Kef 104.2 crossover Question

[greymatter]

Just started a refoam on a pair of 104.2 Kefs and the crossover is in the cabinet the middle, not on the the bottom of the speaker box as i understand . Just curious if this is a late or early model production change , or is it a mod done by a DYI er. The serial # is 29745 A. Have not taken the other speaker B apart yet. THX in advance.

 

[arts]

I have a set of early (non bi-wire) 104/2's that also have the crossover mounted in the middle chamber. After you've had to remove it,you'll understand why they relocated it to the bottom

 

[greymatter]

Thx Art , I hear you on that one

 

[arts]

You might also consider replacing the three rubber grommets on each woofer while you're already in there,as they will have probably degraded to the point of no return by now.I was lucky to find an exact match at my local commercial hardware store.

And do ensure that you have a metal ferule in each grommet (they sometimes remain on the bolt when you remove a woofer) as these are used as stops to limit/control gasket compression and prevent distorting the baskets.The inside diameter of the original washers is such that they bottom out on the ferules when you achieve optimum ''squish''.

Do you have the KEF service manual? I'm trying to locate my copy for you,but I'm not having much luck finding the file. There is an actual tightening sequence vis-a-vis the force cancelling rod and the upper and lower drivers,but I can't remember it at the moment. Nuts.....

 

[greymatter]

Thx Arts , I have a blown Voice coil and can't seem to find 2 replacement woofers , so I will keep looking and if nothing comes up , I may have to part them out . The cabinets are in very nice condition , it brakes my heart to loose a nice pair of vintage speakers to the lack of OEM parts. But on the bright side I do have a pair of 103.4 waiting to be re foamed .Thoses are next on the list to fix . Your help is much appreciated .no service manual . Going to contact Kef tomorrow .

 

[arts]

Don't even joke about parting out a pair of 104/2's.You will anger the speaker gods,and will suffer farting woofers and buzzing tweeters for the rest of your life

It's unlikely that KEF will be able to provide any help with a model this old,and I wouldn't waste any time trying.And finding any replacement woofers is just as unlikely.
But,I have used these,and they are great! If you can handle a refoam,you can handle a recone

http://reconingspeakers.com/product/kef-b200-sp1256-8-aftermarket-recone-kit/

 

[greymatter]

Lol you are my hero

 

[arts]

Believe me,when I was done the job,I felt like a hero,haha!

I had picked up a pair of later 104/2's (bi-wire model,you know,the one that has the crossover in a sane location) that had disintegrated woofer foams,and the voice coils had been damaged from hammering and rubbing.I've reconed a lot of speakers,but nothing smaller than twelves. Boy,the small ones are a heck of a lot harder to work on....

 

[greymatter]

lol I did send some pics to speaker exchange this afternoon and they said they can do it . So off to Tampa they both go tomorrow . Getting the crossovers checked on Saturday by one of the SMAC members , I am bringing the fresh Lake Erie perch to cook and Ed is checking them out . Nothing like a well oiled machine .
Did you notice a difference from the ones that were not done ?

 

[arts]

Rather than risk performance differences,I elected to do all four woofers together.Also,they were all pretty beat,so I really did not have a choice. If you have one fried voice coil,I would imagine the other drivers have suffered similar levels of abuse.If your budget allows,I would do all four.Maybe they give quantity discounts at Spk Exch? lol..

I will say that the reconed cabinets seem to have tighter bass with better definition compared to my other pair,which have only been refoamed,but that could just be psychiatry vs sonics.

 

[greymatter]

Just a update , had the crossovers checked out today by a great SMAC member Ed and tested out very well . Caps and resistors are good . Going to give it another week looking for 1 woofer for a 104. 2 and then it's time to part the rest of the them out . X overs , 3 woofers B-200 , Sp 1188 , both dog houses in great shape and a new in box OEM tweeter. Still hoping