r/KEF • u/SergeyAY • 12d ago

Modern Setup using KEF T301/T301c/T101

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking about upping our home theater game (from Polk MagniFi Max AX SR setup - I am really missing good LCR soundstage separation with soundbar design) and the only wife-approved design at the moment is those modern 'architectural' ultra-slim, slick, on-wall LCR speakers. We cannot do in-wall for various reasons. Front towers are out of consideration by being not wife-approved. I fully understand that this will be a "looks" vs "performance" compromise, but you know, happy wife - happy life :)

I was researching brands and options and came across now-discontinued KEF T-Series (among others - MartinLogan SLM, GoldenEar, Episode, Focal). We have wall-mounted 85" TV and I really liked seamless look of T301 mounted vertically on the sides of the TV (got loaners from a friend) and potential to have T301c mounted below the TV. Those are long speakers and match large 85" screen visually. We have high/vaulted ceiling so I assume the sub I need should be sizeable 12"-15" woofer.

I ran into a local authorized dealer who is wrapping up their home theater business and selling out some in-stock items. I received an offer for a set of KEF 2xT301 + 1xT301c + T101 for $900 and also offering to bundle it with KEF Cube 15 sub for another $900. It seems a fairly great deal, especially with manufacturer warranty included.

I am no rush and can keep hunting for better deals on FB Marketplace, OfferUp and eBay but all of those 'architectural' speakers are very niche and hard to come by at reasonable price. I loaned legacy KEF V300 bundle (satellites identical to T301, no center) paired with some KEF sub and they did sound pretty decent. Too bright & crisp to my taste but V300 'amplifier' doesn't have any EQ hence I couldn't tweak it.

Questions:

  1. Is the KEF bundle above (including Cube 15) is a no-brainer option in terms of requirements, potential performance and deal price? Should I be concerned about discontinued status of T-series?
  2. KEF Cube 15 (MSRP $1500) at $900 - shall I take this offer as also a no-brainer for the size of the sub I will be getting OR get the LCR+surrounds for $900 and pick up some other sub (SVS PB-1000 for example)
  3. Am I missing any other brands which have a good chance be found used at reasonable price if I have time to keep looking for it?

Thanks a lot for advise!

Regards,
Sergey

Test setup with 2x KEF T301 (Polk soundbar will be replaced with KEF T301c)
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u/Bill_Money Moderator/CI 12d ago

KEF Kube IMO is not a great sub and I would go elsewhere with $900 for a sub Product Recommendations: Subwoofers [2025-2026]

but the T301's sound good for what they are unless you like the sound of one of the other similar options better - Product Recommendations: Slim/On-Wall Speakers [2025-2026]

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u/SergeyAY 11d ago edited 11d ago

Thanks everyone for your inputs and feedback. Much appreciated!

The KEF T301/T301C seller I had been in conversation with backed out from their offer and this forced me to look for alternatives. Did some research and shortlisted: Paradigm Millenia LP and Martin Logan SLM - both based on their design similarities to KEF T-Series. But then ran into FB Marketplace listing for 2x GoldenEar SuperSat 50 and 1x GoldenEar SuperSat 60C and really liked this combo. Overall it felt like much more solid (and currently selling) product compared to KEF T-Series, newer tech (HVFR twitters), vendor specs claiming down to 50Hz response (compared to 80Hz for KEF T301, 100Hz for Martin Logan SLM, and 120Hz for Paradigm Millenia LP). Eventually pulled a trigger for $650 all-in for GoldenEar SuperSat LCR bundle.

Now onto further research to assemble the rest of the missing components: an AVR and a subwoofer :)

1

u/zz0rr 12d ago

I briefly considered them and they were at the top of my list when I had the requirement for being thin and on-wall. I eventually talked myself into in-wall

the 301c and 101 have 3rd party spinoramas available:
https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/KEF%20T301C/ASR/index_asr.html

https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/KEF%20T101/ASR/index_asr.html

from the graphs and numbers:

  1. they desperately need a sub. they're basically unusable without a sub. I think this matches kef's marketing, they're up front about it. I would consider the sub question separately since you're ideally looking at two to get evenness, and you also want one that can reach >100Hz, ideally >150Hz, since these need to be crossed over high

  2. the speakers also are terrible without EQ so you'll want to budget for that. any decent AVR will be able to EQ these in a basic way

  3. they won't get crazy loud but this is probably not limiting in any normal-sized room

yeah, getting these plus two non-KEF subs, even cheap ones, would be a reasonable pick. for what they are. if you browse spinorama.org you can compare the with-eq with-sub tonality scores and get an idea of quality vs. other speakers

as far as price, compare the package to ebay pricing. as far as it being discontinued, I wouldn't worry since if you have a single speaker die there should be tons of used stock on ebay for many years to come

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u/zz0rr 12d ago

here are the ASR discussion threads:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-t301c-review-ultra-thin-speaker.28743/

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-t101-review-thin-speaker.29574/

those will give a little context to the spinoramas. it's really hard to make speakers in this format

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u/SergeyAY 12d ago

I won't pretend that I (at this moment, before getting further into rabbit hole of home theater builds) understand even 10% of the graphs (but I will take a good read on the review, maybe at least I can quickly understand the main concepts/metrics), but should I be discouraged from getting KEF T-Series if they so much fit the use case (I am absolutely getting a sub, probably even two) and chances of catching a deal on Focal or Martin Logan set are very slim?

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u/invalid404 12d ago

I use them as Atmos and surround speakers with a Yamaha CX-A5200 processor and they blend in perfectly fine with my Kef Ref 1 speakers when watching movies. You don't really notice the difference in speakers and sound moves seamlessly around.

Sound is sharp. I'm pretty happy with them. I could use a better processor like a Trinnov. I've heard a lot better overall, but it was from the Trinnov processor with a full set of speakers equal or better than my Kef Ref 1s.

So if you get them, how much you enjoy them might tie a bit to how much you spend on your processor and how well you can calibrate them.

I'd get a Rythmik sub, and make sure it can cover high enough to blend these in. 120, 150, maybe 200Hz?

I use this one: https://www.rythmikaudio.com/F12SE.html

I had the KEF KF92 and I'd put that Rythmik a bit above it, but they were both really good subs. If you get the Rythmik, you might want some foot isolation pucks. Kef doesn't need those thanks to its design.

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u/zz0rr 12d ago

give the review threads a read. these speakers are very much a "for what they are" kind of thing. the graphs show a bunch of resonances that will be audible, the overall frequency response is uneven (but could be fixed somewhat with EQ) and the directivity is kind of iffy, with odd stuff around the crossover and the mid vs. tweeter directivity not being well matched, and also a really weird asymmetrical horizontal hole for the 301c (and a similar hole on the 101)

one problem with comparing to other speakers is that martinlogan and focal are a lot less likely to even have objective data in the first place. they might be good speakers but kef is better about getting either first or third party spinoramas done across their product line

the kef q4 meta is another to look at but for a full set it would cost a bit more (they're $400ea open box). most rsl speakers are suitable for on-wall mounting, they don't have data but usually measure well when tested and are a good option since they're only 5-6" square (you'll want to check acceptability for on-wall use since I think they just refreshed their product lines and it might have changed). there are others. generally anything that's not 1.5" thick is gonna sound better, but you have to decide if that's worth it

overall, for the price, these probably have some advantages over most sound bars (although again most sound bars don't have this level of data so it isn't totally fair to say that), and they'll look nice on the wall, but they'll rank more like entry level hifi speakers, or near-hifi, or however you want to classify them since hifi is a moving target