Review: KEF Q Concerto Meta Speakers

I’ve yet to meet a pair of KEF speakers I didn’t like. The brand’s penchant for providing rigid and musical bass, a warm and smooth midrange, and effortless treble extension keeps wireless models like the LS50 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) and LSX (9/10, WIRED Recommends), and the wired R3 Meta (9/10, WIRED Recommends) among my favorites on the market. These trusty sonic hallmarks are present once more in the new Q Concerto Meta.

Along with great sound, KEF’s Q Series aims to give you more for your money, which in the Concerto’s case equates to a bounty of drivers. You don’t often see three-way bookshelf speakers at this price, but the Concerto deliver the goods in an efficient configuration. You’ll get a hefty woofer, a midrange driver above, and at its center, KEF’s signature concentric tweeter that has trickled down from some of the brand’s best, including the highfalutin R3.

The Concerto immediately evoke the R3, from their design aesthetic to support for KEF’s “Meta” absorption tech, aimed at eliminating unwanted cabinet frequencies. The similarities end there; the Concerto’s sound (understandably) can’t approach the R3’s lofty heights, while their vinyl-wrapped facade feels more budget than KEF fans might expect. Still, this is a great package for the money, offering competitive sound with a focus on exemplary tonal balance and potent bass.

Loaded for Bare

I was positively giddy to be unboxing a sparkling new pair of KEF’s latest bookshelves, but my excitement was tempered when I got the Concerto loose from their foam homes. The vinyl cabinets (available in black, white, and walnut) look clean and relatively sharp, but most speakers I’ve tested in their class and even a step below do better. Compared to the posh piano gloss of SVS’ Ultra Evolution (9/10, WIRED Recommends), or the Focal Vestia No1’s funky leather and woodgrain panels, the Concerto have a more bargain basement vibe. Attaching the plain-Jane magnetic grilles further pushes them toward boxy obscurity.

In fairness, I think these are purposeful corner cuts to invest more on hardware, and the Concerto certainly have it where it counts. Their three-pack of drivers per side includes a 6.5-inch hybrid aluminum cone woofer, a 4-inch aluminum cone midrange driver, and a .75-inch concentric waveguided tweeter bearing KEF’s 12th-gen Uni-Q design (putting the “Q” in Q Series).

The drivers cross over at 450 Hz in the bass and 2.9 kHz in the treble, with a claimed frequency response of 48 Hz to 20 kHz (more on that later). Behind the drivers is KEF’s Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), which claims to eliminate “99% of unwanted frequencies.” It’s cool to see the tech that has spread across the brand’s top hi-fi speakers in approachable models. MA aside, most unwanted frequencies will likely come from your listening room, so you’ll still want to consider tips from our Audiophile Gear Guide like acoustic panels, which are both effective and relatively affordable.

The Concerto are rather large for bookshelf speakers, standing 16.3 inches tall, 8.3 inches wide, and 12.4 inches deep, and weighing over 20 pounds each. You’ll want to secure a solid pair of stands suited for their sizable footprint. (KEF will happily sell you a $700 pair designed for the R3.)

One other point of note for newer shoppers is that the Concerto and the entire new Q Series range have a 4-ohm nominal impedance rating, which essentially means they’re more power-hungry than many speakers in their class. That bore out in testing, with the Concerto generally requiring more volume from my amp than the 6-ohm SVS Ultra Evolution I used as a reference.

When I asked KEF’s engineers about this, they said that the Concerto’s 3.2-ohm minimum impedance is the same as the previous 8-ohm Q Series, and the updated rating is designed “to align with our recent products and the wider industry standards.” Impedance is a complex subject that can change drastically across frequencies, so it’s not something to stew over, but you'll want to pair the Concerto with a relatively stout amplifier designed for a 4-ohm load. (You can learn more about impedance in our Best Bookshelf Speakers guide.)

The Full Monty

Complete is the word that best describes the Concerto’s sound performance. I tested the speakers over dozens of hours with multiple amplifiers, including the sparkling clear Outlaw RR2160 MK II and the warmer Yamaha RN1000A (9/10, WIRED Recommends), revealing a detailed, forgiving, and full-bodied sound signature across registers.

That starts with the Concerto’s rigid yet meaty bass response, which is as potent as anything I’ve tested in their class without ever getting bloated or sloppy. Speaker frequency responses are often ambitious, but the Concerto dig down toward their claimed 48-Hz cutoff with authority that sometimes sneaks up on you. Test songs like The Weeknd’s “Starboy” and B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” hit hard without blowing out my room, especially when I gave them a few feet of space from the back wall. If you don’t have that kind of leeway, KEF’s simple but effective two-piece bung system can assist, and I appreciated the ability to tailor bass as needed.

Above the bass is KEF’s familiar warm and silky midrange, which tends to smooth over even harsher instruments like sharp woodwinds or aggressive piano, while still preserving their detail and dynamic expression. The lower mids can sometimes feel heavy, if not fully sluggish, but there’s still plenty of presence and clarity to discover across instruments. Even basic mixes like sitcom dialog are delivered with tact and nuance, while hi-res recordings spill into more expressive textures, always with plenty of weight and depth to ground things.

As is often the case with quality hi-fi brands that aim for a warmer sound, like KEF and Focal, I was surprised by the Concerto’s easy extension into the treble frequencies as instruments bend their way through the woolier center. You’ll hear plenty of touch and clarity in high-end brass, percussion, and synth effects, especially on display in challenging pop grooves like Caroline Polachek’s “Welcome to My Island.” This sweet and lyrical approach means you can really crank even challenging tunes like Anderson .Paak’s “Milk and Honey” for a fun and immersive punch without ever worrying about sharpness or ear fatigue.

The flip side of the Concerto’s more laidback sound is that it sometimes limits transparency and accuracy in stereo imaging. They offer a wide and full center image, and do a solid job placing instruments in space, but SVS’ Ultra Evolution are more nuanced in A/B testing, and even Polk’s cheaper Legend LS100 challenge them. The Evolution’s livelier touch also tends to more easily reveal instrumental timbres, especially notable when I spun my favorite vinyl test, Brubeck’s “Take Five” on U-turn's Orbit Theory (9/10, WIRED Recommends). The Concerto still easily expose nuances like the breathy fuzz in Paul Desmond’s sax reed or the myriad colors in Joe Morello’s fabulous cymbal work, but they surface more readily with the Evolution.

Neither rival offers bass as deep or potent as the Concerto, and it’s hard to argue with how effortlessly they cover all the frequencies. The result is an engaging and balanced listening experience for everything from Nickel Creek’s jazzy strings to the gunpowder bomb in the darkest hour of Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers. These are accomplished speakers that let you comfortably listen for hours, and while you can get more thump and free up more sonic space with a subwoofer, you’ll do just fine without one.

I’d probably steer those who do want (or have) a sub toward the similarly smooth Focal Vestia No1, or for a more energetic sound, the SVS Evolution (which pair brilliantly with the 3000 Micro), both of which cost less. If you have the means and want to take the Concerto’s vibe into the stratosphere, the glorious R3 Meta is the play. For those after one-and-done hi-fi speakers on a stricter budget, KEF’s Concerto are a great buy, whatever you’re into.