Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

[ErinH]

I just wanted to go ahead and express my excitement about my upcoming test with the HTS3001SE. I have no idea if the results will yield anything fruitful but based on Zaph's test results of the Q100 driver, I have hopes it might be useful in some regard. personally, I've been shopping Coaxial drivers and I've not seen anything better in overall response that the results Zaph posted of the Q100 driver. These drivers cannot be purchased individually without a serial number so I had to bite the bullet and order a set of the HTS3001SE's to dissect. Luckily, dissecting them was extremely easy and not destructive.


I'll be sure to update this thread with data once I get there. I just wanted to go ahead and tease a bit. :D

So, with that said, let me go ahead and share some pictures...

Note: I chose to leave these in the larger 1024x764 format just in case people want to get up close. There are no other pictures of the raw driver from this set that I'm aware, unlike raw drivers sold by Madisound, Solen, PE, etc. So, don't hate. ;)

[clydethecat]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

Could we have pictures of the crossover too? Thanks.

[ErinH]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

I'll have more pics on my site but here you go...

[bigfishe]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

Front mount only?

[ErinH]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

you mean rear mount?

front mounting is going to be tough. I have a whole paragraph on this in my review. I just won't publish the review until I've done the tests. ;)

be patient.

[ernperkins]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

Subscribed. I bought and tested a pair of the older and smaller HTS1001.2 speakers for possible car use. I was disappointed by the tweeter response and am looking forward to the newer version with the tweeter lens. Thanks!

Regards....

[ErinH]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

I just wrapped up all testing and provided my own general thoughts as I went. It's pretty lengthy and there's a lot of pictures/data. I hope you guys get something out of it. I had a fun time doing it and look forward to some discussion on it. Particularly regarding the response of the woofer above 2khz.

Here's the link:

http://medleysmusings.com/kefs-hts3001se-i-cracked-the-egg/

I tested the tweeter by itself, the woofer by itself, then tested the driver set with the supplied passive crossover. I didn't test the egg speaker itself as I didn't have real interest but I will try to do an FR of it sometime if there's a legitimate reason to.

A couple sample pictures...

[greywarden]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

Very nice writeup, the drivers perform well. Did I see a 0.23mm Xmax limited by the suspension symmetry? What would be a reasonable number for the Xmax? And I'm guessing the drivers+crossover looked better in the enclosure? Almost 10dB dip at 1.8kHz or so I suppose would sound ok to the average joe buying some nice HT speakers because his old lady won't let him get anything bigger than a blose cube haha.

[ErinH]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

the 0.23 mm is the symmetry of suspension delta. IOW, the suspension stays pretty much perfectly linear.

the linear xmax is limited by Bl at 2.7mm. Suspension linear xmax component is 3.6mm.


edit: thanks for asking that though. I cleared that up in my writeup. ;)

[bkeane1259]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

Another great write-up ...thanks. There's quite a "smile curve" built into this system which I'm sure is intentional. A little more punch and sparkle sells, especially on the HT showroom floor.

[ErinH]

please keep in mind the boosted low end of the driver using supplied passive is likely a function of BSC for the egg. I know you guys probably already know this but I just wanted to reiterate this.

[Pallas]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

Erin, check your PM.

Another great write-up ...thanks. There's quite a "smile curve" built into this system which I'm sure is intentional. A little more punch and sparkle sells, especially on the HT showroom floor.

That's not how they're voiced. Basically, their fr trend is smoothly declining with frequency. Ideal IMO for closer listening positions and/or more live rooms. People listening far away or in excessively "treated" rooms may find them dull-sounding.

I can't figure out how to extract an image URL from a website on this iPad, but see measurements here for the older model (no "Tangerine" phase plug) in the egg rather than a flat baffle here: http://www.hometheater.com/content/k...s-measures-kef

[Pallas]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

PS The Dodd and Oclee Brown AES paper on the Tangerine phase plug ("A New Methodology for the Acoustic Design of Compression Driver Phase- Plugs with Concentric Annular Channels") is posted here:

http://www.vegalab.ru/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=86280&d=1274426702

(As an aside, KEF poached Mr. Dodd from Tannoy to head up their engineering. He filled the void left by Andrew Jones' departure for Infinity and then TAD/Pioneer. At Tannoy, Mr. Dodd designed the "Tulip" phase plug for their modern Dual Concentric. So basically every top-tier concentric in the world has either Mr. Dodd's or Mr. Jones' fingerprints on it.)

These things (both from Tannoy and KEF) are called "waveguides" in MarketingPropagnandaLand, but technically they're phase plugs.

[bkeane1259]

Re: Kef HTS3001SE testing coming soon

Erin, check your PM.



That's not how they're voiced. Basically, their fr trend is smoothly declining with frequency. Ideal IMO for closer listening positions and/or more live rooms. People listening far away or in excessively "treated" rooms may find them dull-sounding.

I can't figure out how to extract an image URL from a website on this iPad, but see measurements here for the older model (no "Tangerine" phase plug) here: http://www.hometheater.com/content/k...s-measures-kef

There's a 10db null at 1.5kHz that invokes a "smile curve" in the FR. …and why would I look at the FR of an older model? I’m referring to the one here in the thread. Do you work for KEF or something??

[ErinH]

PS The Dodd and Oclee Brown AES paper on the Tangerine phase plug ("A New Methodology for the Acoustic Design of Compression Driver Phase- Plugs with Concentric Annular Channels") is posted here:

http://www.vegalab.ru/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=86280&d=1274426702

(As an aside, KEF poached Mr. Dodd from Tannoy to head up their engineering. He filled the void left by Andrew Jones' departure for Infinity and then TAD/Pioneer. At Tannoy, Mr. Dodd designed the "Tulip" phase plug for their modern Dual Concentric. So basically every top-tier concentric in the world has either Mr. Dodd's or Mr. Jones' fingerprints on it.)

These things (both from Tannoy and KEF) are called "waveguides" in MarketingPropagnandaLand, but technically they're phase plugs.

Good stuff. Ill post that link on my site.

Agreed in the phase plug. I just try to use their marketing terminology since I didn't have anything to back up any other term.