Customer Reviews

KEF C1SYSTEM Speaker System with Subwoofer (6 Pieces)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've had this 5.1 speaker set hooked up to a Denon 1611 for several months and I have been impressed with the sound quality of these speakers. When I purchased these speakers they were just under $350 and at that price point they are a great deal. Currently they are above $600, and I'm not sure if I would've bought them at this price point. I was comparing these to the Energy Take Classics and some Klipsch systems and am happy I went with these, but at double the price I would've gone with one of the other two. But don't get me wrong, the sound quality on these speakers is really good. I've listened to all types of different music on these speakers (classical,country,bluegrass,rock,rap) and they have all sounded good. Especially the classical music. I have been very impressed with the subwoofer, it has a very tight bass and is not boomy. The subwoofer may have been worth the price alone. Movies sound great with these speakers, especially during scenes where its raining or during gun fights. One thing to keep in mind is that these speakers are much larger than the Energy Take Classics and the Klipsch HD 300 and 500's.

I had to return the first set of speakers due to poor sound quality. Whenever I listened to announcers during sporting events I could hear what sounded like a rattling coming from all 5 speakers. Especially if the announcer had a deeper voice. It sounded like metal rattling, and I'm assuming it was coming from the tweeter. The second set I got from Amazon in the exchange has not had that problem and the return process was convenient. Amazon mailed me the second set and allowed me to test them for up to 30 days before I had to ship back the previous set.

At under $500 I would definitely purchase these speakers, at $600+ I would take a look at Klipsch and Energy.

i bought these for $350 (january 2011). They are my first actual surround sound system that i sunk money into, so i'm not an expert or audiophile. the center and bookshelfs are fantastic. they are very clear and aesthetically pleasing. i have to turn the sound up to 60 on my receiver before i can even begin to hear a hiss with my ear pressed against the speaker (normal tv listening volume is ~35). the sub is an 8" and is not anything great. i already had a BIC F12, so the second sub was more of an included bonus. i rarely use it, but if i want a lot of bass, i can pair it with the BIC using my Onkyo 7.2 receiver. The speakers are bigger than they seem in the picture. the small C1's are a little less than 10lbs each and barely fit between my tv screen and stand. i have two speakers hooked to the ceiling using omnimount 20.0 stainless steel speaker mounts. The mount on the speaker's back screw on like a nut (unintentional). I removed the wall mount from the speaker, threaded the bolt through it and then re-assembled it to the speaker. now it just hangs there sans nut. in summary, great system for less than $500, but for a $1000? questionable. plan on investing in a better sub.

Some friends recently bought this system (per my suggestion) for an upcoming birthday party. They asked me to install them and boy were we all pleased with the result. Their room was filled with pleasing sounding detail from their Uverse, Blu-ray and iPod. All of which barely pushed the lows of the sub or the highs and mids of the bookshelf or center channel. The build quality was on par with a superior system and the value of it all was incredible! Way to go KEF and props Amazon for the price point.

I purchased this set at Frys for my living room last week. Overall these speakers are really better than my current B&W 686 used in bedroom. They sound great and with many details. It livens up the music, movies are very clear and vivid sounding. I could not find any better than KEF C1's for the price. Highly recommended!

Well got my c1 system in a few days ago. Finally found the time to hook it up and listen some. I must say it sounds really good. It took me a little while to get it set up correctly, but that was my fault and had more to do with the reciever (pioneer 920) than with the speaker set. The bass is not boomy it is nice and tight. I would say if there is a weakness it would be the sub in that it doesn't have enough bass, but I haven't finished tweaking it yet. The highs are clear, but not harsh. The verdict is still out on the mids. I haven't listened long enough to make a ruling on this, but believe it to have better mids than satelites, but not as good as floorstanding speakers (expected). I am newbie for sure at home audio, but for my ears, I like what I hear.

I finally bought KEF C1 system and I'm really impressed.
I was seriously considering Energy 5.1 Take Classic system but went with KEF C1 after doing some research.
I've hooked it to a Pioneer VSX-1020K and the sound is really amazing. This setup is for my living room of size 18X26. KEF C1 is making a big difference watching movies on our Samsung LED 55" 3D TV. Also listened some Indian Classical music. Center Channel is great and the subwoofer is optimum for our settings. Everything is good so far.
For the price I paid at Amazon, it's a great deal. I'll definitely recommend.

KEF C1SYSTEM Speaker System with Subwoofer (6 Pieces)

I purchased this on Amazon at what i thought was a very good price for a premium speaker brand. I went out on a limb because i did not audition these speakers and so i assumed the risk that came with it as well. It arrived promptly via Amazon Prime and without any damage. The speakers were packaged well and were beautiful to look at with a touch of glossy black. WAF-tested and passed. Good quality wire connections at the back, gold plated. They're not really small or really large, so it is in a nice blend of being able to wall mount them and also being able to offer the potential of a sound that isn't compromised on by aesthetics.
I hooked it up to a Yamaha 863 7.2 receiver via 16AWG wire. I also had a Polk PSW110 sub and i used the entire system in a 5.2 package. I am not an audiophile - my last system was an Onkyo HTR-790B HTIB, so in a sense i had stepped up.
Impressions:
I liked the sub. I believe it has an 8 inch driver. I did not find the bass boomy at all, it was fairly tight. It didn't quite match the 10 inch driver on the Polk, but that was to be expected. I had misgivings about pairing them both, but in the end I loved the bass combination. I'm giving it an additional star due to this.
I loved the first week of owning this package. I thought that its fidelity was good and i did not detect any distortion. A week after receipt, i popped in Pink Floyd's 'Division Bell' and listened in horror at what unfolded. My wife stopped what she was doing and noticed it as well. Barring the sub, the other 5 speaker components began to show a not-so-subtle hiss, like the sound of audible static or small ball bearings rubbing together. Sitting in the middle of the sound stage, I could hear this from all of them and it was unbearable. Getting close to the C1's, i discerned that the bass driver was ok, but the tweeter produced this hiss whenever a treble note was emitted. When the audio transitioned to the next track, there was no distortion, just plain silence, so this was not random noise. It was most noticeable on the first track - 'Cluster one', and i began to cringe.
I did not notice this problem in the first week of owning it. Now it is pretty audible in the center of the soundstage. My Yamaha never went beyond -25db in the volume level indicator. The max on this receiver is +16db.
I've never returned electronics before, but i plan to after listening for a couple more days. I hate the re-packing or the fact that i may need to lug this to a UPS/Fedex drop-off point - it is heavy. I also do not know if i should get it replaced or returned (restocking fees??). We'll see - I plan on calling KEF and asking a few questions. If this sounds like an endemic issue, then i guess i'll need to eat the restocking fees and return it.
I'll update this review should anything change. I'm hoping this will be smooth with Amazon.

[2/10/2011] Update: The problem did not occur again, so after listening for a month. I've decided to keep the speakers and upgrade its rating to 4/5. I believe its only weak point is a less than powerful midrange, but all in all, I am happy with it and would recommend it.

I've decided to move on from my Yamaha receiver, so I am looking to purchase another soon. I made no changes to my wiring - it has stayed the same for 5 years. I will see if a new Receiver shows improved midrange performance.

I recently bought the KEF 1005.2 from Fry's for $600 to pair with my Denon 791 receiver. This was deal because they sell for $850 anywhere else. However, I hate to pay tax so I wanted to return it. After I returned them with I seen a fry's manger mark the item as open box and sold them for $800. People say these speakers are small but not to me since I was moving up from satellite speakers to these bookshelves speakers. If you check the prices on these speakers individually, you can easily see the savings that Amazon is giving you. However, with no reviews I found it hard to jump on these. Compared to the 1005.2 this system has a way richer sound quality. You can just ask my complaining neighbors, who I have been driving crazy since I fell in love with KEF. The sub seems be a lot better than the KUBE 1 subwoofer which, can keep my wife up at night in the master bedroom which is on the other side of the condo. I would defiantly recommend this product to anyone at the price off $499. I would even go further to say that if these speakers were $900 I would still buy them.