What is Reddit's opinion of KEF Q150 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, White)?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

If you're not sure about spending that much money on speakers, the KEF Q150 are on sale for $300 right now and are another very solid desktop speaker option. You'll need an amp (Loxjie A30 and Aiyima A07 are very popular) but this will be much cheaper than the LSX. With your discount, that would be a great setup for the money.

This is so clean.

I think these would match

I think you need these

You need some speakers to complete the look.

I helped OP pick out the speakers. Here they are on amazon in case you're curious. Current half off if you're interested!

I have the A2+. They're good speakers for their size.

If you can get something bigger, do that. They're tiny. If you're looking at $500 for speakers and $600 for a sub you've got a whole lot of options.

Sometimes the KEF Q150 go on sale for $300ish. If they do that, get them instead. They match the white/black look you're going for.

Another option would be Wharfedales. I've never heard those ones personally but they're the newest. I personally think the 225s look better, but they're a few years old and I can't seem to find them in white anymore.

The Paradigm Monitor SE Atom are also very good.

Out of those, I'd pick the KEFs if you can grab them while they're on sale. They're gorgeous in my opinion.

Also, if you're cool with just black speakers, grab the PSB Alpha P3.

Oh, and for a subwoofer, get an SVS SB1000. Don't bother with a "matching" sub. Even if you end up with Audioengine or Kanto speakers, get the SVS sub.

Receiver is a good choice for that budget. Stick with that.

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3.1 for $700 CAD isnt going to be super easy. If all you need is the 3.0 for now thats a bit easier.

L/R - Spend the extra on these Q150's - $350

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0728GJWD9

Center - Find a single Q150 used or new - ~$200-250

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Paradigms are also good speakers in general. Probably the better value option, especially in white.

They are $300 on Amazon atm.

Awesome.

If you can convince the wife, those would be the best option by far.

You mentioned you're opposed to a 2.1 setup because you want it to be minimalist. In my opinion, you can't get more "midcentury modern" than a rel subwoofer. However, if you think that it isn't what you want, I totally understand. You also need the room on the ground somewhere to put it.

> but it seems like for the money the powered systems from the higher end devs are coming along

I mostly disagree. In most cases, you can get a pair of bookshelf speakers and an amplifier that will sound much better than a pair of powered speakers in the same price range.

Alright, neutral is a good way to go. Definitely a safe bet. I wish you said brighter, because I had a "midcentury modern" idea for that haha.

Let's go through your list:

I've never heard of air pulse audio until you just mentioned them. I'm not saying that they're bad, but I probably would know about them if they're good...

Edifier has great budget stuff, but you can get better stuff for the price if you look at their higher priced stuff.

I have Klipsch and I like them a lot, but they aren't exactly 'neutral'. They're a very bright speaker, but they're also fun and dynamic.

Those martin logans aren't good. They sound extremely thin and boring.

So, if I had to pick from that list, I would pick the Klipsch. However, you said your budget was up to $800. I would get The Sixes.

With that out of the way, let's look at some other stuff.

SVS Prime Wireless. Those are powered. I've heard SVS. A lot of people seem to like them, but to me, they're rather boring. They don't have dynamics, the bass is kinda thin, and vocals aren't overly clear. All around an 'okay' speaker, with nothing really all that compelling.

The rest of these will be passive speakers. There isn't really much in that price range for powered speakers.

Wharfedale Diamond 225. They're actually $100 off right now. Definitely a good buy. They're a bit warm and laid back, but not a ton. They're very easy to listen to. I really like them. The 220 is good too, but if you are skipping a sub, the 225 is the way to go. It digs a bit deeper.

We already discussed the KEF Q150. I'm a huge fan, but you said you don't want bright, so you probably wouldn't like them a ton.

Monitor Audio Bronze. These are a touch on the warm side, but sound pretty neutral. There aren't a ton of 'neutral' sounding speakers, because then they'd all be the same. Everyone puts their own spin on it, to make them fun and exciting. If you wanted neutral though, these would be good. They're also front ported, so you can put them close to the wall and have no problem. Disclaimer: I haven't heard these, this is just from what I've read and what I've heard from talking to other people about them.

Elac Debut B6.2. You've probably heard of these things. They really are fantastic speakers. They're designed by Andrew Jones, who is basically the rockstar of speaker designing. He's worked at KEF, TAD, Pioneer, and now he's at Elac. These speakers truly are fantastic, and they have a very flat frequency response as well. They aren't bright, and they aren't laid back, but they still have a bit of fun in them. They're what I have hooked up right now. I really like them, a lot. They also have a front port, so placement won't be an issue. Look up any review of them and people absolutely love them.

Let's get off of amazon. Internet direct brands offer a ton for the money. They don't have to pay for advertising, they don't pay distributors and dealers, etc. You get something better from them than if you get it from amazon for the same price, generally.

These Ascend Acoustics are very very nice. They are very neutral, but tipped up just a little bit at the top end. Besides that, relatively flat. They sound great though. I enjoy them.

HSU Research HB-1. These would be my pick for 'neutral' speakers. Usually, horn speakers tend to make the top end a bit shouty and louder than anything else. These don't do that. They keep a very flat response, but have dynamics and bass. Really all around great speaker. Some of my favorites actually. Extremely well constructed. I have the black ones, and they aren't exactly pretty speakers, but they don't look bad. I think the rosenut would look better.

You'll need an amp with these.

I know you said you need space, but for most of these speakers, a Yamaha integrated amp would pair very nicely. That has a phono preamp, so you'd clear up the space from yours.

You could get [a little chip amp like this one](https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-50Wx2-TDA7492-Amplifier-Adapter/dp/B00F0H8TOC/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_3?keywords=smsl+sa50&qid=1552331079&s=gateway&sr=8-3-fkmrnull, but it won't sound all that great. It'll power the speakers, but you'll lose the dynamics, and the speakers might sound thin. I'd get a better amp. Most people don't realize how much amplifiers matter until they try out a better one.

You said you wanted a tube amp. If you've got a small room, this little guy could work. 3.5 watts per channel is not a lot. The speakers won't get loud. This one is more expensive and bigger, and only has 6.8 watts. That isn't a lot. What I'm getting at here is that tube amps at this price won't do you any favors. If you absolutely have to have one, this one has 10 watts and could*work. It probably wouldn't be enough, but it might. Disclaimer: I haven't heard any of these. I don't think they'd really be all that great, so I haven't bothered. The GemTune would actually be awesome if you have *very efficient speakers.

PS Audio Sprout 100. This is expensive. However, as I mentioned before, amplifiers are very important. Now, why did I pick this specific amplifier? I like PS Audio. They know what they're doing. You can't make these amplifiers and not do a good job with the sprout. Look up reviews of the sprout and people absolutely love it. Disclaimer again: I haven't heard it, but I trust a lot of the reviewers (Ron from New Record Day, Sean from Zero Fidelity, etc) and they all like it. Also, it has a phono preamp, so you wouldn't need yours. It also has tons of power, a remote, bluetooth, a sub out...... everything you could possibly need.

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I threw a lot at you there. I know. "But poly, what would you do?"

That's a great question. I'm glad you asked.

I would probably get this kit with the sprout and the elacs. It seems to fit your needs perfectly. Very small amp that could replace your phono and not take up any more space. Front ported speakers, since it looks like you'll be putting them rather close to the wall. Neutral speakers. Speakers with enough bass so you won't need a subwoofer. The amp has a headphone out. It has bluetooth. It has a remote. It really is a jack of all trades. You'll need an RCA cable to connect it to your turntable.

Sorry for the wall of text. How does this all look?

I'm going to be buying the following:

KEF Q150 - Amazon

Klipsch R12SW - Amazon

Yamaha A S501 - Amazon

They're going to be going into my PC.

I would like to know whether i would need to buy any extra cables in order to make it all work properly? Or does everything come ready to connect in the boxes?

I'm a complete audio noob, and this is going to be my first setup, so please bare with me.

Thanks.

One more just for the look, the KEF Q150

It's a bit hard to tell from the pictures on amazon, but they have a super cool texture

I think these would look great there.

I think you need some of these...

Amazon only has the white ones on sale but you can get black on the KEF site.

KEF Q150 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, White) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0728GJWD9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pEW9Bb23AWPAT

https://www.kefdirect.com/specials/specials/q150-bookshelf-speaker.html

Sorry for the fugly links my phone isn’t working properly today.

There’s also some JBL powered monitors on sale, you’d have to get two of these and some extra kit, but they’re also highly regarded...

JBL 305P MkII 5" 2-Way Powered Studio Monitor (new model) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077N2GQXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_hJW9BbX4SVFJC