KEF KHT 3005 SE

By Jamie Gemming

June 2008

KEF KHT 3005 SE satellite/subwoofer speaker system. $2999


KEF's KHT 3005 SE (click for larger image)

Imagine an egg, not your usual size 6 or 7 but say, around a size 30. Now cut said egg in half own its vertical axis and finish in black high gloss. This is basically what the speakers of the KEF Home Theatre 3000 series look like. Sounds kind of weird, though in reality these speakers are a gorgeous contemporary design.

This set of speakers contains four satellites, a centre speaker and subwoofer. The four satellites stand on little pedestals and are connected with a little ball joint, allowing the speaker to be aimed precisely. If you’d like to wall mount them, the pedestals can be removed and reattached to the back of the egg-shaped enclosures. Each satellite stands 245mm high and 125mm at its widest point. The tweeter is held in the centre of the 115mm driver unit. The centre speaker is about twice the size of the satellites but still retains the same egg-shaped profile. The centre speaker has the same driver tweeter unit as mentioned above, which is also flanked by two 75mm drivers for a bit more oomph. The construction of these little beauties is Fort Knoxesque with the satellites and centre weighing in at 2.0 and 2.9 kilos respectively.

My favourite piece of the combo is the sub. It’s the same high gloss black, circular in shape, about two feet in diameter and only about 150mm deep. One side of the enclosure has a 250mm (10 inch) subwoofer controlled by a 250 watt class D amplifier. A 250mm (10 inch) passive radiator mirrors the woofer on the opposite side of the enclosure. The cool thing about this sub is that has been designed to stand up vertically or lie down flat, allowing easy placement behind or under furniture.

Love and attention

You always get a feeling about a product when you see care and attention to detail taken by the manufacturer. KEF certainly go the extra mile, each speaker is shipped in a protective cotton bag to protect the high gloss finish, two different Allen keys for removing the satellite stands or subwoofer feet and a non-scratch cleaning cloth is also provided.

Initially, the front speakers and sub were set up along a four metre wall of a room that measures four by five and half metres, with a listening position about four metres back. The first thing that struck me was how good it actually sounded. The treble is forward, nicely detailed, not rich, but certainly not harsh and there was good integration between sub and the satellites, which is not always the case with sub-sat combos. However, this fairly seamless integration dissolves if the sub is not placed up front and as centre as possible.

I’m home on paternity leave for six months and although it’s not the daily DVD watching and ESPN sports fest I had imagined, I now listen to more music in a day than I used to in a month. My latest music purchase was the Live 8 concert and this received a good thrashing over the past fortnight. The KEF combo is very natural sounding in the way it reproduces voices and has a surprising amount of depth to its midrange for such a small driver but it suffers the same problem as every sub sat system and lacks mid-bass. I know its unfair to compare, but tracks like The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again or the Kaiser Chiefs I Predict A Riot with powerful guitar and drum play just lack the drive and intensity that even the smallest of floor standers would deliver. Following KEF’s instructions I set my Denon 3805 sub output to 120Hz and after trail and error I think their cross over point is the best compromise.

Sight and sound

TV and movies will more than likely be where this combo does most of its work and this is no bad thing. A huge percentage of most movies are made up of talking and subtle effects and this is where the KEF’s excel with crystal clear effects and realistic voices. While the sub doesn’t go ultra low in terms of response it has more than enough power to really slam when required. I was very impressed with its control when faced with the multiple explosions in I Am Legend.

This is not some pokey little cube speaker set which places small size over everything else including sound. The 3000 Series Home Theatre set is one of the best sounding sub/sat combos I’ve seen. It’s not quite the match of the über expensive Castle combo I’ve had in the past but is appreciably better than any of the various Bose systems I’ve encountered. It also has a modern, contemporary design. I mean it, they don’t just look good, they look superb! If your viewing room is small or the missus hates the look of floor standers, then this KEF set is for you.

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