallcomplete with its fitted plinth, it’s some 10cm
loftier than the more affordable speaker on
test here. Furthermore, while the Reference
models are assembled in the UK, the R Series
comes in from overseas manufacturing
facilities run by KEF’s parent company Gold
Peak, which acquired the British audio brandsome three decades ago.
The R series cabinets also miss out on therange of luxury finishes you’ll find on their
upmarket Reference stablemates, but whether
in black or white gloss, or walnut finish,complete with drive units and grilles colourcoded to the cabinet, the R11 Meta bothlooks the business and delivers on the promiseof its styling [see boxout, p65].

fun factor
The R11 Metas impress almost from the off:even with a vintage track such as ‘Corner
Pocket’ from Count Basie’s Live At The Sands
RIGHT: Two pairs of 165mm alloy diaphragm/
paper-coned bass units flank a 12th-generation
Uni-Q array (with MAT). The tall, slim cabinet isstabilised by spiked outriggers and is available inthree colourways – Gloss Black, Gloss White andWalnut, each with matching driver/trim colours

Reprinted from Hi-Fi News for global distribution | www.hifinews.co.uk

INSIDE THE BOX
The R11 Meta design may lack the obvious styleof the company’s Blades, or the luxury of theReference series, but there’s a lot more going on
here than immediately meets the eye. The Uni-Qdriver, with its tweeter nestled at the acoustic
centre of the midrange unit, benefits from theappliance of KEF’s MAT – this acoustic absorber isthe key upgrade across the new R series speakers.
This version of KEF’s Uni-Q features the familiar
Tangerine Waveguide and phase plug above
the treble dome, together with the continuous
curve of the midrange cone and ‘Shadow Flare’terminating the waveguide smoothly with thebaffle and baffle edges. Attaching the MAT discto the rear of the Uni-Q driver has also requireda redesign of the ‘back end’. This now has alarge channel running through the middle of themidrange motor, aiming the rear output of thetreble dome into the MAT disc.
On a more ‘macro’ level, each R11 driveris mounted in its own enclosure within thecabinet. The Uni-Q unit is completely isolated
from the bass drivers, which are arranged in twopairs with interlinked enclosures, and separate
reflex loading. The port tubes use KEF’s flexible
rubber construction, allowing them to dissipate
resonances within the port structure without
impeding the output. Moreover, the cabinet is not
only heavy and stiff to resist resonances, but also
braced by dividers – used to create the various
internal volumes – which are coupled to the main
enclosure using a viscoelastic material. Finally,
strategic damping is also used throughout totackle standing waves.

(Before Frank), recorded in 1966 [MFSLUDSACD 2113], the speakers deliver afabulously big and powerful sound withbags of detail. This was a very easy listen
without losing any of the ‘hi-fi-ness’ – think
effortless focus and soundstaging, andpunching out the band with real swing
and ambience.
It’s a presentation the R11 Metas carrythrough to the slow build of the marchfrom Steven Spielberg’s movie 1941,
performed by the Dallas Winds under
Jerry Junkin [John Williams At The Movies;
Reference Recordings RR-142SACD].
Here they play the opening woodwindwith an impressive lightness of touch
before upping the ante with crisp, clean
brass and tight snare drums, before
unleashing real ‘jump in your seat’power from the bass drum and thefull force of the whole band.
And that’s what these speakers do– they’ve got all the fundamentals covered,leaving them free to get on with having
fun making music. With ‘Two Tribes’, fromFrankie Goes To Hollywood’s Rage Hard –The Sonic Collection [ZTT ZTT177SACD], it
was impossible to ignore the speed of themusic cannoning along, despite the roomshaking bass. These speakers are definitely
not dull – so much so that I flicked back tothe ‘The World Is My Oyster’/‘Welcome To
The Pleasuredome’ sequence, all 15-plus
minutes of it, cranked the volume a littlemore, and revelled in all that clean slam.
As I said, with the hi-fi niceties covered, therest is sheer enjoyment.

By jupiter!
Whatever the music, the R11 Metas deliver
maximum appeal, from the way the little
tambourine flourishes surface out ofthe full, rich picture of the orchestra in
Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ [The Planets, Hallé/Elder;
Hyperion SACDA67270] to the simple
purity of ‘Perrine Était Servante’ from Kate& Anna McGarrigle’s Dancer With Bruised
Knees [Warner Bros 7599-25958-2]. On
this piece, the harmonies, backing vocals

www.hifinews.co.uk | Reprinted from Hi-Fi News for global distribution

Labreport
KEF R11 META
LEFT: The flexible (rubber) tube sectionsof the dual reflex ports are just one of
the R11 Meta’s cabinet innovations [seeboxout, p65]. Split crossover and dual
4mm cable posts, with an internal link,allow for bi-wiring and bi-amping

rock of Little Feat’s ‘Trip Face Boogie’[Sailin’ Shoes; Warner Records
603497837434] or the chilling
vocals and deep electronic bass ofLanterns On The Lake’s ‘Don’t HaveNightmares’ [Versions Of Us; BellaUnion BELLA1478].

Light and shade
These are speakers to draw youinto the music and not let go. They
capture the scale of the organ on
Masaaki Suzuki’s second volume of
his ...Plays Bach Organ Works recitals[BIS BIS-2241 SACD], the Prelude
and Fugue in G major showing notjust the sheer size of the sound but
also Suzuki’s dexterity and ability
to bring out the piece’s light andshade. Similarly, they revel in thereinvention of Yes’s ‘Yours Is No
Disgrace’, which opens the newremaster of 1971’s The Yes Album[Atlantic 603497831715], shiftingfrom pounding prog to finely etchedjazz with total ease.
And given Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie
Fantastique,’ on the Abbado/Berlin
Philharmonic The Last Concert[Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings
BPHR 160081], it’s hard not to be
swept along by the musicianship,
turning a quick sampling into
enjoyment of the entire piece.
That’s what the R11 Metas do –unfailingly but always surprisingly– and that’s what makes them anabsolute must-listen.
and stripped-back instrumentation
arrived in an entirely natural fashion.
Just a couple of weeks before
listening to KEF’s speakers, I’d foundmyself in a coastal pub, hearing agroup of local musicians having theirregular monthly session of trading
songs and tunes. I hadn’t gone forthe music, just walked into it, andwhat had been planned as a quick
drink turned into a whole eveningof enjoyment, finding myself singing
along with unfamiliar but catchy
tunes, so involved had I become.
I was reminded of this by theR11 Metas, as they deliver that
direct communication of the music,
whether it’s the goodtime guitar

HI-FI NEWS VERDICT

Just as we saw with the R3 Meta [HFN Sep ’23], this latest ‘Meta’version of the original R11 [HFN May ’19] has also witnessed
a top-to-toe refinement. Sensitivity is essentially unchanged
at 89.6dB/2.83V/1m while the forward response is slightly
downtilted [see Graph 1] with errors of just ±2.7dB and ±2.4dB(200Hz-20kHz), respectively. The dished area of its response iscovered by the top-end of the 125mm alloy-coned MF section
and lower end of the 25mm dome tweeter, either side of the2.5kHz crossover, within the 12th-gen Uni-Q driver. This is also
where any residual bass driver modes are visible for, once thelabyrinthine MAT disc takes over, the R11’s output is remarkably‘clean’ [see CSD waterfall, Graph 2] just as conventional THD issqueezed down to a fabulously low <0.1% (re. 90dB SPL).
Once again, the metal dome resonance is pushed out to ahigh 40.8kHz [pink shaded area, Graph 1] but its severity – some+12dB above the mean midband output – is rapidly curtailed bytoeing the speakers very slightly away from direct line of sight.
For the bass, its combination of four 165mm reflex-loaded alloy/
paper-coned units, working over 60-440Hz (woofers 2 and 3)
and 60-280Hz (woofers 1 and 4, all re. –6dB) are supplemented
by two sharply tuned ports at 34Hz to deliver a 45Hz bass
extension (–6dB re. 200Hz). Far deeper extension is possible inroom with boundary reinforcement. Importantly, this extension
and sensitivity has not been won at the expense of a toughamplifier load – KEF’s 4ohm (3.2ohm min) impedance rating andmodest ±41o phase angles are precisely met in practice while
the worse-case EPDR remains a ‘driveable’ 1.6ohm/945Hz. PM

ABOVE: Response inc. nearfield summed driver/ports[green], freefield corrected to 1m at 2.83V [yellow],
ultrasonic [pink]. Left, black; right, red0 dB-8
0.0-161.3-24
2.7-32
-40
200

500

1k

2k

5k
10k
Frequency in Hz >>20k

4.0msec
60kHz

The R11 Meta speakers carry
off their bluff styling with someflair, being neither as large nor
as unmanageable as they may atfirst appear. Yes, the balance hereis very commercial, flattering
relatively modest systems but
responding well to an uplift inpartnering electronics, but what’swrong with that? These areimpressive speakers, solidly built
and designed to please – which
they indubitably do.

Sensitivity (SPL/1m/2.83V – 1kHz/Mean/IEC)

89.6dB / 89.6dB / 88.0dB

Impedance modulus: minimum& maximum (20Hz–20kHz)

3.25ohm @ 620Hz
13.05ohm @ 2.5kHz

Impedance phase: minimum& maximum (20Hz–20kHz)–41o @ 32Hz
+41o @ 1.43kHzSound Quality: 88%

THD 100Hz/1kHz/10kHz (for 90dB SPL/1m)

0.15% / 0.06% / 0.3%

Dimensions (HWD) / Weight (each)

1296x311x384mm / 37kg

0-------- 100

ABOVE: Minor breakup modes associated with thealloy bass drivers but Meta scrubs the treble clean

HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONSHI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONSPair matching/Resp. error (200Hz–20kHz)

0.7dB/ ±2.7dB/±2.4dB

LF/HF extension (–6dB ref 200Hz/10kHz)

45Hz / 52.9kHz/52.2kHz

www.hifinews.co.uk | Reprinted from Hi-Fi News for global distribution