AudioChainsDB
KEF

Q1 Meta

speaker

$700

Used market: $505*

Manufacturer datasheet

Specifications

6 of 8 values have a recorded source
Max SPL dB
108
System Type
Passive Bookshelf·
Input Terminals
Binding posts·
Min Impedance Dip ohms
3.2
Nominal Impedance ohms
4
Recommended Power watts
Max Continuous: 150 · Min Continuous: 10
Sensitivity dB 2.83V 1m
86
Updated At
2026-08-05T23:17:57.857Z·

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Amplification Warning

A 5.25-inch Uni-Q two-way that KEF rates as a 4-ohm load with a 3.2-ohm minimum. Read the sensitivity row with the drive condition attached: 86 dB is at 2.83 V, and on a 4-ohm speaker 2.83 V is 2 W, so the watt-scale figure would be 3 dB lower. That is the whole difference between «any receiver will do» and «pick the amplifier carefully», and it is the same 3 dB twice over - once in the scale, once in the load.

What the datasheet actually says

Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.

One figure, several models
«Nominal Impedance 4 Ω (min. 3.2 Ω)»

The same impedance row, value for value, is printed on Q1 Meta, Q3 Meta, Q7 Meta and Q11 Meta, and again on R3 Meta, R5 Meta and R7 Meta (checked 2026-08-06) - seven models across two ranges, from a 5-inch two-way bookshelf to a three-way floorstander with four bass drivers. A minimum of the impedance modulus is a property of one crossover working into one set of drivers in one cabinet; identical minima across seven different crossovers are a range-level statement, not seven measurements. The previous Q generation was printed differently (Q150 and Q350: 8 Ω, minimum 3.7 Ω), so the figure did change when the range changed - it just no longer varies within the range.

checked 8/6/2026

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~72% retained value). · checked on 8/6/2026