Been looking for a powerful pair of speakers for your little home theater? You might have shortlisted a few options and I bet one of them is KEF Q150. KEF Q150 is a pretty popular home theater speaker choice these days.
Therefore, whether you ask someone to suggest or search on the internet for the best home theater speakers you will find this speaker at the top of the list.
KEF Q150 Speaker Review
I own a lot of speakers, however, these speakers are my favorite. Since I have been using these speakers for quite some time now, I’m aware of my strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, I have decided to write a review and inform you about them as well.
Appearance
It’s important to admit here that I tested and became a fan of this KEF Q150 bookshelf speaker later but got impressed by the design at first. These bookshelf speakers have a pretty simple yet impressive design.
It comes in three colors; black, walnut, and white. The white and walnut KEF Q150 speakers get 10/10 for their appearance.
The black one is not that bad either. However, since most bookshelf speakers are black, therefore, it looked a bit ordinary to me. All three colors have satin vinyl exteriors and slimmer profiles. What I loved the most about these speakers is the dimpled woofers’ edges.
The rest is more or less the same as other bookshelf speakers. The speakers are roughly as tall, deep, and wide as regular speakers are.
More specifically, they are 12″ tall, 11″ deep, and 7″ wide. These speakers might be as tall, deep, and wide as regular bookshelf speakers but they are a bit lighter than the traditional ones.
Like an ordinary human, I also believe that the speaker is not a decorative piece. Its job is to produce a quality sound and we should mainly judge it by that. However, it is still necessary for the speaker to have an acceptable appearance, if not impressive.
Since the speaker has a profile that does make you investigate further, it has my blessings.
Sound quality
These bookshelf speakers are claimed to offer high clarity and tight bass and to be honest, I found it true.
It did not take me much longer to realize that the sound quality of the KEF Q150 is much better than most bookshelf speakers I have used. Looks like the company has worked “really” hard to serve you better sound this time.
So far, I have only got a chance to watch a few movies with my family with these speakers paired to my home theater system. What I have noticed is that the sound of the speaker is clear enough that you can hear the sound of clinking ice cubes in a shaker in a very noisy environment.
A friend who got these speakers on my recommendation has claimed that while listening to snowman by Sia he was able to tell which musical instruments are used in the song.
To improve the quality of the sound, the company has experimented by placing the tweeter in the acoustic center of the midrange.
It worked well as the sound is quite improved as compared to a few other KEF speakers. If I’m supposed to inform you about the sound in the simplest words, I would say the speakers have an organic and transparent sound.
However, what I did not like is that the speakers produce enough sound to be heard clearly in a small to medium-sized room only.
It is not suitable for bigger needs. If the company also had tried to make the speaker a little louder, there would not have been any better option.
Type
As you can judge from the title, these KEF speakers are categorized as “passive” bookshelf speakers.
Passive speakers are speakers that require an amplifier to perform their job. Needing an amplifier is not a con if you are thinking of purchasing this speaker for your home theater setup.
The most high-quality home theater setups already come with amplifiers. The are several advantages of owning a passive speaker. They are super lightweight, easy to upgrade, and have fewer wires as compared to active speakers.
Mounting type
The KEF Q150 is a bookshelf speaker. The placement of this bookshelf speaker is very important and the ceiling is a great option.
These speakers are rather meant to be kept on the table, shelf, or any elevated space and serve the sound home theater needs. So, like all bookshelf speakers, the pair of KEF Q150 has also to be kept in some elevated space.
Connectivity
These Bookshelf speakers are wired. They do not come with the most advanced Bluetooth connectivity options. This Bookshelf speaker connectivity with PC and tv is easy.
This disappointed me a little because that’s an expensive pair of bookshelf speakers. It should have supported Bluetooth connectivity. For a few of my readers, this might not be disappointing as most of the bookshelf speakers are still wired.
Compatibility
Compatibility is also every aspiring speaker owner’s concern, it was also mine as well. I needed a bookshelf speaker that could be connected to several devices.
These speakers served me well and I have found them to be highly compatible with computers, TVs, DVD players, music players, as well as surround sound systems.
Usability
These passive bookshelf speakers are found suitable to meet the needs of a little home theater. Besides home theater, you can also connect them to your computer or laptop and listen to music or play games.
Price
These speakers are pretty expensive. At the moment, they are being sold at $287. However, they are a lot of fair reasons for these speakers to be expensive.
The high-quality sound and slimmer profile are the two major reasons why these are even more expensive than the speakers you have left thinking they are overly priced.
So, KEF Q150 yay or nay?
KEF is a yay for me and many other people searching for a bookshelf speaker with a transparent and organic sound. It is also good for people with medium-sized needs having no budget issues.
Cian has 7 years of experience in the musical instruments industry. His press and research articles are published in many well-known journals. Cian is part of our product testing team so he knows the criteria for the best products. Here at sound keen cian covers how to set up instruments and selection criteria for new products.