KEF KHT3005BL (SE) 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System (Gloss Black)

by KEF

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 13 x 24.5 x 39.5 inches ; 4.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 64 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0011NPHWQ
• Item model number: KHT3005BL (SE)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,196 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

The KEF KHT3005 (SE) 5.1 home theater speaker system is an extremely high performance, yet room-friendly home theater system, which raises both the design and performance benchmarks in the category of elegant home theater speaker packages. KEF's patented "sit anywhere" Uni-Q driver configuration places the tweeter in the acoustic center of the bass/midrange cone. This creates a single focused audio source that disperses the sound image evenly throughout the room so that everyone enjoys the full richness of music or movie soundtracks. The Uni-Q array in the 3000 series has a completely new design which performs better than ever. Instead of having identical center and satellite speakers like other systems, KEF's created a stunning new dedicated center channel that gives dialogue more weight and clarity delivering cinema-like frontal impact. KEF also added a radical new high performance powered subwoofer. As a system, it certainly puts the 'live' into living room.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Sound, March 25, 2008

By 

Scotty (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

Following a "test listen" I had to have these great-sounding speakers. The KEFs replace an Infinity TSS-1200 system in my home theater. Driven by an Onkyo 805 receiver, the sound is noticeably better. The bass is clear, solid, and avoids the "boomy" sound of many subs. Mids and highs are solid with smooth transients. The speakers handle high volume levels without apparent strain or distortion. Special effects on TrueHD sound tracks rock. Music brings out subtleties that were previously lacking. Sound-wise, the KEFs can't be beat in their price range.

These speakers are beautifully constructed. The satellites and center channel are of solid aluminum construction with an immaculate black painted surface. They feel as hefty as they sound. I do wish that the mounting system allowed for easier use of standard speaker stands. On the other hand, KEFs solution is elegant in its simplicity. The accessory stands are solid, easy to use, and unobtrusive. Speaker connection is limited to bare or tinned wire. No provision is made for spades or banana plugs. I have to admit that the resulting connections are also unobtrusive -- almost handsome. The sub is similarly different and handsome. It is much smaller than competing units and garners positive comments from visitors. Connection is limited to one RCA LFE connection and controls to stand-by status and a three-position bass boost selection. Crossover frequency and volume must be set in the receiver menu -- not a problem with the 805, but some receivers don't have that option. This is the most I've ever spent for home theater speakers, but it's a decision I would make again and again. If you're on the fence about these speakers -- jump right in. The sound is GREAT!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kef 3005s, July 19, 2008

By 

Jonathan Perry - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

After using a pair of KEF 304s (30 years old!) with a pair of JBL bookshelf speakers, a Bose center speaker and a Polk Audio sub with a Sony 600w as my home theater setup, I decided to go the matched route. I read the reviews, looked at Sat systems like the Bose and the Mirage Omnisats, but settled on the KEFs (30 years with my last pair!!). What a great decision. I matched them up with a Yamaha RX-V663BL and did a rough setup (they go up on the walls later). What a great sound, and they are only roughly dialed-in. My room is about 13x28 and they just fill it with multi-directional sound. And what clean sound it is (they don't call KEFs reference speakers for nothing). Plenty of bass, clean mids, and nice bright (but not harsh) highs. I have the DTS version of Goldeneye on right now, and it is really swooping around the room plus bouncing me on the couch with its bass effects. I highly recommend this system!

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Warranty Issue, April 8, 2010

By 

JFR (DFW TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: KEF KHT3005BL (SE) 5.1 Home Theater Speaker System (Gloss Black) (Electronics)

I will not comment on how good this system is, how well it is packaged, or how perfect the black is matching the gloss of a flat screen. Over reviewers did that nicely.

Only reason for this review, is that one of the speaker of the system went bad, and that KEF does not cover it under warranty. The reason given was that even if the system was purchase from Amazon, it was sold by an unauthorized vendor.
The bill is not too bad (estimate $100 to replace the Uni-Q driver), but I will recommend future buyer to make sure to order from authorized dealer even on amazon.com (should say "Sold by Amazon" on check out).
Also review the warranty terms and condition as they are pretty strict (as the system will only be covered if ordered new from 4 e-tailers or local retailer).

Other than that, I am pretty happy about this purchase.