As with any new speaker, it takes a while to get used to the new sound. After almost 3 weeks of listening frequently, experiencing different music again, and making tweaks to my entire sound system, I am very pleased with the sound these speakers are able to produce.
The KEF Q100s are praised by many people on forums, and with good reason. They are a perfect price/quality point, have a huge soundstage, offer a very flat response, and don't take up the whole room.
You can always spend more money on your sound, but the quality doesn't get much better after a certain point in relation to the money you spend. The Q100s are in a good spot on this curve, where you will notice a huge improvement in your sound experience, without completely emptying your savings account.
The sound is very open. During my listening tests I suddenly heard certain nuances in songs that I did not hear before or less clearly. In layered songs where a lot is happening at once, like Radiohead's Weird Fishes, for example, the openness and dynamic character of these speakers comes to the fore. Nothing gets in each other's way, each separate track seems to have its own space, which is very pleasant to listen to.
The midrange is incredibly clear, and despite the flat frequency response, the sound feels warm and pleasant. The high is sparkling and nuanced; this is partly due to the placement of the tweeter in the woofer, which ensures that the highs are carried on the mid-waves, making the tweeters less directional than in other designs. As a result, the listening position is also less specific, and the speakers sound good over a larger area.
The bass is less accentuated; however, this is quickly resolved by fiddling with EQ settings. After finding a boost in the low frequencies that sounds comfortable to you and matches the acoustics of your room, you'll discover that the Q100s are more than capable of reproducing beautiful bass. Front ports allow these speakers to deliver a great punch, bringing life to basslines from jazz to electronic music.
Although not very necessary, it is possible to Bi-amp the Q100s, for which KEF has devised a nice system. Where normally the famous golden hooks are between the speaker terminals (those things that always fall off), there are now rotary knobs. This allows you to disconnect the tweeter and the woofer from each other with an internal mechanism to separately control the tweeters and subwoofers.
I've used them both as nearfield speakers on my desk and as normal bookshelves, and I'm very pleased with both. As nearfield they have just a little more punch, and you are completely surrounded by the sound. From a distance, the sound enters the room a bit more, which once again accentuates the spaciousness of the sound with correct placement in the room.
The matte black finish on the front of the speakers gives them a serious and luxurious look. If they are safe from children and pets, I would certainly remove the protective front to admire the special appearance of the drivers. I also thought they sound a bit nicer without a hood.
If you're looking to upgrade your current system, I'd definitely recommend the KEF Q100s as some of the best bookshelf speakers in their price range.
