More details for KEF Audio

[Speedluvver]

Radio 1 point of 10, streaming 3 points of 10

really surprised... that wasn't my experience in the demo car today at all

 

[Green]

really surprised... that wasn't my experience in the demo car today at all

Not my experience either. Test car stereo sounded great to me.

 

[FederGigant]

Really odd that the the reviews differ so much. @Speedluvver for example has heard the big 6k Burmeister system (which is probably one of the top 5 systems out there) as a reference and says it's not quite there, but still very good. @1stczechemira on the other hand says it's worse than a cheap bluetooth speaker.
This seems very strange to me, because I believe both of you and you both seem to have some experience with different systems. Maybe they used the old amp in you car @1stczechemira or it has something to do with software and you are running an older version which KEF and Lotus addressed again after the initial bad reviews of the system.

 

[Guest142]

Really odd that the the review differ so much. @Speedluvver for example has heard the big 6k Burmeister system (which is probably one of the top 5 systems out there) as a reference and says it's not quite there, but still very good. @1stczechemira on the other hand says it's worse than a cheap bluetooth speaker.
This seems very strange to me, because I believe both of you and you both seem to have some experience with different systems. Maybe they used the old amp in you car @1stczechemira or it has something to do with software and you are running an older version which KEF and Lotus addressed again after the initial bad reviews of the system.

Eager to see a reply to this. Very good comment.

 

[FederGigant]

@Israel_7 me, too. The speakers are driven by DSPs, and the programming of those can ruin everything. The DSP assigns the correct frequency spectrum to each driver, it corrects every drivers frequency response with eqs, adjusts the different distances from each driver to your ears with different timing delays, and much more. Think of it as the sound systems ECU. If you stick the AMG 4 pot ECU to the Toyota engine, the 2 GR would probably also not behave to our likings.
My number one guess would be that there are different DSP setups out there, which would be easy to correct with a software update. But I also wouldn't wonder if they used the old amps they had laying around to make them disappear Nevertheless it sounds odd to me that there ever was such a bad setup to begin with. Even with the less powerful amp it should work just fine, you only need more power for the last few decibels in volume. The new amp will probably result in 2-3 db more volume. It has nothing to do with sound quality however.

 

[Tonyshepp]

I think it’s a shame that it hasn’t got a proper equaliser, simply having treble, midi and bass somewhat lessens uts appeal to me. Others have said months ago that the KEF system is an expensive option. My experience in the nottingham demo car felt like a $500 upgrade and not a $1500 upgrade others in the “know” have intimated. I am buying an FE because it has all the additional luxury add ons, the sound system being the most Important for me apart from the drive of the car.

 

[1stczechemira]

Eager to see a reply to this. Very good comment.

Ok, after your comments I'll give the system one more chance... Tomorrow I'll have some more time to test it comprehensively. Then I'll post again. (Maybe there is something wrong with the system just in my Emira.)

 

[1stczechemira]

My grandfather had something like (see photo) in his Skoda S100 in the 70ies and the sound was better...

(The Skoda S100 was a rear engine and rear drive car - a "Porsche" made by then state owned Skoda )

View attachment 10387View attachment 10388

This was my post from November 1st. No one contradicted my opinion back then.

 

[emiraspain]

I didn't try with putting more sound towards the back of the car, that may simulate more bass to the ears.

I think someone said you cant.....

 

[emiraspain]

@Eagle7 thanks for following up this with KEF. I am a big audio fan and build my own speakers and hifi components etc. While not a big listener in cars strangely I do appreciate a decent sound there. It is a horrible environment to get true HiFi and have tried many times over the years. The only success is with high power and bullying the sound out of the speakers, usually at high volume. I look forward to anything comments you recieve.

My main cabs I built for home use

Im sorry, but ANY use of "bullying" cannot be tolerated .. And I am "resigned" to say, not even in a speaker "cabinet"...

thats great you make your own!!.....

completely off topic...but just looking at your speaker....and floor..and picture frame..and maybe even the penguin.... I wonder if a touch of heavy grain deep wood could have looked nice in the Emira's minimalist type interior.....

 

[emiraspain]

Ok, after your comments I'll give the system one more chance... Tomorrow I'll have some more time to test it comprehensively. Then I'll post again. (Maybe there is something wrong with the system just in my Emira.)

If you are still let down by it, then it must be worth raising it with your dealer and asking, does it have the upgraded amp and latest software and hope they can actually check with lotus and lotus actually know.
Also, perhaps worth being there when a later customer car arrives and with their permission or better still with them there, trying that car's unit too.......

 

[Guest142]

@Israel_7 me, too. The speakers are driven by DSPs, and the programming of those can ruin everything. The DSP assigns the correct frequency spectrum to each driver, it corrects every drivers frequency response with eqs, adjusts the different distances from each driver to your ears with different timing delays, and much more. Think of it as the sound systems ECU. If you stick the AMG 4 pot ECU to the Toyota engine, the 2 GR would probably also not behave to our likings.
My number one guess would be that there are different DSP setups out there, which would be easy to correct with a software update. But I also wouldn't wonder if they used the old amps they had laying around to make them disappear Nevertheless it sounds odd to me that there ever was such a bad setup to begin with. Even with the less powerful amp it should work just fine, you only need more power for the last few decibels in volume. The new amp will probably result in 2-3 db more volume. It has nothing to do with sound quality however.

Very well written. And considering the system updates can be done without a trip to the dealer...makes it a non-issue to me unless I'm missing something?

 

[Guest142]

Ok, after your comments I'll give the system one more chance... Tomorrow I'll have some more time to test it comprehensively. Then I'll post again. (Maybe there is something wrong with the system just in my Emira.)

Looking forward to your follow up, and thank you for taking the time to find out.

 

[virtualmacho]

Reading all this, I am getting the feeling there may be quality issues in some of the wiring looms, like reversed polarity... Might be good to have your dealership take a look.

 

[FederGigant]

Reading all this, I am getting the feeling there may be quality issues in some of the wiring looms, like reversed polarity... Might be good to have your dealership take a look.

A simple thing like reversed polarity could kill it all. It would result in a phase shift of 180 degrees and therefore one driver would do the exact opposite motion of the other. If one of the mid woofers is shifted in polarity, it would just obliterate the others frequency response. That's the effect used for active noise cancelling. And the mid woofer could also impact the subwoofer to some degree as well, because at and around their respective crossover points, they are working together.
Normally you have car specific connectors on every cable and driver to prevent this. However I bet KEF is using the exact same drivers they use for home audio, at least for the Uni-Qs, and they don't have that.

 

[hml_xy]

Don't want to call myself an audiophile but I have a very decent home setup and also experience with quite a few other high end car hifi systems. The KEF is not _that_ bad. In my opinion, it lacks power but the sound quality itself is good for a sports car. They often lack room inside the cabin to make a system sound great. Thats a problem they all have. The bigger the cabin, the better the sound will be.

For example, I had an F-Type with the insanely expensive (was it 5k?) Meridian "surround" system and it was worse than the KEF in the Emira. The middle level Meridian in my girlfriends Evoque in comparison was one of the best I've heard (on par with eg. Bowers and Wilkins in an Audi RS4).

What surprises me is the lack of conversation about the speaker placement in the Emira. There are just simply no tweeters on ear level. I get that KEF has the Uni-Q "feature" but what's the point in sending the high frequencies to my kneecaps?! Adding to this, my car clearly has speaker preparation in the front pillars, but nothing installed in them! Future upgrade or are we missing speakers?!

Unfortunately still on vacation so I can't take a close-up of it, but there is 100% an empty tweeter opening behind this metal grill.

EDIT: Ok, just saw that it was actually mentioned in the first post of this thread. Base system will have tweeters in A pillars.
I still wonder where the 10 speakers of the KEF should be though.

 

[TomE]

What surprises me is the lack of conversation about the speaker placement in the Emira. There are just simply no tweeters on ear level. I get that KEF has the Uni-Q "feature" but what's the point in sending the high frequencies to my kneecaps?! Adding to this, my car clearly has speaker preparation in the front pillars, but nothing installed in them! Future upgrade or are we missing speakers?!

As it's approaching panto season in the UK ... "it's behind you"

Isn't this grille for one or two of the KEF speakers?

 

[FederGigant]

Don't want to call myself an audiophile but I have a very decent home setup and also experience with quite a few other high end car hifi systems. The KEF is not _that_ bad. In my opinion, it lacks power but the sound quality itself is good for a sports car. They often lack room inside the cabin to make a system sound great. Thats a problem they all have. The bigger the cabin, the better the sound will be.

For example, I had an F-Type with the insanely expensive (was it 5k?) Meridian "surround" system and it was worse than the KEF in the Emira. The middle level Meridian in my girlfriends Evoque in comparison was one of the best I've heard (on par with eg. Bowers and Wilkins in an Audi RS4).

What surprises me is the lack of conversation about the speaker placement in the Emira. There are just simply no tweeters on ear level. I get that KEF has the Uni-Q "feature" but what's the point in sending the high frequencies to my kneecaps?! Adding to this, my car clearly has speaker preparation in the front pillars, but nothing installed in them! Future upgrade or are we missing speakers?!

Unfortunately still on vacation so I can't take a close-up of it, but there is 100% an empty tweeter opening behind this metal grill.

EDIT: Ok, just saw that it was actually mentioned in the first post of this thread. Base system will have tweeters in A pillars.
I still wonder where the 10 speakers of the KEF should be though.
View attachment 10761

The KEF system is stated at 10 channels, not speakers There is one UNI-Q (which technically counts as two drivers) in each door panel and one in the middle of the dash. One UNI-Q needs two channels, one for the tweeter and one for the mid woofer. There also is the subwoofer, probably driven by two channels bridged together.
And then there are two woofers behind the seats as well, both needing one channel. So six for the tree UNI-Qs, two for the two woofers and two bridged together for the Subwoofer.

All in all a very good setup to begin with with lots of potential. The only really odd thing as you already mentioned is the position of the left and right channel UNI-Q drivers. They should be somewhere in the a-pillars, but they obviously didn't fit.

From what I've read here however, the bigger issue seems to be the bass, so the placement of the UNI-Qs seems to work somehow, probably thank's to some DSP magic. They are not even angled towards the ears. Only the center speaker due to the early reflection on the windscreen. This effect is often used for car applications.

EDIT: I just looked at the first page and saw that the graphic shows that there are two drivers in the fresh air subwoofer. In that case the system really has 10 drivers. Three tweeters, three mid woofers, two woofers, two subwoofers.

 

[VL3X]

Don't want to call myself an audiophile but I have a very decent home setup and also experience with quite a few other high end car hifi systems. The KEF is not _that_ bad. In my opinion, it lacks power but the sound quality itself is good for a sports car. They often lack room inside the cabin to make a system sound great. Thats a problem they all have. The bigger the cabin, the better the sound will be.

For example, I had an F-Type with the insanely expensive (was it 5k?) Meridian "surround" system and it was worse than the KEF in the Emira. The middle level Meridian in my girlfriends Evoque in comparison was one of the best I've heard (on par with eg. Bowers and Wilkins in an Audi RS4).

What surprises me is the lack of conversation about the speaker placement in the Emira. There are just simply no tweeters on ear level. I get that KEF has the Uni-Q "feature" but what's the point in sending the high frequencies to my kneecaps?! Adding to this, my car clearly has speaker preparation in the front pillars, but nothing installed in them! Future upgrade or are we missing speakers?!

Unfortunately still on vacation so I can't take a close-up of it, but there is 100% an empty tweeter opening behind this metal grill.

EDIT: Ok, just saw that it was actually mentioned in the first post of this thread. Base system will have tweeters in A pillars.
I still wonder where the 10 speakers of the KEF should be though.
View attachment 10761

There aren't any tweeters on the A pillar bases?! Why would they have tweeters for the base spec audio but not the fancy expensive KEF system? That just seems silly.

 

[JimH]

There aren't any tweeters on the A pillar bases?! Why would they have tweeters for the base spec audio but not the fancy expensive KEF system? That just seems silly.

https://uk.kef.com/pages/uni-q. Some info here….