Anyone with interest in (vintage) British loudspeakers: any opinion/experience with KEF C55?

[mhardy6647]

So -- there's a pair of (please don't laugh, even if it be a polite British snicker!) KEF C55 loudspeakers visiting the ol' manse of late.
I was curious to try them, so try them I am.

So far, I've tried them with three different amplifiers: SE 2A3, PP 11BM8 (same "dually" tube as the 6BM8 triode/pentode but with 11v filament; ca. 8 wpc) and a harman/kardon hk770 (dual mono PP solid state @ ca. 65 wpc).
So far, I've had the loudspeakers on low stands, tipped back a wee bit (and angled in a wee bit, too).

The sound is -- well, not great. Nice and clean midrange but overall very tubby (midbass heavy); surprisingly similar with any of the three amplifiers mentioned(?!). Now, those three were chosen semi-arbitrarily (i.e., they were easy to get off the shelf & hook up!) but as a deliberate attempt to "run the gamut" of typical amp topologies (SE, PP, tube and solid state) and to cover a reasonable range of output power (3.5 to 65 wpc).

I figure I am doing something wrong! There's an undercurrent of a sound I like (and associate with KEFs, based on my largely vintage experience), mixed with molasses.

Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated and gratefully received!

I do understand that these are far from high-end (indeed, pretty close to the bottom of the food chain) and somewhat anachronistic (early "Uni-Q"), so I may be hearing exactly what they are... but I am kinda skeptical of that based on lots of other KEF experience!

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

Oh, by the way: so far, the source has been a Denon DVDP used as transport via a Bryston BDA-1 DAC. No active preamp was used; only a passive TVC. I wonder if an active preamp (i.e., some more drive for the power amp) might help?

 

[KingBubba]

The drivers on those have a flaw that requires that you not push them too hard. The cone separates from the spyder. I have had it happen on three drivers from the C series. I will never buy another KEF from that series. The internal tweeter inside the woofer cones are also not to happy with too many watts, which might explain you tubbiness description. I started with one pair and ended up with two additional pair to use for parts. I now have one working speaker. I also do not like the crossover built onto the drivers. I think the heat from the driver affects the components on the crossover. I'll stick with my DCMs.

 

[Raynald]

I sold Kef when the C55 came out, I never cared for them and when we did comparisons with PSB, Mirage and others we hardly ever sold a pair. I am a big Kef fan, those are not speakers I could ever warm up to. The Uni-Q idea might have been a good one and it was proven in later models but those first ones may have had problems or perhaps the really cheap cabinets ruined the potential of the design. Just my opinion but pretty much shared by everyone I worked with and we sold tons of older affordable and concurrent higher end Kef speakers.

 

[willyrover]

It was because of the C55s that I didn't give KEF much thought for many years.

Until I found a pair of 105.2...and 104.2...and 105.4.

Sold the C55s with no remorse whatsoever.

 

[slimecity]

The drivers on those have a flaw that requires that you not push them too hard. The cone separates from the spyder. I have had it happen on three drivers from the C series

Good to know this.