KEF owners thread

Wish i could say yes, but the last week has been stupid busy.

Tonight seems like the night tho. After dinner i should have time to hook them up. I'll report back. I need to dig up some speaker cable, the jacks on the back are teeny tiny little spring things. None of my usual setups are small enough to just hook them up...

:lurk:
 

Don't want you to run out of popcorn, so here's an early review.

Where to begin. Well first of all i'm using an alesis ra150, which is pretty sterile as amps go. But i'm beat and there's no way i'm rolling the rack out tonight.

Good imaging, these seem to have a more localized sound (maybe the cut off low end?). Not overly bright, pretty good mids.
These really want a sub playing along with them, there's something straight up blocking the bottom end, and it's making paul simon sound very flat. says 70hz but that seems optimistic.
The Cars sound good, but subdued.
Closest sounding speaker i have are some Wharfdale XP2 Glendales. I could see these being great for a smaller room, my space is swallowing them a bit.
I do like the tweeters, quite smooth.
Tried against some AR18Bs, the ARs have a fuller sound, but the KEFs are much "wider" and the speakers blend together better.

I need to give them a better listen with a better amp and sub patched in. Might be worth checking/resealing the drivers. Might be the amp. Something seems amiss. What is the b200 doing in other enclosures?

Damn this reads like a buzzword salad...
Still never ceases to amaze me. So many different speakers, so many different sounds.
 
Don't want you to run out of popcorn, so here's an early review.

Where to begin. Well first of all i'm using an alesis ra150, which is pretty sterile as amps go. But i'm beat and there's no way i'm rolling the rack out tonight.

Good imaging, these seem to have a more localized sound (maybe the cut off low end?). Not overly bright, pretty good mids.
These really want a sub playing along with them, there's something straight up blocking the bottom end, and it's making paul simon sound very flat. says 70hz but that seems optimistic.
The Cars sound good, but subdued.
Closest sounding speaker i have are some Wharfdale XP2 Glendales. I could see these being great for a smaller room, my space is swallowing them a bit.
I do like the tweeters, quite smooth.
Tried against some AR18Bs, the ARs have a fuller sound, but the KEFs are much "wider" and the speakers blend together better.

I need to give them a better listen with a better amp and sub patched in. Might be worth checking/resealing the drivers. Might be the amp. Something seems amiss. What is the b200 doing in other enclosures?

Damn this reads like a buzzword salad...
Still never ceases to amaze me. So many different speakers, so many different sounds.

I know what you mean,haha,not easy to describe,is it? The T33 tweeter is the real sweet spot with these models,it just seems to be so ''right'' for lack of a more accurate description. The B200 is a good mid driver,but needs to see a bit of wattage to get the bottom end moving.The 70hz might be a bit optimistic,given the +/- 3dB spec.
These are really meant for a smaller room also.

My own (and maybe unique) experiences with the KEF's are that any good tube amp upwards of 35 watts will drive them happily,but many SS amps struggle and fail trying to get them going.
 
I know what you mean,haha,not easy to describe,is it? The T33 tweeter is the real sweet spot with these models,it just seems to be so ''right'' for lack of a more accurate description. The B200 is a good mid driver,but needs to see a bit of wattage to get the bottom end moving.The 70hz might be a bit optimistic,given the +/- 3dB spec.
These are really meant for a smaller room also.

My own (and maybe unique) experiences with the KEF's are that any good tube amp upwards of 35 watts will drive them happily,but many SS amps struggle and fail trying to get them going.

I've plans to give them the best chance i can this weekend, we'll see what my p500 can do for them. If that can't make em move, nothing will. No way these can be harder to drive than DQ-10s.

Also realized they were likely w-a-y too far from the wall on the stands. I'll need to shuffle some beasts around but we'll see what can be done.
I suppose a #120 Karlsonator 12 will make do for a bookshelf...
 
Has anyone approached how to replace an entire Uni-Q driver (in one of the older concentric drivers with black plastic) if these are blown?

There is some guidance on youtube videos about how to repair the tweeter in the white concentric drivers (used in say, the Q35/Q55), however I want to get hold of say some C55 or Q80 as these drivers are incredible quality (cast baskets etc). If the tweeters are blown in these, has anyone found a replacement that is high quality and could work?

cheers
 
I have 2 pairs of the 104aB's. Stacked upside down on cinderblocks 8" off the floor. 14" from the back wall and 90 degrees(no toe in or out) I power them with a Crown PSA-2 running them at 16 ohm's. Will never part with them.
 
Has anyone approached how to replace an entire Uni-Q driver (in one of the older concentric drivers with black plastic) if these are blown?

There is some guidance on youtube videos about how to repair the tweeter in the white concentric drivers (used in say, the Q35/Q55), however I want to get hold of say some C55 or Q80 as these drivers are incredible quality (cast baskets etc). If the tweeters are blown in these, has anyone found a replacement that is high quality and could work?

cheers

I successfully replaced the tweeter in the Uni-q driver in one of my C55s. This is the thread, but unfortunately, it has fallen victim of the Photobucket hosting BS.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kef-c55-uni-q-tweeter-help.621122/
 
I successfully replaced the tweeter in the Uni-q driver in one of my C55s. This is the thread, but unfortunately, it has fallen victim of the Photobucket hosting BS.
Cheers for that. Did a search for the SP1446 on ebay and couldnt find it....

Its a real shame there isnt something up to performance and readily available today that could work as a sub for these these tweeters - ie: if a repair doesnt do the trick....
 
An update on my KEF C25's: I scored the proper tweeter on ebay and installed it using slightly bigger screws (on the other tweeter as well), as the factory screws were a bit on the wimpy side. They sound glorious! I now have Mission, B&W and KEF bookshelf speakers.
 
Im after a bit of guidance on this....

Finally "scroed" some 104.2's. They are pretty rare here in NZ.

Very excited. All drivers seem to work. Hooking them up tonite to my Accuphase P300.

Need some help on the woofer dustcaps. Im familiar with the foam replacements for these (luckily the surrounds are rubber). Whats with the current pictured dustcap, is this the original which has partly fallen apart? Im quite confused about what is there currently......

IMG_1464.jpg
 
The inner dustcap was a doughnut that many shops just removed when they repaired the foam surrounds but you'll find repair kits that contain the inner dust cap. the pole goes thru the magnet and is bolted on the backside if memory serves, takes some time but not difficult.
 
Just make sure not to get any glue on the inner tube as it could restrict the movement of the surround. It's there to keep dust and foreign debris from fallening in to the voice coil.
 
Last edited:
Those donuts are easy to replace, although you do have to pull the drivers. Easy job but a bit time consuming. The bottom driver needs to be desoldered to come out completely but can be worked over next to the cabinet if needed.

While you're in there you should also replace the ferrofluid in the tweeters - they're almost surely dried out and will sound phenomenal afterwards. You can do this while the foams dry. Plenty of videos to guide you through both jobs.
 
Im after a bit of guidance on this....

Finally "scroed" some 104.2's. They are pretty rare here in NZ.

Very excited. All drivers seem to work. Hooking them up tonite to my Accuphase P300.

Need some help on the woofer dustcaps. Im familiar with the foam replacements for these (luckily the surrounds are rubber). Whats with the current pictured dustcap, is this the original which has partly fallen apart? Im quite confused about what is there currently......

View attachment 1002536

Congrats on your score! I have always loved that model,and still use them in my secondary system and also at the GF's place.

In my experience with KEF 104/2's,and I have owned several pairs and restored many for others,I have never seen that style of ''donut''. Ever. All models,even the rubber surround types (which,oddly enough,were the early versions) used foam donuts exclusively.

That looks to me like someones attempt to get by with what they had on hand. The original foam donut not only keeps dust and debris out of the voicecoil gap and helps keep the cone centered,it also acts as a gasket to prevent air leaks.

So long as the work is well done,the voice coil does not rub,and the donut material is air tight,I would leave well enough alone:)

Cheers,

Art
 
don't think that center seals - you can clearly see the top of the center tube and can see the cone between the tube and fake-o bake-o donut.

This is my concern too. The foam donuts would create an airtight seal, and I cant see that here. This dustcap seems to have been in place for years, its definitely not a factory job?
 
Those donuts are easy to replace, although you do have to pull the drivers. Easy job but a bit time consuming. The bottom driver needs to be desoldered to come out completely but can be worked over next to the cabinet if needed.
Yes, fully prepared to put some time and money into these. I've watched the youtube vids on this!

While you're in there you should also replace the ferrofluid in the tweeters - they're almost surely dried out and will sound phenomenal afterwards
So my next question was - I have seen posts saying there is "special KEF fluid" to use for this job - hoping this isn't the case and that any ferro fluid replacement will do?

It also sounds like (from what I have seen on posts) that a full recap (with Falcon proper caps) yields minimal audible improvement. Has anyone done a full recap of these and swears that it was a definite requirement?

Cheers all for the responses.
 
I agree with arts and others, those do not seem to be anything like the donuts on the Kefs I used to sell. The lack of seal could be a concern with respect to bass response. The twin woofers work accordion style to move air in and out through the port, a lack of seal could affect that. Hook them up and let us know how the low bass response is doing.
 
Oh wow. I just put these on, paired with my P300 then my sansui 999. The latter sounded better.

Its totally made me realise what a blunt instrument my home-made OB's actually are.

The treble sounds great. There could be a bit more bass but I am in a difficult room for bass. There is a bit of air coming out the ports. But yes I will get onto replacing the donuts and re-ferrofluiding as well as the first jobs. Then the cabs will be totally re-sanded back and the grilles recovered. It would be great to have these looking new again.
 
Back
Top Bottom