The Official KEF R107 Owners Registry

KEF 107 Amplification:
Since purchasing my 107s back in 2015, I've connected a number of amps to them in search of the sound I was looking for. Namely, a McCormmack DNA 0.5, Conrad-Johnson MF 2250, Jeff Rowland Model 2 (which I adore), and most recently a Pass Labs XA30.5. I thought the Rowland Model 2 would be my last amp purchase because it does everything right in my system. I still have it and am on the fence about keeping it because I know it'll be hard to find another. I may install it in my office system.

The Pass XA30.5 had been on my radar a while, but I always thought it would have a hard time driving the 107s with its rated 30 class A watts, so I kept passing up on listings until I saw one at a price I couldn't refuse. I'm really amazed at how well this amp pairs with the 107s. It's more forward in presentation than the Rowland, and offers a bit more dynamic range. The sound stage depth on good recordings and well engineered SACDs is incredible. One area that the Pass isn't quite up to the level of the Rowland is in bass clarity, but I've found this is easily tamed with the Kube by setting the Q to it's most overdamped setting, and dialing back the level a notch or two. Overall, I'm thrilled with both the Rowland and the Pass, and just wanted to let other 107 owners know that the XA30.5 offers plenty of power to drive the 107s. I believe the constant 4Ohm load and relative efficiency of the 107 help make this a wonderful pair.


Wow, never would have thought 30 watts would do much for the KEF's. I have a Monarchy SM-70 which I think is also 20-30 watts (also class A). Hooked it up to the KEF's very briefly and did not really push them at all, but didn't sound like enough juice to me. But again it was a very temporary thing, like minutes. Maybe I'll have to try again.

You have tried a lot of the amps I was going to try! We must have been reading some of the same "recommendations." I was going to try the McCormack and Rowland. Also thought about trying some bigger Monarchy or other Class A amps, or an Audire Forte. I've pretty much only used an Emotiva UPA-200 on mine. Sounds fine, but I always wonder if I could do better. Just hasn't been in the budget lately.
 
The Pass' 30 rated watts (8ohm load) or (60w for our 107 4 ohm load) is in class A....until which point it moves to AB and apparently clips at around 190 watts according to Stereophile's measurements.
I have to turn the volume up to uncomfortable levels to make the meter go into AB mode.
I agree we have similar tastes, I looked for a Monarchy Audio NM24 DAC for a while. :)
 
Hi everyone. I just put a down payment on a pair of 107's today at a shop in Chicago. I will be picking them up one week from today. S/N 001268 speaker, with the Kube, in rosewood. Everything seemed to working as it should, but I'm still going to do the ferrofluid deal in the tweeters when here. I'll post some pics also when I get them home. They're in very good condition but will need to get some spikes.
 
I hope this is an appropriate place to ask this question, and apologize if this is seen as a thread jack.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried using the Marchand WM8 (or other make/model) in place of the OEM 107 Kube. I have a couple of 107 Kubes but they feel like they're not built to the same degree as the rest of the speaker (wall wart transformer, etc.) I understand that the 107 is a heavily engineered design, and this engineering could be easily upset with an aftermarket EQ. I'm just curious to see if anyone has attempted this solution.
 
11 hour drive each way...I think I may have beat SimplySound for the longest trip to pick up a pair of 107's :)


Nope, I am sure I do with 21h drive nonstop, one way, from Louisiana to New York. Update: I see someone from Canada drove to Texas so that *may* be the longest drive.

My 107 has serial 4892 with Kube SP2105 (I am not sure that is the serial but there is no other number), in rosewood and in mint condition. However, the Kube does not seem to work as there is no difference in tone when manipulating the controls. Anyone with a clue about this? I opened it up but couldn't see anything bad inside of it. It has the HZ in the front, DIN for power, and RCA for audio connectors.
 
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I hope this is an appropriate place to ask this question, and apologize if this is seen as a thread jack.

I'm wondering if anyone has tried using the Marchand WM8 (or other make/model) in place of the OEM 107 Kube. I have a couple of 107 Kubes but they feel like they're not built to the same degree as the rest of the speaker (wall wart transformer, etc.) I understand that the 107 is a heavily engineered design, and this engineering could be easily upset with an aftermarket EQ. I'm just curious to see if anyone has attempted this solution.

The KUBE received a lot of attention and in terms of engineering, received the same attention as the rest of the speaker. Looks are slightly deceiving as I thought the same thing, but I had a chance to talk about it with the original designer.

Having said that, changing out the OP amps results in a serious sonic upgrade. I don't recall what I upgraded mine too, but OP amps have improved a great deal since 30 years ago.
 
What can be better than two KEF 107? Four of course!

I just stumbled over another set, however, with missing KUBE and tops. These are 107/2 and not as nice as my first set, which are mint, but they look nice, sound great, and match my other ones. Serial on the 107/2 is 1136. I did get a cool little item with them though and that is a KUBE comparator , a dealers only item, with the only function is to compare up to four different setups. It is in the same housing as the ordinary KUBE. This gadget has serial 1026 so I guess there were a few made unless they started on 1000.
 

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#1723, just picked these up. no cube unfortunately.

apparently they were restored at audio specialist in studio city. not sure exactly what was done, but i'm guessing foam, ferrofluid. will probably contact them and see if they can fill me in.

was going to flip them because i thought they were too big for my space/my wife wasn't thrilled with their size, but doing a bunch of listening today and not so sure now.

IMG_4113.jpg
 
#1723, just picked these up. no cube unfortunately.

apparently they were restored at audio specialist in studio city. not sure exactly what was done, but i'm guessing foam, ferrofluid. will probably contact them and see if they can fill me in.

was going to flip them because i thought they were too big for my space/my wife wasn't thrilled with their size, but doing a bunch of listening today and not so sure now.

View attachment 1070015

I like where this is heading...:bigok:

They are good speakers! $4-6k new back in the 80's and 90's!

Play some stuff LOUD...and some music with good bass and/or complex music (classical?). They just effortlessly play it all at any volume level. Maybe don't push it too much with your current amp though...get one of those dB meters on your phone if you don't have one and I'd keep it at 95dB or quieter. They say these can reach 112 dB with a good (powerful) amp. I never listen that loud, but I believe it!!! Again, just so effortless at any volume, in my experience.
 
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I like where this is heading...:bigok:

They are good speakers! $4-6k new back in the 80's and 90's!

Play some stuff LOUD...and some music with good bass and/or complex music (classical?). They just effortlessly play it all at any volume level. Maybe don't push it too much with your current amp though...get one of those dB meters on your phone if you don't have one and I'd keep it at 95dB or quieter. They say these can reach 112 dB with a good (powerful) amp. I never listen that loud, but I believe it!!! Again, just so effortless at any volume, in my experience.

Rad! thanks for the input. I actually came up on a Mitsubishi DA-A15DC. It had a bad channel, but getting it repaired at the moment, and plan on hooking it up asap. Looks like its 150w per channel, should be a good amp to pair with these no?
 
Mine sound good with the a21 halo. I have had the 107/2 sound bright with lesser amps. The Nak stasis did nothing for them, my B&K 4420 sounded pretty good but the bass was a bit fat, but Bi-amping with an anthem 225i driving the mid/tweeter and the a21 pushing the bass was pretty impressive, the 225i didn't have a loop so I was only able to use the kube for the bass and I could hear a little hardness higher up that the kube smooths out, so the A21 with the kube driving the 107/2's full range was my favorite combo and room placement was a cinch.
 
Looks like we have an update... I spotted these on Ebay. They are 107's and they are the highest number I have seen so far. Another interesting thing, is I just realized after all these years that the heads have the Serial number on them too! o_O

Now these don't match, so are we looking at a "Franken" pair or is it like we have speculated about the KUBE's, they sometimes don't? :idea:

KEF_R107-01.jpg KEF_R107-02.jpg KEF_R107-03.jpg
 
Bummer, I guess we can't edit old posts from the old site... oh well guess we'll do it this way! :confused:

And I missed BearWolfe's post... he has the highest documented serial so far for Gen1!

EDIT:
Reference Series Model 107 (1986-1990): Highest Serial Number Documented thus far: #4892
Reference Series Model 107 (1986-1990): Highest Serial Number Documented with "Captive Lead KUBE": #1856
Reference Series Model 107 (1986-1990): Lowest Serial Number Documented with "Hz Extension" increments: #3564
Reference Series Model 107/2 (1990-1995): Highest Serial Number Documented thus far: #2112
 
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Nope, I am sure I do with 21h drive nonstop, one way, from Louisiana to New York. Update: I see someone from Canada drove to Texas so that *may* be the longest drive.

My 107 has serial 4892 with Kube SP2105 (I am not sure that is the serial but there is no other number), in rosewood and in mint condition. However, the Kube does not seem to work as there is no difference in tone when manipulating the controls. Anyone with a clue about this? I opened it up but couldn't see anything bad inside of it. It has the HZ in the front, DIN for power, and RCA for audio connectors.

Makes sense that the KUBE would be Hz-markings that late in the series, so the KUBE could be original Bear!
 
My 105/3 and 107/2 speakers were matched, kef besides voicing the pairs matched veneers. Both kube's numbers seemed to be independant of the speakers and I bought the 105/3 with the kube new.
 
Just joined this forum.
A wealth of info.
Somehow, I have acquired 2 sets of KEF 107 speakers...

I have followed the forums and refoamed the Rosewood speakers and had the T33's re oiled.
A fantastic improvement!

1) KEF 107 Rosewood speakers #002580 matching L & R (without KUBE- I bought one on eBay)
2) KEF KUBE 107 #004703
3) KEF 107 Black speakers #004703 matching L & R (owner will find and send)

I entend to refoam the Black Stained speakers and reoil the T33's soon.
The forum made me aware that the old oil in the tweeters can possible cause them to fail.
Thanks for the heads up!

I do have a recap kit from Falcon Acoustics.
I'm keeping it for future
Thanks to all for your dedication to sharing all this info.
 
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I'm trying some Townshend Maximum super tweeters on my 107's. Been reading lots of rave reviews. If they live up to the hype, I'll be in heaven! I'll have below 20 hz to 90khz covered! I think the key will be in dialing in the placement and level control on the super tweeter and trying to avoid any cancellation with the tweeter. Will report back after installation! I was concerned about feeding the super tweeter signal that has passed through the KUBE but the manufacturer says it's okay...or I can drive it off my integrated amp (otherwise acting as a preamp) and they said that's okay too.

http://www.townshendaudio.com/supertweeters/
 
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