Home Cinema Choice Review : KEF Q9C Centre Speaker review

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The Ultimate Collection

April 2003 Group test

LOOKING TO UPGRADE YOUR STEREO SPEAKER SYSTEM TO HOME CINEMA? ALVIN GOLD MIXES AND MATCHES A DOZEN CENTRE SPEAKERS AND SURROUNDS TO FIND THE ULTIMATE IN SONIC HARMONY

Upgrading a hi-fi stereo system to surround sound may seem easy on paper, but it can often lead to problems. What very often happens is that an existing pair of stereo hi-fi speakers is simply added to willy nilly by centres and surrounds that bear no direct design relationship with the existing speakers. The result is all too predictable: speaker systems that fails to sing with one voice, and that don't image consistently.

In this test we look at a dozen models overall, six centres and six surrounds. But rather than choose models that can be compared directly to each other, the intention here was to choose designs at differing price points, and whose designs are as varied as possible. The idea was to attempt to estimate what kind of design is likely to give the optimum results in particular circumstances.

Overriding any other consideration, the speakers you choose must be an approximate voice match for the main speakers. This is especially important with the centre front speaker. You can afford to be a little more relaxed about the rear speakers. Matching brand new speakers your existing speakers will certainly involve an element of trial and error. A good dealer can be invaluable, offering advice and demonstrations, and by allowing a swap if a purchase just doesn't blend with the rest of the system.

In this group test

B&W HTM1

ENERGY CONNOISSEUR SERIES C-R3

FOCAL.JMLAB COBALT CC800S

FOCAL.JMLAB COBALT SR800

INFINITY PRELUDE MTS CENTRE

KEF Q9C

Centre speaker

£249 (APPROX) 01622 672 261 www.kef.com

The highly irregular enclosure shape of the KEF Q9C adds interest to what can often seem like a plain rectangular box, but the main beneficiary of such an unorthodox shape is the sonics, with the lack of parallel surfaces assisting the dispersal of internal resonances. The real interest here, however, is the Uni-Q driver, cleverly faired in to the enclosure. With the tweeter at the centre of the dome, sound is well integrated, both on and off axis. The usual deep interference notches around crossover are missing, and with a single bass unit, there are no interference effects between adjacent bass drivers. Finally, the room is energised by a sound that is as stable and as accurate as the direct axial sound.

What this adds up to in practice is an extremely clean, open and vivid account of the centre-channel information. Intelligibility is a strength, but most remarkable is the liveliness, accurate tonality and the lack of obvious colourations. The whole effect is one of lightness (which is not to say that the low-frequency end is noticeably deficient) and vitality. With the Q9C it happens virtually anywhere in the room, with little detectable falloff from oblique listening angles, exactly as promised. The Q9C delivers superbly then, and stands as remarkable value for money.

Grouptest conclusion

With loudspeakers of any kind, the skill of the individual designer is as important as the minutiae of the design itself. Perhaps more so. It is possible - indeed likely - that matching the voicing of your intended purchase to the rest of the system will overturn all other considerations. The lowest ranking speaker in the group could very well be the one that suits your system best.

But it is possible to hazard certain general observations about the speakers featured in this test. First and foremost, there appears to be a link of some kind between wide dispersion and perceived sound quality. The KEF Q9C centre and the Mirage Omnisat, and in its very different way the Energy Connoisseur Series C-R3 surrounds, achieve wide, even dispersion in very different ways, but all manage to come out with excellent, impressive results. There is something refreshingly open and vivid about such speakers, and as a result they did well in this test. The more directional surround speakers can still deliver the goods, but are usually best avoided in narrow rooms, where it is not possible to put much distance between the listening position and the speakers. More generally, there is a predictable link between price and sound quality in the case of the centre speakers. Intriguingly though, this is less true of the surrounds.

Ask yourself whether your system is likely to be used with movies more than music. If so, then dipole designs may be your best surround sound bet. And if your stereo pair are basically old, be prepared to upgrade these to match the qualities of any new centre/surround configuration.