Kef R3 Meta in the house; the following lines are my personal impressions in my space with my gear:
First of all the look is absolutely identical with the older model; no change whatsoever, except for the special blue color version.
On the inside the UNi-Q is completely different, that means the crossover is different; the bass driver and port I suspect are the same (or small changes judging from the lower distorsions) as the older generation
After listening in my room R100, R500, LS50 Meta and the older R3 + listening in another space all the existing KEF speakers to date I can say that I am very familiar with their sound signature and is one of my favorite brand.
These new R meta don't change the Kef philosophy but follow the same rules with better detail and superior resolution.
The sound is more opened, seems like the dispersions is wider than the older model, or maybe is the new acoustic panels that I installed...hard to tell.
As for the bright sound that some people complained in the past, I don't find these at all bright but then again, neither the previous model....however I always use minimal toe-in and I have proper acoustic treatment
I did some near-field driver measurements just to have an idea with what I was working(dual binding posts makes it very easy); everything seems in place.
Hope Amir or Erin get them soon for proper measurements.
KEF R3 Meta near field measurements:
Just to have something to compare against, bellow is the Reference 1 Meta that I measured some time ago
KEF Reference 1 Meta near field measurements:
If I have to compare the R3 VS R3 Meta I would say that they are very close in performance with of course a plus for the Meta version; so would I buy it? absolutely!
But considering the price difference between the two I am not that sure anymore; A double blind test would probably help
R3 Meta vs Ref 1 Meta? For me it's really no contest; the Reference wins at every single category (minus sensitivity...that is to be expected considering the bass extension difference).
Overall the new R Meta series will definitely be a huge success for KEF because they took a great speaker series and make it even better, not to mention the addition of the bigger center speakers that was missing.