British audio brand KEF has been featured plenty in our hi-fi testing room.
It's a rarer sight in our AV room, though, with the XIO soundbar the only KEF-branded product to have graced this space recently.
Excellent though the XIO is, a soundbar won’t always cut it, especially for those who want cinema-style, all-encompassing surround sound. That’s where a 5.1 speaker system comes in, and KEF has been a key player in this sector of the home cinema market for quite some time.
Its latest offering, the Q Concerto Meta 5.1 Speaker System, is headlined by a five-star pair of stereo speakers and calls in backup from more members of the entry-level Q-series. It aims to deliver proper cinematic sound in a stylish package – but does it succeed?
No prizes here, you’ve seen the star rating…
Price
KEF doesn’t currently offer this system as an all-in-one package. We suspect that might change in the near future, but for now, you will need to purchase the components separately, at a total cost of £3146 / $4050 / AU$5650.
Breaking that price down into the individual components, we have the Q Concerto Meta standmounts at £1099 / $1400 / AU$2000 per pair, a pair of Q1 Meta bookshelf speakers priced at £499 / $700 / AU$1000, the Q6 centre channel at £699 / $850 / AU$1250, and the Kube 12 MIE subwoofer, which costs £849 / £1100 / AU$1400.
KEF also offers the Q4 Meta on-wall speakers, which can be swapped in for the Q1 Meta if your goal is to save some space. They are priced at £349 / $600 / AU$700 per speaker (or £698 / $1200 / AU$1400 for a pair).
If you want to turn this into a 5.1.2 system, meanwhile, KEF also offers the Q8 Meta Dolby Atmos 'toppers' at £599 / $900 / AU$1200 a pair.
An obvious competitor to the KEF Q Concerto Meta system is the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Bowers & Wilkins 606 & 607 S3 speaker package, which we initially reviewed at £2496 / $3799 / AU$3947 but can often be picked up for less.
The KEF package, then, has to prove it's worth the additional outlay.
Build
Looks are subjective, but you’d have to do a lot of convincing to persuade anyone that this isn’t a swooningly handsome system.
The Q Concerto Meta speakers are a suave set of standmounters, with the KEF Uni-Q driver array starring front and centre, and the Q1 Meta surrounds and Q6 centre feature a cohesive design language that matches nicely.
While the subwoofer is only available in black, the rest of the system can be optioned in a satin white, walnut or satin black finish. We have an all-black system in our testing room, and if this were a beauty contest, this stealthy system would take home top prize.
Finishes x 3 (satin black, satin white, walnut)
Bi-wired? No
Fronts:
Dimensions (hwd) 42 x 21 x 32cm
Weight 9.5kg
Surrounds
Dimensions (hwd) 30 x 18 x 28cm
Weight 6.1kg
Centre
Dimensions (hwd) 21 x 63 x 30cm
Weight 14.1kg
Sub
Dimensions (hwd) 41 x 39 x 41cm
Weight 18.6kg
The KEF tab at the top of each standmount speaker is a classy touch, and the slightly glossy surround to the Uni-Q driver array adds a nice sense of contrast to the monochromatic system we have here. We should also mention that the front and surround speakers come with magnetic grilles in the box.
Generally speaking, the system is moderately sized by surround-sound package standards. Each Q Concerto Meta measures 42 x 21 x 32cm (hwd) and weighs 9.5kg each, whereas the smaller Q1 Meta speakers measure 30 x 18 x 28cm each and weigh 6.1kg.
You will, of course, need to supply your own stands for these, though KEF does offer the SQ1 stands at £275 / $400 / AU$450 per pair if you want a perfect match. That’s quite a pricey option as speaker stands go, however, so keep that additional cost in mind if you’re considering this system.
The Q6 Meta, which serves as the centre channel of this system, is a bit more substantial at 21 x 63 x 30cm and 14.1kg, but it doesn’t look out of place next to the Concertos.
Where things do start to get a tad unwieldy is with KEF’s Kube 12 MIE subwoofer, which measures 41 x 39 x 41cm and weighs 18.6kg.
Features
As we know, looks aren’t everything – but KEF brings both style and substance with this system.
Starting with the stars of the show, the Q Concerto Meta standmount speakers are jam-packed with KEF’s proprietary driver technology to maximise sound quality and minimise unwanted distortion.
They feature a three-way bass reflex design, which KEF claims “ensures precise separation of high, mid and low frequencies for exceptional detail and clarity, bringing music and movies to life”.
Each unit features KEF’s 12th Generation Uni-Q driver array, which combines a 10cm aluminium midrange driver, a 19mm vented aluminium dome tweeter and the company’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), which can reportedly “absorb 99 per cent of the unwanted noise from the rear of the driver for pure and natural sound”, according to KEF.
The Uni-Q arrangement is backed up by a 16.5cm hybrid cone bass driver, and a rear-firing port is used to tune the lower frequencies. The bass driver cones are constructed with an aluminium skin layered over paper and feature a shallow concave design, which enhances rigidity and dampening, resulting in “improved punch and definition” as per our full KEF Q Concerto Meta review.
The Q1 Meta surround speakers could be considered the baby brothers of the Q Concertos. They drop the bass driver and feature a two-way bass reflex design, but also feature a slightly larger 12th Generation Uni-Q array comprising a 25mm vented aluminium dome tweeter with MAT, and a 130mm aluminium cone for mid/bass purposes.
While that driver is a few millimetres bigger, it’s also expected to do a lot more due to the lack of a dedicated bass driver.
Next up is the Q6 Meta, which is currently the only centre channel option in KEF’s Q series speaker range. It features the same Uni-Q array as the Q Concerto speakers, though it’s sandwiched between two of the same bass drivers from the front speakers.
Last – but certainly not least – is the Kube 12 MIE powered subwoofer.
This 12-inch front-firing subwoofer is powered by 300W of Class D amplification and is housed in a sealed cabinet design, which allows for greater flexibility when it comes to placement.
KEF also includes a room position EQ switch on the rear of the subwoofer to adjust the sound depending on whether you have the subwoofer placed in the corner, out in the room, or in a wall alcove or cabinet.
Sound
While a speaker package fronted by a pair of five-star standmounters isn't guaranteed to be a success, it's certainly a good start, and so it proves here.
We’ve connected the system to our reference AVR, the Marantz Cinema 30, which costs £4000 / $4500 / AU$7900, primarily for its ability to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of connected speakers.
In practice, you could pair this with something slightly cheaper, such as the Denon AVC-X6800H (£2999 / $3500 / AU$5999), and even the Denon AVC-X3800H will do a good job of driving it.
Starting with Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, specifically the scene in which the squad of misfits plans an elaborate escape from a military facility, we’re treated to a muscular and rich, yet agile presentation from the Q Concerto Meta system.
The explosion towards the start of this sequence is delivered with a hefty dose of low-end punch, and the subwoofer delivers its gut-punch of low end while remaining in total control.
There’s no flabby or waffly bass here, and while the Bowers & Wilkins 606/607 S3’s subwoofer is a touch more tuneful, the KEF Kube 12 MIE delivers a powerful and dynamic low-end kick.
This system sounds big and bold, enveloping us in engaging sound from all angles, but it refrains from losing focus and becoming sluggish as a result.
The hushed conversation between Yelena and Bob that follows demonstrates how talented this system’s centre channel is. Voices are conveyed with clarity and texture, underpinned by an impressive handling of low-level dynamics.
This results in a supremely natural and realistic representation of voices with excellent projection, which is aided by how forthright and crisp this centre channel sounds.
That said, it remains well integrated into the system as a whole. The left, right and centre speakers mesh seamlessly, and these in turn gel with the surrounds, leaving no noticeable gaps in between the channels.
The Matera car chase sequence in No Time To Die is a perfect demonstration of this, as bullets clatter against the bulletproof glass of the Aston Martin DB5 in an impressively coherent display of surround sound, placing us directly in the middle of the action.
Despite the Q1 Meta speakers being smaller than the Q Concerto Metas at the front of this system, there isn’t a noticeable tonal dissonance or any sacrifice in scale between the front section and the surrounds.
There’s a sparkle to the metallic clinking of bullet casings hitting the ground, and as each shot makes contact with the car, we’re treated to a pleasingly impactful thud followed by the sparkle of fragmenting glass. It’s layered, dynamic and detailed in all of the ways we’d hope, which helps to raise tension and excitement within this sequence.
We also take this system for a quick test drive with some of our favourite test tracks, though our full KEF Concerto Q Meta review provides a more thorough deep dive into how these speakers handle music.
Streaming from Tidal to our Marantz Cinema 30 in Pure Direct mode, we can confirm that these front speakers are superbly talented for music and movies alike.
Taylor Swift’s The Fate Of Ophelia is presented with the same richness, punch and agility as we’ve experienced when watching movies, and the vocal clarity, depth and detail remain top-notch.
Gerry Rafferty’s Right Down The Line, on the other hand, demonstrates the KEF’s more delicate and reserved side, with a smooth and warm sound that makes for easy listening while remaining interesting and engaging.
Verdict
Put simply, the KEF Q Concerto Meta 5.1 reminds us why we love proper surround-sound systems so much.
Its rich, crisp and dynamic sound instantly draws us into the action, and while it will certainly take up more room than your average soundbar, you won’t take umbrage with it taking up space in your living room thanks to its dashing looks.
It will, of course, sound a hell of a lot better, too.
SCORES
- Sound 5
- Build 5
- Features 5
MORE:
Read our review of the Bowers & Wilkins 606 & 607 S3 speaker package
Also consider the Q Acoustics 5040 5.1 Home Cinema
Read our Wharfedale Evo 4.4 5.1 pack review
Best surround sound systems: home cinema speakers and soundbars put to the test
