Is KEF dead in Singapore?

[Paradox1624706009]

After spending a few months during this circuit breaker reading thousands of pages of forums and reviews, I finally set my mind on getting a KEF R3 and its accompanying centre speaker. I was even so tempted to hit "purchase" online without listening to the speaker, but I wouldn't be doing myself justice without first listening to the speakers.

 

So I Google "KEF" and find out who the distributor is, and head to the shop at Funan. Which first struck me as odd as I vaguely remembered that the KEF shop was somewhere in Adelphi (I just did a check and realise there's some change in distributorship recently). Unfortunately the KEF shop isn't even proper space at Funan but some sort of area in the middle of the two main aisles, that has an open concept (yup, no walls). I try to listen to the KEF R3s, but the environment was absolutely ridiculous. I could hear the mall's music playing and the music of the opposite shops playing - this is in addition to people talking and walking about. I give up after 5 minutes and ask where their shop in Adelphi is, and find out that there are NO other shops in Singapore that open over the weekend that allow me to listen to the speakers.

 

These are not S$100 speakers, but the ones I wanted to get would be about S$5000 in total. Not a huge amount, but not pocket change as well.

 

So KEF has 1 main auditioning location, which is only open during office hours, but you can make an appointment to go over the weekend. I understand that retail is hard a business, and even more so during today's COVID environment. However, this is rather ridiculous. In addition, the Funan shop only has the KEF R3, LS50W and LSX. All of which was powered by one music streamer (which had to be unplugged and replugged if you want to listen to these three different speakers). I seriously wonder how Atlas manages to sell their higher end equipment - most of which are in the couple thousand range - through such a shop. Although I must admit they've done a great job with the KEF LSX (which in the scheme of things is cheap).

 

It's rather sad because if you just do a Google search, you'll see that the KEFs are viewed extremely positively on various online forums (maybe even all relatively known forums), be it AVS, AV, WhatHifi, and even throughout all the Reddit threads. Personally, I like how they look, and I think I like their sound signature as well. If you see the number of LS50s in the market, it's clear that the brand is rather well regarded in Singapore too.

 

My mind is still set on getting the speakers, but I am rather cautious as I doubt their business model, and thus, the validity of the warranty of the speakers. One thing though... my entry into the whole "audiophile" world began through my Bose computer speakers I purchased from them when I was 15, after saving up a year of pocket money.

 

I often wonder which would be the first shop to disrupt the "audio industry" in Singapore through newer models such as a  30-day-no-questions-asked-refund-scheme. Assuming they have a great product, the business that is able to make that work would probably thrive.

[kopidilo]

Thanks for this bro.

 

So now KEF's main auditioning / flagship shop is the one at FUNAN? I haven't visited any Atlas shop to view KEF since the last company closed down.

 

Sad to hear to hear the state of the flagship shop.... KEF's engineering is solid and their products deserve better.

[Guest francishuang]

Their higher range showroom with accuphase electronics is at the below address.

Weekend audition by appointment

 

6 Harper Road #03-08 Leong Huat Building

Singapore 369674

T: (65) 6334 9320 / 9128 5922

Email: sales@atlas-sv.com

Opening hours: 10am - 5pm

(closed on weekends and public holidays

 

Thanks for this bro.

 

So now KEF's main auditioning / flagship shop is the one at FUNAN? I haven't visited any Atlas shop to view KEF since the last company closed down.

 

Sad to hear to hear the state of the flagship shop.... KEF's engineering is solid and their products deserve better.

[econav]

They do hv another place showcase the higher end KEF @ Millenia walk

[Paradox1624706009]

They do hv another place showcase the higher end KEF @ Millenia walk

Based on their website, they only have the LS50 Wireless and the LSX there. But I haven't been there.

 

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[kopidilo]

They do hv another place showcase the higher end KEF @ Millenia walk

 

I passed by B4. Very limited range and space. Seems very focussed on lsx....

[Horchai]

I have seen atlas head honcho Dr Tien managing the millenia shop before on weekends. He seems quite hands on.

 

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[econav]

Thing change over time , just give him a call to arrange .

[domj]

Suggest you try the Harper Road showroom. They have 2 proper rooms there for auditions. Can just call to make an appointment.

 

 

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[Soul108]

Agree with the rest of the peeps here. Personally I have the R700s and have never regretted my decision. Given the reviews on the new R series, it’s definitely a step up.

 

Guess it was simpler and easier back in the day.

 

All the best for your auditioning. I wish i can sell mine and/or trade up the reference series.  ;D

[ngsk]

To the TS the R3 is a improve version of the R300,i listened to it n the R7 b4 @GP acoustic,more refined than the R700 n R300 i have currently. Review+measurements can be found here:

audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-r3-speaker-review.12021/

Have to agree with bro Soul108 that it's easier during GP time for audition different range of kef spks from E>T>Q>R>ref n even the blade!

[zephyr11]

each location seem to stock slightly diff stuff, but for sure there's lsx and i think ls50w.

 

i read that funan should have r3, though the other stuff might only be at harper. millenia, is only streaming stuff, they also sell bluesound stuff to complement their wireless stuff.

[Paradox1624706009]

Thanks everyone for the views on the speakers, am even more interested now. Am certainly going to make an appointment and visit their Harper showroom. Just a little annoyed (ok more than a little), that Atlas has made auditioning their speakers so hard, basically almost making it inaccessible to the general working-class consumer. Almost to the point of discouraging purchasing the KEFs.

 

A list of Atlas outlets are listed on their website, together with models available at each shop: https://atlas-sv.com/pages/store-locator-kef in case anyone else is interested.

 

To the TS the R3 is a improve version of the R300,i listened to it n the R7 b4 @GP acoustic,more refined than the R700 n R300 i have currently. Review+measurements can be found here:

audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-r3-speaker-review.12021/

Have to agree with bro Soul108 that it's easier during GP time for audition different range of kef spks from E>T>Q>R>ref n even the blade!

 

Wow thank you for that link - I haven't realised the audiosciencereview forum was so informative. 800+ posts on the KEF R3s, which makes it the third most participated thread on their speaker review sub-forum. There's definitely much interest in those speakers, will be spending some time to go through the thread.

[ngsk]

happy reading,lots of objective measurements on spk,dac,power amp,etc @ this site.

[petetherock]

Bro paradox

As a past and current user of kef

Having owned more than 6 different models

I feel your title is a bit unfair to this glorious brand .. sorry

Yes it should be clearer on where auditions can be made

But I would usually check first before I go down

Funan is a lifestyle place and I’m not surprised they only showcase limited stuff and mainly the wireless or “cool” stuff

But you can audition

Even though the owners have changed hands, the product remains solid especially if you like the coaxial speaker

I bought my first from pertama then KEF in Adelphi then GP and now atlas

Their blades are something else, I heard the small blade II in Munich and the Star Wars LS50 too driven by arcam and the sound was very impressive

Kelvin used a NAD 316 for many of his demos and you’ll be surprised how good it sounds

Enjoy bro

[Soul108]

Bro paradox

As a past and current user of kef

Having owned more than 6 different models

I feel your title is a bit unfair to this glorious brand .. sorry

Yes it should be clearer on where auditions can be made

But I would usually check first before I go down

Funan is a lifestyle place and I’m not surprised they only showcase limited stuff and mainly the wireless or “cool” stuff

But you can audition

Even though the owners have changed hands, the product remains solid especially if you like the coaxial speaker

I bought my first from pertama then KEF in Adelphi then GP and now atlas

Their blades are something else, I heard the small blade II in Munich and the Star Wars LS50 too driven by arcam and the sound was very impressive

Kelvin used a NAD 316 for many of his demos and you’ll be surprised how good it sounds

Enjoy bro

NAD is a great pairing though i use thw Cambridge Audio CXA80.

 

Kelvin has commented he was impressed with the newer Cambridge audio gear.

 

I think nowadays they wanna utilize space to drive mainstream crowd so that's the lsx or LS wireless.

 

Not many ppl dig the old school 2.0 now

 

 

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[petetherock]

NAD is a great pairing though i use thw Cambridge Audio CXA80.

 

Kelvin has commented he was impressed with the newer Cambridge audio gear.

 

I think nowadays they wanna utilize space to drive mainstream crowd so that's the lsx or LS wireless.

 

Not many ppl dig the old school 2.0 now

 

 

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk

 

Bro

When you have decided on a budget you can consider Kefs too.

But we need to know how much ..

[Soul108]

Bro

When you have decided on a budget you can consider Kefs too.

But we need to know how much ..

? Dont understand..

 

I own the Kefs R700 and centre R200C

Plus a pair of eggs..

The

 

 

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[Guest francishuang]

Actually still can contact Kelvin if need help on the Kefs, he will hook u up with atlas

 

? Dont understand..

 

I own the Kefs R700 and centre R200C

Plus a pair of eggs..

The

 

 

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk

[Soul108]

Actually still can contact Kelvin if need help on the Kefs, he will hook u up with atlas

Nice to know. But unless i strike lottery.. Wouldn't be buying the reference series anytime soon... [emoji28]

 

Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Paradox1624706009]

Bro paradox

As a past and current user of kef

Having owned more than 6 different models

I feel your title is a bit unfair to this glorious brand .. sorry

Yes it should be clearer on where auditions can be made

But I would usually check first before I go down

Funan is a lifestyle place and I’m not surprised they only showcase limited stuff and mainly the wireless or “cool” stuff

But you can audition

Even though the owners have changed hands, the product remains solid especially if you like the coaxial speaker

I bought my first from pertama then KEF in Adelphi then GP and now atlas

Their blades are something else, I heard the small blade II in Munich and the Star Wars LS50 too driven by arcam and the sound was very impressive

Kelvin used a NAD 316 for many of his demos and you’ll be surprised how good it sounds

Enjoy bro

 

Hi Pete, I wholeheartedly agree with you that KEF is a glorious brand and has very solid products which are well-respected in the "audio world". I guess it's just a little disappointing that they've now made it rather inaccessible to the general consumer who would not bother making an appointment in addition to a trip to Harper Road when there are many other brands which are so much more convenient to purchase and audition. I would imagine there would be many more KEF owners in Singapore if the situation isn't as such, hence the title.

[petetherock]

Hi Pete, I wholeheartedly agree with you that KEF is a glorious brand and has very solid products which are well-respected in the "audio world". I guess it's just a little disappointing that they've now made it rather inaccessible to the general consumer who would not bother making an appointment in addition to a trip to Harper Road when there are many other brands which are so much more convenient to purchase and audition. I would imagine there would be many more KEF owners in Singapore if the situation isn't as such, hence the title.

Actually bro, I beg to differ.

I like the idea of appointments and I don't think it discriminates against anyone, working class or otherwise..

Often times, walk in 'customers' come into a demo room, peer around, and talk a lot... reminds me of a certain showroom in the past..

With an appointment system, I get a quality listening session.

But they can also have an open section to display their wares, so the walk in folks can touch and feel... cheers

 

 

Those 'open' showrooms sometimes are way too crowded and if you've seen the ones in HKG, where speakers are stacked up to the wall, it's hard to really check them out..

[Paradox1624706009]

 

 

Actually bro, I beg to differ.

I like the idea of appointments and I don't think it discriminates against anyone, working class or otherwise..

Often times, walk in 'customers' come into a demo room, peer around, and talk a lot... reminds me of a certain showroom in the past..

With an appointment system, I get a quality listening session.

But they can also have an open section to display their wares, so the walk in folks can touch and feel... cheers

 

 

Those 'open' showrooms sometimes are way too crowded and if you've seen the ones in HKG, where speakers are stacked up to the wall, it's hard to really check them out..

 

You have a great point there, very true indeed. Totally get what you mean by the Hong Kong ones, it was quite a pain come to think of it.

[hmsweethm]

After spending a few months during this circuit breaker reading thousands of pages of forums and reviews, I finally set my mind on getting a KEF R3 and its accompanying centre speaker. I was even so tempted to hit "purchase" online without listening to the speaker, but I wouldn't be doing myself justice without first listening to the speakers.

 

So I Google "KEF" and find out who the distributor is, and head to the shop at Funan. Which first struck me as odd as I vaguely remembered that the KEF shop was somewhere in Adelphi (I just did a check and realise there's some change in distributorship recently). Unfortunately the KEF shop isn't even proper space at Funan but some sort of area in the middle of the two main aisles, that has an open concept (yup, no walls). I try to listen to the KEF R3s, but the environment was absolutely ridiculous. I could hear the mall's music playing and the music of the opposite shops playing - this is in addition to people talking and walking about. I give up after 5 minutes and ask where their shop in Adelphi is, and find out that there are NO other shops in Singapore that open over the weekend that allow me to listen to the speakers.

 

These are not S$100 speakers, but the ones I wanted to get would be about S$5000 in total. Not a huge amount, but not pocket change as well.

 

So KEF has 1 main auditioning location, which is only open during office hours, but you can make an appointment to go over the weekend. I understand that retail is hard a business, and even more so during today's COVID environment. However, this is rather ridiculous. In addition, the Funan shop only has the KEF R3, LS50W and LSX. All of which was powered by one music streamer (which had to be unplugged and replugged if you want to listen to these three different speakers). I seriously wonder how Atlas manages to sell their higher end equipment - most of which are in the couple thousand range - through such a shop. Although I must admit they've done a great job with the KEF LSX (which in the scheme of things is cheap).

 

It's rather sad because if you just do a Google search, you'll see that the KEFs are viewed extremely positively on various online forums (maybe even all relatively known forums), be it AVS, AV, WhatHifi, and even throughout all the Reddit threads. Personally, I like how they look, and I think I like their sound signature as well. If you see the number of LS50s in the market, it's clear that the brand is rather well regarded in Singapore too.

 

My mind is still set on getting the speakers, but I am rather cautious as I doubt their business model, and thus, the validity of the warranty of the speakers. One thing though... my entry into the whole "audiophile" world began through my Bose computer speakers I purchased from them when I was 15, after saving up a year of pocket money.

 

I often wonder which would be the first shop to disrupt the "audio industry" in Singapore through newer models such as a  30-day-no-questions-asked-refund-scheme. Assuming they have a great product, the business that is able to make that work would probably thrive.

I share similar sentiments.

I went to Funan to test the R3.

Initially when i reached the level, I couldn’t locate the shop, was looking at the perimeter shops.

Turns out, it is open space concept machiam selling hp covers shop.

Depends on the music played by other shops, you need to pause and play the music while u r testing on the R3.

And their main office don’t have the R3 on demo, only the Q series setup for HT.

They should have the R series setup at Millenia Walk.

Wanted to test R2C but not on demo.

So you can’t test all the R series at the same location.

 

 

[theaudience]

Atlas concept is like these are forbidden fruits. It tastes better when you finally found it.

Same goes for other brand they carry, like Accuphase at one time.