Are KEF C40's any good?
I could get some if I wanted.
I could get some if I wanted.
KEF C40 speakers?
- Thread starter vinyldavid
- Start date
The person that has them is using them for TV usage only, and to act "as subwoofers for the TV speakers", sooo...I might come into some speakers that I can trade for those, soon...Quadraflexes.....:yes:...the guy only wants to hear his TV, and he has terrible hearing, and has said that he would be willing to trade for other speakers that get the job done for the KEF's.
I am on a speaker acquisition bug as of late.
soundmotor
super modified
I've got C60's & C35's, both sound very good, the C60's the better of the two. I think KEF had the C line well dialed-in.
Snade
humble AK member
I had the C40 for several years with my TV setup. I gave them to my brother a couple of years ago.
This was the budget line for Kef at the time, the cabinets are of lesser build quality than the primary line of Kef.
They are very good rock speakers, tight and punchy bass and they play loud.
Quality of the mids and highs is average.
I would only recommend them to someone that has a very limited budget because they sell at very low prices on CL and the auction site.
Cheers, Snade
This was the budget line for Kef at the time, the cabinets are of lesser build quality than the primary line of Kef.
They are very good rock speakers, tight and punchy bass and they play loud.
Quality of the mids and highs is average.
I would only recommend them to someone that has a very limited budget because they sell at very low prices on CL and the auction site.
Cheers, Snade
Snade,
Odds are, these will go into my computer system, so the highest of fidelity is not an absolute necessity, but that's good to know.
Odds are, these will go into my computer system, so the highest of fidelity is not an absolute necessity, but that's good to know.
OK....update.....
Got them for nuthin (no trades, etc), because the guy that had them was given some recent Infinities, and they had more bass output, so he likes them better.
long story short, they're mine. And sound decent. Definitely a rock speaker...which is what I mainly listen to in the background at the computer.
Anyone else's thoughts as to what they are like? I have only heard them with TV and a James Gang CD...driven by a Sansui AU-555
Got them for nuthin (no trades, etc), because the guy that had them was given some recent Infinities, and they had more bass output, so he likes them better.
long story short, they're mine. And sound decent. Definitely a rock speaker...which is what I mainly listen to in the background at the computer.
Anyone else's thoughts as to what they are like? I have only heard them with TV and a James Gang CD...driven by a Sansui AU-555
Let me start by saying I'm a KEF fan. However, when the C series came out, they were considered a departure from the normal high quality products we were acustomed from KEF.
In short, the press at the time, didn't think highly of these speakers and as I see it, that cost KEF quite a bit of prestige.
OTOH, for background music from the computer, they should be terrific. I did something much worse myself. Took a pair of B200 SP1014, a pair of T33 and a calinda crossover, put them in the empty boxes of some old Avid 100 or something whose drivers have long perished and voila! my new computer speakers sounded great.
If you want a "budget" sample of what KEF speakers were and sounded like in their peak, try a pair of Calindas or a pair of 104ab. They seem to sell for low prices but the sound is simply amazing.
In short, the press at the time, didn't think highly of these speakers and as I see it, that cost KEF quite a bit of prestige.
OTOH, for background music from the computer, they should be terrific. I did something much worse myself. Took a pair of B200 SP1014, a pair of T33 and a calinda crossover, put them in the empty boxes of some old Avid 100 or something whose drivers have long perished and voila! my new computer speakers sounded great.
If you want a "budget" sample of what KEF speakers were and sounded like in their peak, try a pair of Calindas or a pair of 104ab. They seem to sell for low prices but the sound is simply amazing.
Radfordman
Super Member
B200 +T33, getting towards a KEF 103! Should be V nice. SP1014 with smaller magnet / voice coil, so what!
Cool. I'll keep my eye out for KEF's of that name.
And yes, they'll function great for my application...much better than internal iMac speakers that I am using now, due to not having anything else handy.
They will also fit well by my desk that I am getting.
Wired them up to my Living Room system, consisting of a Teac A-3340S, Pioneer SX-1000TW, and Elac 50H/Audio Technica AT15S.
They sound quite nice...rolled off bass....tone controls might help this...but they are definitely a great rock speaker...I like how they sound.
They sound quite nice...rolled off bass....tone controls might help this...but they are definitely a great rock speaker...I like how they sound.
hifi_nut
Vintage? I´m vintage!
Snade
humble AK member
Pretty much all models of Kef and B&W speakers from the 70's and early 80's are excellent sounding speakers with very well built cabs and drivers. It was in the later half of the 80's and into the 90's they came out with a lower-cost line of speakers for budget home theater setups like the Kef C series. Note, these are not bad speakers, just not in the same league with the older models.
Someone will need to back me up on this, but I believe that most biampable speakers will be able to have their terminals bridged and not have a problem...however...I was wrong about this a couple days ago...so...someone back me up here. :scratch2:
hifi_nut
Vintage? I´m vintage!
You´re damn right, David.
Just connect the two red terminals and the two black terminals with a piece of cable each. That will provide the "jumper" your internal crossover needs to work as a full range crossover and a single amp driving them.
Raynald
Addicted Member
Another Kef fan who agrees the C series were not their best, but I will add some important points. Kef had two series at that point, C 10/20/30/40/60/80 and the R 102/103.3/104.2/107. There was big difference in construction and sound quality between the C (Consumer?) and R (Reference) series. Most of the C series could be bettered by similarly priced competitors such as Mission, PSB, Mirage and many others. The R series were wonderful speakers, still ranking as some of my all time favorites. Interestingly enough, the top two C models seemed to be escapees from the R range. The C 60 and C80 lacked the driver matching of within a fraction of a db that the Rs had, but besides that used similar construction, drivers, xovers and finishing. Great sleeper finds today. The other Cs were not as refined, but they were still good speakers and yes, the double woofer C40 was more rock oriented. All are worth owning if found at a good price.
As I have mentioned before, I think it was with the next C series consisting of the C 15/25/35/45/55/75/85/95 that was where Kef really lost it. The 15/25 had Ti dome tweeters to keep up with the current fashion and competitors, but they were in ridiculously small cabinets with tiny woofers and ended up being painfully bright. The higher models used the clever Uni-Q drivers with the tweeter mounted in the woofer voice coil. All kinds of theoretical advantages but they sounded exactly like what happens when you cup your hands around your mouth and speak: weird, hollow, bad. I am not sure if it was the Uni-Q or the incredibly cheap and resonant cabinets with plastic fronts that were really to blame. Whatever the reason, they were virtually unsellable beside most competitors. It was a shame to see a great company just fall off a cliff like that. Just my opinion of course, some may disagree and that's OK.
As I have mentioned before, I think it was with the next C series consisting of the C 15/25/35/45/55/75/85/95 that was where Kef really lost it. The 15/25 had Ti dome tweeters to keep up with the current fashion and competitors, but they were in ridiculously small cabinets with tiny woofers and ended up being painfully bright. The higher models used the clever Uni-Q drivers with the tweeter mounted in the woofer voice coil. All kinds of theoretical advantages but they sounded exactly like what happens when you cup your hands around your mouth and speak: weird, hollow, bad. I am not sure if it was the Uni-Q or the incredibly cheap and resonant cabinets with plastic fronts that were really to blame. Whatever the reason, they were virtually unsellable beside most competitors. It was a shame to see a great company just fall off a cliff like that. Just my opinion of course, some may disagree and that's OK.
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Tuco
Aces And Eights
you can bridge the terminals or run two sets of speaker wires to each speaker, (double L and R)
anytune
Super Member
Thank you all for your assistance. The obvious approach is usually the right one, but I figured it was better to ask first.
