KEF owners thread

That series of Kef was hard on amps that did not have high current delivery or had sensitive protection circuits. The 4 Ohm load draws a fair amount of current and the KUBE boosts the bass output so the current demand at low frequencies is considerable. This often caused amps to cut out. That being said we used to demo them with fairly modest amps such as the 25 watt Mission Cyrus One to show how efficient they were (89db). You need something of very high quality as they are revealing speakers but beyond that as long as an amp is well designed and happy with 4 Ohm loads it will do the job. More power will bring more impressive results. I remember the big 300-500 wpc Perreaux amps (same distributor as Kef in Canada at the time) did a great job. The best I ever heard them was on the ML 23/23.5 but that could be said for a lot of speakers. I currently use a Yamaha RX-V1 AVR on my set in the living room and it works well, not surprising given it weighs about 62 pounds and is made to drive 6 speakers at once.
 
Depending on the listening space size and furniture and on the listening levels you want to reach, a decent 70WRMS/8Ohms would be able to deliver around 100WRMS at 4Ohms that these speakers are rated. I'm using such an amplifier (Technics 9060 power amplifier) and the bass will rumble the sofa. More power than that would be going towards headroom, giving you better transients (assuming you are listening to Classical music).

They are an easy load (no inductive parts to the load) but do need a hefty amount of current. The Sansui 9900Z is rated at 160WRMS/8Ohms with no indications for 4Ohms. But your symptoms show it isn't liking the 4Ohms load at all.

One more thing. The 107s don't sound great without the KUBE. If you like what you hear now, get ready to get shocked. But the bass extension the KUBE introduces will easily take 50% of the power reserves of the power amplifier section.
 
Thanks for the thoughtful replies. They are very educational.

I am not completely displeased with the sound, but at the audition they sounded a tad better, although the KUBE was not plugged in and there might be a reason to why it was not. They were driven by a Forte 1A, if I recall it correctly a 50W class A amp, in a rather small room. My living room is about 22'x24' with 17' popcorn ceiling and open concept to kitchen, dining, foyers and such with hardwood throughout. On a side note, hopefully no one gets upset, the sound in my beater Jeep is in some ways better than that in my living room, but I hope to change that soon. In my youth I had B&W DM4, with some mid grade Pioneer receiver, but they worked well together and produced very nice warm mellow sound. I am hoping to get something like that back.

As for music I listen to pretty much anything, but refrain from rap, hiphop, and country with few exceptions.

I am aware that my receiver is not the best suited equipment for the task of driving 4Ohm speakers. I have an old Nait too that I have been contemplating on hooking up, but am lacking correct connectors. I want to see if there will be a big sound difference, albeit the Nait being under powered I am aware I cannot expect miracles. I did hook up the KUBE between the CD and the receiver but I could not tell the difference between with or without it, so I think that little item may need some servicing.

Currently, I have an eye on a Forte model 3 that is not too awful expensive that I'd like to try out. It is on paper more powerful that the 1A I heard them on so maybe that will work out. I have looked into ML 23.5 and the few ones I find are way out of my price range for what my wife would let me spend and live to listen to. Just getting my KEFs was some hard negotiating with some cut throat politics.
 
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Anybody driving Q700s with McIntosh gear?

I've stumbled upon a pristine MA5100 preamp/amp and have a possibility of adding a MC250 to the mix. The MA5100 will be back from the shop this week and am wondering if anyone has opinions on how they would match up with my Q700s.

Thanks...

Is the McIntosh stuff tube or solid state?

I run my R900s with a PrimaLuna tube preamp and tube power amp.

They LOVE tubes, sound better with this combo than anything else I've tried. The realism and imaging from the UNI-Q driver only gets better with tubes, it's superb!
 
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Been driving my KEF 104/2's for years with a Hafler DH 200, recently scored a DH 500 and found both the speakers and I love. They seem to like some power, though I'd like to try a tube amp someday. And, of course would like to try some other reference speakers from KEF also.
 
phone 018.jpg my 107/2 speakers have been relegated to movie night as they can't quite hold up next to the revel salons v1, they probably need the tweeters redone by now.
 
Thanks for the thoughtful replies. They are very educational.

I am not completely displeased with the sound, but at the audition they sounded a tad better, although the KUBE was not plugged in and there might be a reason to why it was not. They were driven by a Forte 1A, if I recall it correctly a 50W class A amp, in a rather small room. My living room is about 22'x24' with 17' popcorn ceiling and open concept to kitchen, dining, foyers and such with hardwood throughout. On a side note, hopefully no one gets upset, the sound in my beater Jeep is in some ways better than that in my living room, but I hope to change that soon. In my youth I had B&W DM4, with some mid grade Pioneer receiver, but they worked well together and produced very nice warm mellow sound. I am hoping to get something like that back.

As for music I listen to pretty much anything, but refrain from rap, hiphop, and country with few exceptions.

I am aware that my receiver is not the best suited equipment for the task of driving 4Ohm speakers. I have an old Nait too that I have been contemplating on hooking up, but am lacking correct connectors. I want to see if there will be a big sound difference, albeit the Nait being under powered I am aware I cannot expect miracles. I did hook up the KUBE between the CD and the receiver but I could not tell the difference between with or without it, so I think that little item may need some servicing.

Currently, I have an eye on a Forte model 3 that is not too awful expensive that I'd like to try out. It is on paper more powerful that the 1A I heard them on so maybe that will work out. I have looked into ML 23.5 and the few ones I find are way out of my price range for what my wife would let me spend and live to listen to. Just getting my KEFs was some hard negotiating with some cut throat politics.

Did you ever get a new amp for your KEF's? I am going to try an Audire Forte with my 107's this afternoon for the first time (first time with this pairing). Should be fun!
 
Did you ever get a new amp for your KEF's? I am going to try an Audire Forte with my 107's this afternoon for the first time (first time with this pairing). Should be fun!

Yes. I found a Forte Model 3, 200W@4Ohms Class A/B, but I stumbled upon a set of rosewood 107/2 that I had to have too, so the amp got hooked up to those instead and never got paired with my first set. Actually, I think the first set was never broken in, as sound has changed and lowers have come out tremendously. Even my wife, with no interest in HiFi, makes comments about she hears thing she has never heard before in music, with those hooked up to the Sansui. She is vision impaired and has REALLY good hearing. That if anything should vouch for KEF.

Now I am on to the next task and that is getting hold of either another Forte or get other matching amps and set them up for HT, since I have four 107, although different models, but from what I understand it is just the bi amping that differs. I am sure it will be challenging as my living room is not exactly ideal for anything with little wall space so we'll see how this goes.

Thinking about it, the 107/2 since they are bi amped, does that mean that the speakers are 8Ohms when in bi amped mode, since they are 4Ohm in parallell, with single hookup? If they are, it may work out for me as I can use my receiver in A+B setting and have my Forte run the 107 when I want to do some sort of HT. I was looking into a Anthem AVM 40 but things changed and I cannot audition it now. My neighbor has offered me a Lexicon CP1 with upgraded chip and it has the remote, a crucial thing in order to use it, and I think I will try it out since it is little money we are talking about.
 
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The tweeter and kube are different in the.2 version although I expect the differences would be subtle it will be interesting to read what you find. My 107/2 in rosewood, for sale btw, did seem to play better bi-amped when I was using 100 wpc amps and matched really well with the parasound a21. how much do a pair of 107/2's go for in the swamps of loUiSiAna?
 
Long time KEF fan here, and I absolutely adore my Reference Model 3~2s. I have been wondering whether or not they're susceptible to the tweeter fluid drying out, though - I can't find any definitive info for UniQ models as "new" as they are - they were produced from 2001 I believe.

I am also curious if anyone has ever compared the "period" centre speakers, i.e. the 100C and 200C to the more modern varieties - R200C etc?


Here's some photos of mine for no real reason other than eye candy

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going to look at some 105.1 on Saturday. .... :).
Suggestions for amplification, Rogue Audio Atlas Magnum 100 watt tube amp, or Onkyo M508 200 watt solid state?
 
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No, ferrofluid came along in the next gen Kef speakers if I am not mistaken.

Good luck, wonderful speakers. Let us know how it works out.
 
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No, ferrofluid came along in the next gen Kef speakers if I am not mistaken.

Good luck, wonderful speakers. Let us know how it works out.
Will do!

Here are some pics from the seller. I’m excited about getting the original paperwork...

Should I rotate the woofers if they've never been done?
 
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