KEF Q3 Meta
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Orders requiring motor freight delivery may take more than two business days. Once your order has shipped, you'll receive a shipping confirmation email with a tracking number for easy tracking.
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Rerouting and Address Changes
We cannot make ANY address changes once an order is placed. If you are unable to accept delivery of your package as ordered, we will need to cancel your order, return the package to sender and have you replace your order through our website.
Keep the Box
We suggest you keep the shipping box or boxes for at least 30 days. It is actually a great idea to keep boxes for audio products for the life of the product. Having the box and all packing will increase the trade-in value should you decide to move up and they are handy to have should you ever need to send the unit in for repair.
How To Receive a Motor Freight Order
The trucking company will contact you to schedule a convenient time to deliver the order. Please note that you must be present for delivery.
Visually inspect the box to make sure you see no signs of damage. If you notice any damage at all, take some pictures with your phone and make a note of them on the delivery receipt the driver will ask you to sign. If it is obvious that the product is damaged, please refuse the order and contact us immediately at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com.
Open your box as soon as possible and inspect the product for damage and contact us if you find anything wrong.
uShip In-Home Delivery
Due to current concerns surrounding COVID-19, uShip is able to offer THRESHOLD SERVICE ONLY at this time. To ensure everyone’s safety, uShip is advising carriers to refrain from making room-of-choice deliveries. Threshold service consists of the shipment being brought into the first door of the address or the lobby of an apartment/condo, and does not include set-up, installation, assembly or debris removal.
What to Expect: Most oversized items will be delivered within 2-3 weeks. Your carrier will place your item inside the first door of the address or the lobby of an apartment/condo.
Appointment Scheduling: Your delivery partner will call 24-48 hours prior to delivery to arrange an appointment window.
How to prepare for in-home delivery:
- Determine the clearest path from the street to your home
- Measure entrances and hallways to ensure your item will fit
- Remove any wall hangings or clutter to ensure a clear path and to prevent damages
- Remove old furnishings to allow placement for your new piece
Check your furniture for damages: We rarely expect damaged furniture, but in the instance it does happen, we have you covered. Once your item’s packaging is removed, check for any damages that may have occurred in transit. Take pictures of any damages and notate appropriately on the delivery receipt. Keep possession of the damaged piece and contact us via phone or email and we’ll start the process to repair/replace your new piece of furniture. For uShip customer support, please call 800-698-7447.
At Audio Advice, we pride ourselves on customer satisfaction. We'll bend over backward to make sure you're 100% satisfied and we won't accept anything less. We offer 30-day hassle-free returns and personalized service from real, live people.
If an item doesn't meet your expectations, you may return or exchange it in its original condition and packaging within 30 days for a full refund, minus shipping fees. Items shipped back in like new condition through standard shipping carriers will only incur a flat fee of $15 to return. If the items were initially shipped through free scheduled delivery via motor freight (commonly referred to as LTL), returning them will result in return shipping fees starting at $150. These items include but are not limited to, oversized items such as TVs, certain subwoofers, floorstanding speakers, furniture, and most items weighing over 75 pounds. Return fees will also apply for exchanges. We want to treat your system as if it is our own and want you to be completely satisfied with your purchase.
Please see the instructions below. We only accept returns for any product purchased directly from our website. If merchandise is not returned in its original condition or is missing packaging, manuals, accessories or other parts, or the resale value of the product has been impaired, a partial refund will be given and calculated on a case-by-case basis.
Non-Returnable Items
The following items cannot be returned or cancelled:
- Special/Custom Order Items
- Open Box Products
- Gift Cards
- In-ear headphones cannot be returned once the packaging has been opened due to personal hygiene reasons. Please contact our customer care team if you'd like help choosing.
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Turntables With a Broken Stylus: All turntables ship out with the stylus intact. If you return a turntable or phono cartridge with a broken or missing stylus you will be subject to a return fee. Please be careful when setting up your turntable and contact us with any questions.
Is It Easy To Return An Item?
Yes, simply give us a call at 888.899.8776 or you can email our support team at support@audioadvice.com. Many times our team of experts can help figure out why the product might not be working like you expected and get things fixed over the phone, so don’t be surprised if we ask a few questions, we love troubleshooting!
If our tech help can not make you happy, we will email over a return shipping label with a Return Number.
Hopefully, you saved all of the original item’s box and packaging inserts. You will want to pack back up your return or exchange in the same way it came out of the original box. Once you have everything packaged correctly, tape the box on the top and bottom to assure it stays together. If Audio Advice shipped the item to you inside a second box, it's a good idea to use that same extra box to help prevent damage on its way back to us. To avoid it accidentally coming back to you, use a magic marker to cross out the old shipping label or just tear it off.
The return shipping label we send you will have our address on it, just make sure you take the box to the right shipper (UPS, FEDEX, or USPS) as per the label.
If you are close to one of our stores, please let us know if it is more convenient for you to return it to us directly. You will still need to get a return number by contacting us and shipping and/or restocking charges may apply.
When Will I See My Refund?
It usually takes around 7-14 days for the refund to show up on the payment method you used. We do inspect all returns for damage and accuracy of the item inside the box before issuing a refund. Some items may be subject to shipping and restocking fees.
Can I Exchange My Purchase For Something Different?
Sometimes those big speakers just don’t fit in the room or you might have bought a small subwoofer and later found out you’d love a bigger one. If you would like to make an exchange within 30 days of receiving your item, just give us a call at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com and we will help work out the details. Additional shipping charges and return costs may apply.
How Do I Cancel An Order?
If the item has already shipped out or is a special order item, it is not possible to cancel the order. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com to start the return process.
What If I Find Shipping Damage?
We need to know right away about any shipping damage. Please contact us at 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com within 48 hours of your delivery so we can get the ball rolling on making things right. It’s very helpful to take some pictures and email them to us if possible.
Can I Refuse A Shipment?
You can, but unless the item is damaged, shipping and restocking fees will be deducted from your refund. If your item arrives damaged and you are lucky enough to be there, snap some quick pics and refuse the order. Then contact us so we can get a replacement on the way.
What Happens If My Order Is Defective?
This is actually pretty rare, most consumer electronics work fine out of the box 99.9% of the time. We’d like for you to contact us first by calling 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com so we can help get to the bottom of things. If your item is indeed defective during the first 30 days, we can usually exchange it for a new, replacement unit.
What About Service After 30 Days?
Audio Advice has a great relationship with all of our brands and can help you with warranty service by the brand after our 30-day guarantee period. Even after the warranty expires, we can arrange for service by the brand on products purchased from Audio Advice. Just call 888.899.8776 or email support@audioadvice.com.
How Do You Determine A Restocking Fee?
You may not believe it, but sometimes we receive items back that were put in the box with zero packaging and are completely destroyed or are missing many of the pieces that came with the item. We also track serial numbers and will get back different serial numbers. We’ve even seen different items than what we shipped out be returned. However, it’s very important to package your return properly so that nothing goes missing or gets damaged in shipping, which will result in a restocking fee or even no refund at all. If a product is opened and the market value of the product is reduced, then a restocking fee may be applied to the cost of restocking and the reduced market value of the product. The bottom line is if you treat us fairly, we will do the same.
Audio Advice strives to provide industry-leading support and service while also maintaining the lowest prices available on products for our customers. We work hard with our vendors to bring our customers the best products at each price point. As a part of that process, we work with our vendors to provide the lowest pricing in our stores and on our website.
Our prices should always be the same as any other authorized dealer, including big-box retailers and major online retailers.
If you believe that you have found a lower advertised price from a legitimate authorized seller, call us and let us know so we can make sure we can correct any inadvertent error on our side. As a matter of policy, we update our prices automatically if a vendor changes its authorized pricing policies, so we generally have the best prices all the time. Increasingly, there are knock-off copies of products online, usually sold by non-authorized dealers.
Please be sure that the item meets the following conditions:
- The item is brand new, in stock, and available for purchase
- The item has the identical model number, color, etc as the item on our site.
- The seller is an authorized dealer
As always, our goal is to provide a terrific customer experience, including industry low prices. We appreciate your support.
Overview
The successors to the renowned, award-winning HiFi speaker range, the Q Series has evolved once more in its 9th iteration since 1991. Now incorporating the revolutionary Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) and a suite of innovative acoustic technology derived from their flagship HiFi speakers, high fidelity sound is more accessible than ever. Leveraging the latest 12th generation Uni-Q driver array and cutting-edge analysis techniques, the Q Series has been carefully fine-tuned. This includes a crossover redesign that refines the signal path response for a more natural, detailed sound. The result is a comprehensive line-up of eight speakers that can be easily tailored to your space and desired set up. Whether for stereo music or multi-channel home cinema, the Q Series offers a solution for everyone.
Revolutionary sound absorption with MAT
The crucial new advancement in the Q Series is the integration of Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT), a revolutionary innovation that takes the performance of the latest 12th generation Uni-Q driver array to another level in terms of accuracy and clarity.
MAT is a highly complex maze-like structure, in which each of the intricate channels efficiently absorbs a specific frequency. When combined, the channels act as an acoustic black hole, absorbing 99% of the unwanted sound that comes from the rear of the tweeter. This eliminates the resulting distortion for a purer, more natural acoustic performance.
Superior KEF sound
The latest 12th generation Uni-Q driver array with MAT is found in all eight models of the Q Series and delivers an incredibly detailed performance. It’s the result of decades of accumulated in-house knowledge and the application of state-of-the-art simulation and analysis tools. The developments are many and all play a part in the Q Series’ impressive performance.
The Uni-Q driver array has been redesigned to maximize the performance improvements that MAT delivers. The conical waveguide that couples the tweeter dome to the metamaterial absorber has been specially designed for the driver based on its depth. The re-engineered tweeter gap damper strategically places two rings of porous material to tame the resonances and imperfections effectively, greatly improving detail and clarity.
The tweeter motor system has been redesigned to maximize the transmission of energy from the rear of the tweeter to the MAT absorber. The area of the tweeter rear chamber vent is increased by 250%, allowing more sound to reach the metamaterial absorber and therefore its effectiveness. This also significantly reduces the acoustic pressure behind the dome, allowing the tweeter to operate more linearly leading to lower distortion still.
The Flexible Decoupling Chassis first used on the flagship Blade and The Reference loudspeakers is employed on the Uni-Q driver array to dramatically reduce coloration of the sound caused by midrange vibration transmission to the cabinet, while also mitigating the potential of additional sound created by the driver basket that occurs with traditional decoupling methods. It works by decoupling the massive midrange motor from the Uni-Q chassis, dissipating its vibration before it can travel to the cabinet and be radiated as unwanted sound.
These innovations combine to ensure the Q Series sounds more transparent and lifelike than ever.
An extra half way
The evolved Q Series has been upgraded from a 2.5-way to a 3-way speaker design. This updated configuration separates the frequency ranges, with the Uni-Q driver handling the high and midrange frequencies, and a newly designed bass driver dedicated to the low frequencies management.
The optimization of the drivers for their respective frequency bands allows the 12th Uni-Q driver to perform even better. By minimizing the motion of the mid-frequency cone, the tweeter can transmit high frequency sound over a smoother and more stable surface. This reduction in movement leads to a diminished distortion in the lower midrange frequencies, resulting in a significant improvement in detail and clarity.
Deep and clean bass
The Q Series features a new bass driver design – a hybrid structure with a shallow, concave, aluminum skin atop a paper cone – gives stiffness to achieve a piston-like movement for better bass punch and speed. Combined with a 3D FEA-optimized surround geometry, this significantly improves linearity at higher excursions. This results in a precise and agile bass management even at high output.
Additionally, the flared port, modelled with computational fluid dynamics, minimizes turbulence and reduces chuffing noise. This enables the ported speakers to produce bass that is cleaner and more controlled.
Refined crossover from 1000 measurements
A critical component of the Q Series is the refined crossover, which ensures seamless integration of all speaker parts. To achieve this, KEF engineers take more than 1,000 specific measurements for each speaker model using a custom-built reference microphone array in their anechoic chamber in Maidstone, UK. These extensive on and off-axis measurements allow their team to thoroughly understand each model's acoustic interactions, enabling precise crossover design through advanced simulation and prototyping. This meticulous process draws from the development of the LS50 Meta and has been further enhanced through the creation of the latest Blade, The Reference and R Series, allowing each speaker model for precise signal path optimization and the best possible performance.
Shadow Flare for improved clarity
Derived from the flagship models, Shadow Flare is a further upgrade for the evolved Q Series. It reduces unwanted cabinet diffraction, allowing the 12th generation Uni-Q with MAT to work at its highest potential. Shadow Flare is a precision-designed surface that extends the waveguide effect of the Uni-Q driver array. This means the tweeter no longer has a line of sight to the cabinet edges, creating a ‘shadow region’ where the potential for diffraction is highest, minimizing the acoustic impact to negligible levels. The improved clarity and reproduction of fine details make listening a thrilling experience. Subtle nuances, such as the delicate brushwork on cymbals or the intricate overtones of a piano, are clearer on the Q Series.
Perfected for your enjoyment
The Q Series comprises eight distinct models. The range extends from compact bookshelf speakers to powerful floorstanders, as well as a slender on-wall speaker and high-performance home cinema models. Whether installed in a spacious living room or a cozy corner, the diversity of form factors and capabilities within the Q Series allows you to curate your desired HiFi set up to suit your space and listening preferences, from music to movies and gaming.
Multi-dimensional music
Lose yourself in a symphony, rock out to your favorite band, or curate a mood-boosting playlist - the Q Series speakers are primed to deliver a captivating audio experience. There are two 3-way floorstanding models - Q11 Meta and Q7 Meta - which provide refined detail and powerful bass to bring your music to life. If you want to place the speakers on cabinet or shelf, the Q Series provides a selection of bookshelf speakers including the 3-way Q Concerto Meta, as well as the more compact Q3 Meta and Q1 Meta. Designed for Q Series bookshelf speakers, the SQ1 floor stand creates a sturdy platform for them to perform. For those with constraints on floor or shelf space, the Q3 Meta and Q1 Meta can be easily wall-mounted using the optional B2 Wall Bracket. Additionally, the slender Q4 Meta is specifically designed as an on-wall speaker solution. It can also be used as an LCR (left, center, right) speaker for a more expansive soundscape without taking up any floorspace.
Movie moment, maximized
The Q6 Meta 3-way center speaker features the same Uni-Q driver as the main speakers, providing a perfect tonal match and a seamless soundstage. This ensures voices are crisp and clear, delivering excellent dialogue clarity. This versatile closed-box speaker is also designed to be used as an LCR (left, center, right) speaker that can be positioned in cabinets and alcoves.
Sense everything from every direction with the addition of surround sound to create an immersive and atmospheric experience. The flexible Q4 Meta on-wall speaker is ideal for use as a surround speaker. The Q8 Meta can serve as a surround or rear speaker with the integrated wall mount feature. Alternatively, it can be placed upon another main speaker for Dolby Atmos height to bounce sound off the ceiling, bringing Dolby Atmos to the room without the need of custom installation. Pair the Q Series with KEF subwoofers for even more extraordinary impact. Whether it's the subtle rustle of leaves in a forest scene or the dynamic swell of a suspenseful scene, the Q Series will ensure you don’t miss any important moments.
Detail by design
The Q Series speakers feature a contemporary minimalist design with a satin finish that offers a premium, subtle glow. Available in Satin Black, Satin White, and Walnut finishes with carefully selected color driver units, they are designed to blend effortlessly into any interior.
Dedicated grilles are included with the speakers, providing the option to protect the drivers if needed. These color-matched grilles maintain the cohesive aesthetic, while the magnetic fixing provides a secure and precise fit, in keeping with the clean and seamless styling of the Q Series.
Key Features
- Metamaterial Absorption Technology (MAT) eliminates 99% of high-frequency distortion for pure, natural sound
- 12th generation Uni-Q with MAT driver array for exceptional acoustic accuracy
- Enhanced crossover design fine-tuned the signal path for pristine, clean sound
- Three-way design for enhanced clarity and detail (Q11 Meta, Q7 Meta, Q Concerto Meta, Q6 Meta)
- Hybrid aluminum cone LF driver for deep and powerful bass (Q11 Meta, Q7 Meta, Q Concert Meta, Q6 Meta)
- Eight models: Q11 Meta, Q7 Meta, Q Concerto Meta, Q3 Meta, Q1 Meta, Q6 Meta, Q8 Meta, Q4 Meta
- Available in Satin Black, Satin White and Walnut finishes
- Magnetic grilles offer the perfect balance between driver protection and aesthetics
- Optional B2 Wall Bracket provides wall-mounting solution for Q3 Meta and Q1 Meta
- SQ1 Floor Stand for Q Concerto Meta, Q3 Meta and Q1 Meta is available as separate item
- Optional PQ1 Plinth Spike Kit for Q11 Meta and Q7 Meta is available
Details & Specs
| Model | Q3 Meta |
|---|---|
| Design | Two-way bass reflex |
| Drive units | Uni-Q Driver Array: HF: 25 mm (1 in.) vented aluminum dome with MAT LF/MF: 165 mm (6.5 in.) aluminum cone |
| Frequency range (-6dB) | 42 Hz - 20 kHz |
| Typical in-room bass response (-6dB) | 39 Hz |
| Frequency response (±3dB) | 49 Hz - 20 kHz |
| Crossover frequency | 2.0 kHz |
| Amplifier requirement | 15 - 150 W |
| Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) | 87 dB |
| Harmonic distortion (90dB, 1m) | <2% 110 Hz and above <1% 135 Hz - 20 kHz |
| Maximum output | 109 dB |
| Impedance | 4 Ω (min. 3.2 Ω) |
| Weight | 8.2 kg (18.1 lbs.) |
| Dimensions (HxWxD) with terminal | 14.1 x 8.3 x 12.0 in 357 x 210 x 305 mm |
| Finishes | Satin Black / Satin White / Walnut |
