More details for KEF Audio

[Leonard]

yes well... it will be interesting to see what an expert says... although where I am it will be harder to find one.

Fortunately for you, you can read my review above

 

[Nova]

Tried the stereo today and it was poor for a premium brand and additional luxury extra.
It's what I would have expected as std in the Base car. I'm not sure it was any better than the std system or Sound Plus in the equivalent Porsche or BMW.
Can only hope the demo cars still don't have the uprated amps, as the power and bass (even mid) was severely lacking.
Don't get me wrong you could still enjoy music. But it grates that you are technically paying for it on the FE.
I cant see anyone paying money for it on the BASE car unless they have more money than sense and want the alloy speaker grilles. Which do help lift the interior and make it feel more premium (can't believe I'm talking about speaker grilles...)

What would you describe as the issue, lack of volume, lack of bass, or some other problem?

 

[Leonard]

What would you describe as the issue, lack of volume, lack of bass, or some other problem?

Warmth and power.
I checked the EQ levels. It was a simple affair. Treble, Mid and Base. All were set to std. I didnt adjust.
I was in the showroom and didn't want to look like an idiot, but even so I had it up to max at one point looking for the elusive oomph.
Best way to describe it is very top end, with clear highs.
Do we know the speaker specifications? The drivers looked small and so was the sound stage.
These are initial thoughts after listening to probably the worst stereo on the market in my Yaris. Which still produces a warm sound but distorts incredibly easily. There was zero distortion on the KEF set up.
I feel like I'm being sacrilegious but it was not inspiring at all.
Bare in mind I was listening to it for minutes. But IF that was the production set up and it may not be.. I cant see how you improve it.

 

[Pegasi]

80 MPH, windows down, can you hear the KEF without turning it up all the way?

 

[emiraspain]

Warmth and power.
I checked the EQ levels. It was a simple affair. Treble, Mid and Base. All were set to std. I didnt adjust.
I was in the showroom and didn't want to look like an idiot, but even so I had it up to max at one point looking for the elusive oomph.
Best way to describe it is very top end, with clear highs.
Do we know the speaker specifications? The drivers looked small and so was the sound stage.
These are initial thoughts after listening to probably the worst stereo on the market in my Yaris. Which still produces a warm sound but distorts incredibly easily. There was zero distortion on the KEF set up.
I feel like I'm being sacrilegious but it was not inspiring at all.
Bare in mind I was listening to it for minutes. But IF that was the production set up and it may not be.. I cant see how you improve it.

by replacing it with a speaker from a Sinclair ZX81 by the sound of it... haha

 

[Leonard]

80 MPH, windows down, can you hear the KEF without turning it up all the way?

Didn't drive it. Promise to do it when i do! (whenever that may be....)

 

[Green]

I had the pleasure of testing it today. It sounded good to me. Maybe it depends on the music you like. Post Malone had a bunch of bass and it sounded rich. Possibly some are not getting final production system? Zero complaints about stereo.

 

[Leonard]

I had the pleasure of testing it today. It sounded good to me. Maybe it depends on the music you like. Post Malone had a bunch of bass and it sounded rich. Possibly some are not getting final production system? Zero complaints about stereo.

Hope that is the case.
I'd say the demo car was about 95% production ready. But hey I don't really know what that is...

 

[Nova]

Warmth and power.
I checked the EQ levels. It was a simple affair. Treble, Mid and Base. All were set to std. I didnt adjust.
I was in the showroom and didn't want to look like an idiot, but even so I had it up to max at one point looking for the elusive oomph.
Best way to describe it is very top end, with clear highs.
Do we know the speaker specifications? The drivers looked small and so was the sound stage.
These are initial thoughts after listening to probably the worst stereo on the market in my Yaris. Which still produces a warm sound but distorts incredibly easily. There was zero distortion on the KEF set up.
I feel like I'm being sacrilegious but it was not inspiring at all.
Bare in mind I was listening to it for minutes. But IF that was the production set up and it may not be.. I cant see how you improve it.

With DSP it would be pretty easy to fix with a new firmware update. From your description, it seems that it's a lean sounding system with more neutral bass and lower midrange output, perhaps not in keeping with the Harman target curve, where the bass is 6-7dB higher than the level at 1kHz reference point.

Tonal balance is well known as the #1 factor that affects perceived audio quality of a sound system.

From the "bass is coming from behind the seats" comment that another poster provided, it would seem that the crossover point for the subwoofer is set too high - perhaps at 200-250Hz? This may have been a design choice by the designers to prevent distortion at high playback levels. However, if the subwoofer is then underpowered, which may very well be the case with only 340 watts, this results in recessed bass and lower mid output, especially at higher volume levels where the subwoofer output is compressed to prevent being driven into distortion.

All this is to say, adjusting the subwoofer crossover point, and further optimizing the power and limiter settings of the subwoofer amplifier, and then recalibrating the overall system in-cabin curve to better adhere to the Harman target curve, would significantly improve the perceived sound quality of the system.

 

[Leonard]

With DSP it would be pretty easy to fix with a new firmware update. From your description, it seems that it's a lean sounding system with more neutral bass and lower midrange output, perhaps not in keeping with the Harman target curve, where the bass is 6-7dB higher than the level at 1kHz reference point.

Tonal balance is well known as the #1 factor that affects perceived audio quality of a sound system.

From the "bass is coming from behind the seats" comment that another poster provided, it would seem that the crossover point for the subwoofer is set too high - perhaps at 200-250Hz? This may have been a design choice by the designers to prevent distortion at high playback levels. However, if the subwoofer is then underpowered, which may very well be the case with only 340 watts, this results in recessed bass and lower mid output, especially at higher volume levels where the subwoofer output is compressed to prevent being driven into distortion.

All this is to say, adjusting the subwoofer crossover point, and further optimizing the power and limiter settings of the subwoofer amplifier, and then recalibrating the overall system in-cabin curve to better adhere to the Harman target curve, would significantly improve the perceived sound quality of the system.

Wow. Please go and spend the day at a dealers playing with the knobs
Sounds like it could be made better by putting in an aftermarket amp maybe!? Not that I particularly want to. Would love to hear from someone at KEF @Eagle7 any news...

 

[Tonyshepp]

I messed about for 5 minutes with bass, treble, midi I still couldn’t get that rich bass feel from Absolute 80’s

 

[Leonard]

I messed about for 5 minutes with bass, treble, midi I still couldn’t get that rich bass feel from Absolute 80’s

Duran Duran????

 

[Cutting42]

I messed about for 5 minutes with bass, treble, midi I still couldn’t get that rich bass feel from Absolute 80’s

There was no rich bass in the 80’s all twang and thump scooped sound and I was a bass player gigging in the 80’s. Think Club Tropicana with Dion Estus famous intro

 

[Tonyshepp]

There was no rich bass in the 80’s all twang and thump scooped sound and I was a bass player gigging in the 80’s. Think Club Tropicana with Dion Estus famous intro

Thieves like us - New Order

 

[Cutting42]

Thieves like us - New Order

Hmmmm, Peter Hooks midtastic bass, not sure that qualifies either. Great tune tho.

 

[TomE]

Copied from the test drives thread:

When we finished the drive, the Lotus rep, without prompting (thanks Tom!) played some music via Apple CarPlay through the Spotify app at a level that was louder then I would typically play my car stereo. It was cranking out plenty of bass and while Spotify is a lossy/compressed service which was being streamed to the KEF via Bluetooth (also a lossy CODEC) I heard plenty of clarity, imaging and output. Spotify has a built in adjustable EQ so maybe the rep had tweaked it but as a closet audiophile and live sound reinforcement tech for more than 40 years my sense is that with a quality source and adjustment to taste (EQ and input level matching) the system will be more than adequate. KEF has an enviable reputation in the audiophile community and I wouldn’t take their involvement in the project lightly. The Uni-Q drivers used in the Lotus are well regarded and I doubt we’ve been given a less than genuine implementation in the Emira. I would love to know if one of the USB jacks can serve as an audio input directly from an external device which would give us the best shot of maximizing the input source quality (TIDAL/Qobuz anyone?) but very few cars do these days (no matter the price point) and I wouldn’t criticize KEF or Lotus for not including what is a fairly esoteric request in the factory system. Most folks love the convenience of streaming via bluetooth.

For info, the two USB ports (1x Type A and 1x Type C) inside the Emira central armrest storage are connected directly to the infotainment system and can be used for either a USB stick or an external device. So yes, it is possible to use a lossless source. My plan is to use a stick permanently plugged in as a jukebox, as I don't use streaming audio services on my phone.

 

[TomE]

Tried the stereo today and it was poor for a premium brand and additional luxury extra.
It's what I would have expected as std in the Base car. I'm not sure it was any better than the std system or Sound Plus in the equivalent Porsche or BMW.
Can only hope the demo cars still don't have the uprated amps, as the power and bass (even mid) was severely lacking.
Don't get me wrong you could still enjoy music. But it grates that you are technically paying for it on the FE.
I cant see anyone paying money for it on the BASE car unless they have more money than sense and want the alloy speaker grilles. Which do help lift the interior and make it feel more premium (can't believe I'm talking about speaker grilles...)

Remember the price of the First Edition is about £3k less than the sum of the options, so one way of looking at it is you're getting the upgrade from base system to KEF for free.

But yes, it should still be a decent system. How dependent is it on the source you use? Radio reception is notoriously bad in Lotus cars due to poor earth plane. Streaming services connected over Bluetooth won't have as high quality a source as a lossless format plugged directly into the system.

 

[emiraspain]

Duran Duran????

from birmingham!

 

[virtualmacho]

My plan is to use a stick permanently plugged in as a jukebox...

This is what I would use to break in the speakers. A pink noise file via USB with battery tender, playing in the garage all night long for a few nights.

 

[Mctaff]

Remember the price of the First Edition is about £3k less than the sum of the options, so one way of looking at it is you're getting the upgrade from base system to KEF for free.

But yes, it should still be a decent system. How dependent is it on the source you use? Radio reception is notoriously bad in Lotus cars due to poor earth plane. Streaming services connected over Bluetooth won't have as high quality a source as a lossless format plugged directly into the system.

If both Bluetooth devices are using an appropriate codec with decent source compression you shouldn’t notice.

I spent hours blind testing lossless vs 320 on a very high quality system. Zero noticeable difference for me…. A real eye opener and stopped me wasting so much storage space on my audio player!