KEF

R3 Meta

speaker

$2,200

Used market: $1,585*

Manufacturer datasheet

Specifications

7 of 6 values have a recorded source

System Type: Passive Bookshelf✓
Input Terminals: Binding posts✓
Min Impedance Dip ohms: 3.2✓
Nominal Impedance ohms: 4✓
Recommended Power watts: Max Continuous: 180 · Min Continuous: 15✓
Sensitivity dB 2.83V 1m: 87✓

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Headroom Notes

A three-way stand-mount with a 165 mm bass driver and a 15–180 W recommendation. The 3.2-ohm minimum against a 4-ohm nominal is a narrow gap, which means the load is low but flat — easier for an amplifier than an 8-ohm nominal with a 2.9-ohm dip.

Amplification Warning

«NOMINAL IMPEDANCE 4 Ω (min. 3.2 Ω)» — the only genuinely 4-ohm-nominal speaker in this batch, and KEF says so instead of writing 8. That honesty changes the sensitivity arithmetic: 87 dB at 2.83 V on 4 ohms is exactly 84 dB/W/m, a full 3 dB below the headline. Anyone comparing this figure against an 8-ohm rival's 87 dB is comparing twice the power.

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~72% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026