Not sure if this should be in the vintage section.
For those that missed it, I bought a pair of above mentioned speakers and (eventually) went to pick them up in Durban this past weekend.
They look similar to these:
Some more info can be found here:
http://www.kef.com/html/us/explore/about_kef/museum/1970s/Reference_Series_105.2/index.html
I still need to confirm what the original manufacturing date was but I wont lie if I say they are +- 30 years old.
They do need some attention but the cabinets are still great with no dents or chips in the veneer and a slight sand and respray will have them look like new again. All screws are slightly rusted and I will replace them or have them refinished. The Woofers have rubber surrounds and these are lifting at some places slightly on the basket side and fortunately not on the woofer side. I will re-glue these and it should not be a difficult task at all. The grill material is stuffed but the grill frame construction is still ok and it even still have the Kef name plates on them. The binding posts at the rear is still OK but who knows maybe I will replace them with some nice WBT connectors.
These speakers was prone to cone sag causing the voice coils to rub and eventually destroy themselves. Fortunately the last owner did rotate the woofer on a yearly bases and they still perform flawlessly.
As mentioned I drooled over these as a student and cant exactly remember the Rand prices then but they did sell for about $3000 a pair in 1980 which was completely out of my range even when I started working at a R800 p/m salary.
I am no reviewer so please excuse the following blabbering.
So, last night I shoved them into my listening room/study and connected them to my Valve Audio Predator amplifier. My ears have deteriorated the last couple of years and I have a bad case of tinnitus but holy fck they sound like I remembered from 30 odd years ago, and I was not sure if I should smile or cry of happiness.
Yes my room may be too small for these old timers but I dont care. They sound effortless and well rounded. They are definetely not a one show pony, they sounded stunning with everything I threw at them. To highlight some of the music I did listen to last night:
Chris Rea
Dire straits
Eva Cassidy
Madonna
Pink
Neil Diamond
Miles Davis
Tsuyoshi yamamoto trio
Yello
Holly Cole
Diana Krall
Clapton
Gary Moore
and a few others. Except for the full range being covered so excellently and the impressive low bass the top-end is as smooth as I have ever heard. No lack of detail though, just so smooth that high volumes can be listened to without the sound becoming over bearing. Usually with high-end systems good recordings sounds awesome but lesser recordings are unlistenable. The Kefs dont have that trait. Even poor recordings were still ok to listen to.
These speakers are really power hungry and the 250watt that the Predator is rated at is just about sufficient (maybe time for the Black Widows).
I cant wait to restore them to their former glory and for once there is not disappointment in acquiring a boyhood dream.
I always maintained that technology progress in speakers and stereo amps have been very slight. These old speakers are testimony to this.
It is enlightening to listen to music streaming from my Mac Mini on speakers that were built before cd.
Hopefully tonight I will spin some vinyl on a similarly aged turntable to put them back in their comfort zone.
Are new rubber surrounds of the woofers possible/good idea? Who does it?
For those that missed it, I bought a pair of above mentioned speakers and (eventually) went to pick them up in Durban this past weekend.
They look similar to these:
Some more info can be found here:
http://www.kef.com/html/us/explore/about_kef/museum/1970s/Reference_Series_105.2/index.html
I still need to confirm what the original manufacturing date was but I wont lie if I say they are +- 30 years old.
They do need some attention but the cabinets are still great with no dents or chips in the veneer and a slight sand and respray will have them look like new again. All screws are slightly rusted and I will replace them or have them refinished. The Woofers have rubber surrounds and these are lifting at some places slightly on the basket side and fortunately not on the woofer side. I will re-glue these and it should not be a difficult task at all. The grill material is stuffed but the grill frame construction is still ok and it even still have the Kef name plates on them. The binding posts at the rear is still OK but who knows maybe I will replace them with some nice WBT connectors.
These speakers was prone to cone sag causing the voice coils to rub and eventually destroy themselves. Fortunately the last owner did rotate the woofer on a yearly bases and they still perform flawlessly.
As mentioned I drooled over these as a student and cant exactly remember the Rand prices then but they did sell for about $3000 a pair in 1980 which was completely out of my range even when I started working at a R800 p/m salary.
I am no reviewer so please excuse the following blabbering.
So, last night I shoved them into my listening room/study and connected them to my Valve Audio Predator amplifier. My ears have deteriorated the last couple of years and I have a bad case of tinnitus but holy fck they sound like I remembered from 30 odd years ago, and I was not sure if I should smile or cry of happiness.
Yes my room may be too small for these old timers but I dont care. They sound effortless and well rounded. They are definetely not a one show pony, they sounded stunning with everything I threw at them. To highlight some of the music I did listen to last night:Chris Rea
Dire straits
Eva Cassidy
Madonna
Pink
Neil Diamond
Miles Davis
Tsuyoshi yamamoto trio
Yello
Holly Cole
Diana Krall
Clapton
Gary Moore
and a few others. Except for the full range being covered so excellently and the impressive low bass the top-end is as smooth as I have ever heard. No lack of detail though, just so smooth that high volumes can be listened to without the sound becoming over bearing. Usually with high-end systems good recordings sounds awesome but lesser recordings are unlistenable. The Kefs dont have that trait. Even poor recordings were still ok to listen to.
These speakers are really power hungry and the 250watt that the Predator is rated at is just about sufficient (maybe time for the Black Widows).
I cant wait to restore them to their former glory and for once there is not disappointment in acquiring a boyhood dream.
I always maintained that technology progress in speakers and stereo amps have been very slight. These old speakers are testimony to this.
It is enlightening to listen to music streaming from my Mac Mini on speakers that were built before cd.
Hopefully tonight I will spin some vinyl on a similarly aged turntable to put them back in their comfort zone.
Are new rubber surrounds of the woofers possible/good idea? Who does it?
