Open Jam

[midget wound]

I just put a downpayment on these:

Of the ones I demoed at the hifi store, including PSB, and Cerwin Vega, they were the best sounding speakers by far. I plan on getting a sub to accompany them. Anyone familar with the brand?

[Mikeo]

I have had KEF Speakers on my stereo for 25 years, Good stuff.

My mains are bookshelf style ones, and I added some rears and a center speaker when I moved to a dolby system, The Boston Acoustic sub I had bit the dust and I haven't replaced it yet.

UK made, I think you'll enjoy them.

Mine don't have the best bass responds, but they came with coupling bass stands.

Lot of good speakers out there, in that range, Polk is a good company, Klipsch.

When i wanted a second set of speakers for reference I bought some KRK's ( made in china by a FLA company, but I think Gibson bought out the company recently)

Let your ears be your judge

[midget wound]

If you've had them for 25 years that's all I need to know...I tend to hold onto stuff until it falls apart, like my 20 year old Teac S-300s which are just now sounding a little tired and ragged.

You're right about the preponderance of quality speakers out there, it was tough to decide what to get.

[Mikeo]

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midget wound wrote:

If you've had them for 25 years that's all I need to know...I tend to hold onto stuff until it falls apart, like my 20 year old Teac S-300s which are just now sounding a little tired and ragged.

You're right about the preponderance of quality speakers out there, it was tough to decide what to get.

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same here.

I have guitars I bought new and there over 30 years old now

[yanktar]

If you take care of them, only a few things can go wrong over the years.

1) The woofer surrounds rot. This is an easy fix, takes about an hour and costs about $30 in parts.

2) The crossover goes.  There's usually a replacement or aftermarket.

3) A tweeter burns out, but only if the speakers are abused.

[hammergjh]

Kef is a well respected British speaker company.  They make some serious shit.  I have a pair of their full sized floor standing Reference Model 2's from the mid-90's that I got for free!  I repaired them myself for 150 bucks.  They kick all kinds of ass.  Good stuff.  Back in the day they retailed for 2500 bucks.  

[Vanilla Swiss …]

I have Kef Reference 103.1 speakers, bought them used last year.  Believe the crossovers were checked out, all I know is they sound great.  This is coming from a guy who owned Magnepan 1.6 QSRs. 

[EddietheCartboy]

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hammergjh wrote:

Kef is a well respected British speaker company.  They make some serious shit.  I have a pair of their full sized floor standing Reference Model 2's from the mid-90's that I got for free!  I repaired them myself for 150 bucks.  They kick all kinds of ass.  Good stuff.  Back in the day they retailed for 2500 bucks.  

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I bet "Balalaika Favorites" sound great on those things!

[Mikeo]

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hammergjh wrote:

Kef is a well respected British speaker company.  They make some serious shit.  I have a pair of their full sized floor standing Reference Model 2's from the mid-90's that I got for free!  I repaired them myself for 150 bucks.  They kick all kinds of ass.  Good stuff.  Back in the day they retailed for 2500 bucks.  

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a lil big for my living room, but nice

[Mikeo]

I just looked at the mains I use on my stereo. They are the KEF C40's and are now listed in the KEF vintage museum

C40 (1985-88)

The C40 was generous in both volume and drive unit. Bass was plentiful and extended, and the design was balanced to operate clear of room boundaries on open stands. The two new 200mm bass/midrange units used polypropylene cones. Operating as a 2½-way system, the lower driver was used only at the lowest frequencies, augmenting and extending bass output, substantially improving power handling capacity, and assisting bass damping. The system would go exceedingly loud, would handle plenty of power, and, with a generous bass delivery, was particularly suited to the cost- conscious rock listener.

They look like this and are in pretty much mint shape 

It's far from there top of the line stuff.

How I found out about them, is they were using KEF reference speakers in the studio I was at. The guy that owned the studio, by day sold fancy stereo stuff at a shop ( sales  dude). My broither was looking for a decent set of speakers and I said give these a listening too. They used some fancy reference KEF speakers in the studio with a bunch of other brands too. My brother grabbed a pair. I liked em enough and replaced what I was using at the time with the same ones.

The bass is tight, but not as deep as some of the stuff you hear today. I guess to get the best out of them they need to be pushed a bit. Plenty loud enough for my smaller living room..

I can't bitch, cause they have lasted a long time. I like the brand enough to go with a small center and two small rears when I did a surrond sound thing.

There is also a bass resonator coupling stand(s) that goes with em. I have mine up in the attic. You are supposed to fill them with sand, but I never did.