KEF owners thread

Hi Dave, I run my 4.2’s and 3.2’s on the feet without the spikes. They are sat on a wooden floor and have not noticed any issues with vibration etc. When I lived in my previous property I ran the 3.2’s on spikes to lift them above the carpet as the floor was concrete to make them rock solid and stable. Again I did not notice any resonance as they are fairly heavy and well built imo. Hope this helps. Cheers.
 
@JohnnyNapalm
That's good to hear Johnny. Mine are on carpet, so I've been switching them between spikes and the cover feet. I've even tried a passive isolation by putting each speaker on 4 tennis balls, and really, it seems like just sitting stably on the floor is best.
They are, as you said, heavy duty; the 107s are 100 lbs each, and also, the four 10 inch woofers are down-firing, so that might help as well.
Cheers

Dave
 
@JohnnyNapalm
That's good to hear Johnny. Mine are on carpet, so I've been switching them between spikes and the cover feet. I've even tried a passive isolation by putting each speaker on 4 tennis balls, and really, it seems like just sitting stably on the floor is best.
They are, as you said, heavy duty; the 107s are 100 lbs each, and also, the four 10 inch woofers are down-firing, so that might help as well.
Cheers

Dave
Those kefs i think are best on the floor , they were designed to be on the floor , as a 100lb speaker i think should be. My smaller kefs yes, with spiked stands with hardwood floors , with the included spike protectors for the floor.
 
@freQ(*)Oddio
So you mean just on the the levellers with the caps covering the spikes, eh?
I think thats probably the best. The bass is full and tight, and actually kind of melodious, whether they're spiked or not. And its a lot easier to shift them when the spikes are covered.

Dave
 
On my R500's, I have the spikes firmly planted into the thick carpeting and pad. Dead, can't feel any trace of cabinet resonance. Curiously, I use the rubber-bottomed spike pads that also came with the R500 (for protecting non-penetrable floors) to support the three spike legs of my ProJect RPM-1 turntable, so I'm getting some use out of them. :)
 
something i have discovered that effects the soundstage with my uniQ drivers considerably is matching the rear wall distance to the back of the speaker, if a speaker is 3 " further out into the room than the other speaker, it makes a difference, the timing is very slightly confusing to a critical listener. if the left is 24" out from the rear wall, then with a measuring tape, match it very close to the right one. Of course this can be done by seating position measuring, but i find it easy to move my seating by listening, to match the exact placement i set up. And you know the speakers are exact.
 
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I managed to win a pair of Kef Reference 1.2’s on a well known auction site for £265. They should be here tomorrow. I am only missing a pair of 2.2’s now..! Lol.
 
Just fitted the latest NT25’s to my 4.2’s. Had about 30 minutes with them and seem ok so far. They are better than the ones I took out with more output and detail. I will update when I have some more time with them. Cheers.
 
I can't believe I had not seen this thread before!

I'm really digging my early prod. KEF 104/2. I just recapped them with ALCAPs from Falcon Acoustics, and replaced the donuts.
These things are sooooooo sweeeeeet!
 
@MadJap
Yeah, Kefs are pretty special and really grow on you.
There may be other speakers out there that would sound as good or maybe better in my system, but the Kefs make everything sound so sweet, I've been spending my extra cash on getting a reference level CDP and excellent new tubes for my preamp.
I'll probably have to re-foam the Kefs a second, and possibly third time, as the years go by.
Anyway, happy listening.
Oh, btw, I just recently added an Energy subwoofer for low-level listening, but I find it also really helps the sound of some older recordings that are just lacking bass detail.
Cheers.

Dave
 
Greetings, fellow KEF fans! This is my first post in this thread. I’m currently running a Rega P3 into a Schiit Mani, amped by a Yamaha AVR out to a pair of Q500s. The AVR is clearly my weak link, and I’m considering trying out a vintage Marantz to hear what it can do. I understand that music type, listening levels, and room characteristics are all wild cards. However, in general, do you think a 2235B would work well in this setup, providing 35 W/ch? Also, do you think the Mani is a better phono stage than the Marantz built-in? Thanks for any and all opinions!
 
@MadJap

Oh, btw, I just recently added an Energy subwoofer for low-level listening, but I find it also really helps the sound of some older recordings that are just lacking bass detail.
Cheers.

Dave

I hear ya. I run my pair with a 12" Velodyne servo sub. They are divine together.
 
Greetings, fellow KEF fans! This is my first post in this thread. I’m currently running a Rega P3 into a Schiit Mani, amped by a Yamaha AVR out to a pair of Q500s. The AVR is clearly my weak link, and I’m considering trying out a vintage Marantz to hear what it can do. I understand that music type, listening levels, and room characteristics are all wild cards. However, in general, do you think a 2235B would work well in this setup, providing 35 W/ch? Also, do you think the Mani is a better phono stage than the Marantz built-in? Thanks for any and all opinions!
The Mani is a cleaner signal then my Marantz 2250b and 4400. I honestly think the Marantz 2235b will sound great more for the preamp section, I would consider eventually using the pre amp outputs to a nice beefy power amp to push the Q500s a little, but the 35wpc will be nice also.
 
Kef C95 speakers, I picked them up at a recycle center for $80aud. They were scratched up but otherwise nothing wrong with them, after a rub back and a few coats of Danish oil they look the ducks guts. Nice looking Kefs, sound great and good WAF factor also...
 
Random thoughts regarding the new R-series vs the old:
I recently heard R3 and R11 at a hifi show. R3 was driven with Yamaha's new C5000 and M5000. R11 was with Cambridge Audio's new Edge pre and poweramps. I have to say both sounded wonderful. Especially the R3 considering it's price tag.

Both were one of the highlights of the show sounding way better than a lot of more expensive setups. However all were with different electronics and music and rooms, so nothing definitive can be said.

When I got home and listened to my set, I still enjoy very much my R500 with Yamaha C-2a and P2201. So no direct comparison but i don't feel like i'm missing out with the older R-series. A lot of the same sound characteristics seems to be there.
 
In January I decided to buy a pair of Q150s when they were on sale. needless to say, I love them! Got them in white, and look almost as great as they sound.
I don't have them set up right now (I'm giving away a different pair of speakers in a week or two so I'm listening to the ones that'll be leaving for a while) but I'll post some pics once I have them out again. :)
 
Random thoughts regarding the new R-series vs the old:
I recently heard R3 and R11 at a hifi show. R3 was driven with Yamaha's new C5000 and M5000. R11 was with Cambridge Audio's new Edge pre and poweramps. I have to say both sounded wonderful. Especially the R3 considering it's price tag.

Both were one of the highlights of the show sounding way better than a lot of more expensive setups. However all were with different electronics and music and rooms, so nothing definitive can be said.

When I got home and listened to my set, I still enjoy very much my R500 with Yamaha C-2a and P2201. So no direct comparison but i don't feel like i'm missing out with the older R-series. A lot of the same sound characteristics seems to be there.

I have had the R900's for several years and love them. A couple months ago I replaced them with the new R11's and moved my R900's to my secondary system. The R11's are indeed a step up from the old R Series. The bass control is the biggest difference, the R900s can sound bloated at times with heavy bass tracks while the R11's will go just as deep but have a great control and have yet to sound bloated at all. The other big difference I would say is the high end sounds sweeter and smoother than the R900s. Instrument separation is also a tad better with R11's, I notice it most on ancillary instruments like a tambourine or secondary guitar playing a different riff or something. Those things seem to stand out more now. Also the cymbal crashes on most tracks seem to somehow separate themselves out from the music so I'm hearing them more clearly and they aren't getting caught up in the mash of everything going on at once. I don't know if I'm explaining it well or if I'm causing more confusion writing this but I am extremely happy with the R11's. Still love the R900s and have no plans to part with them but in my main system the R11s are a better fit and very impressive.
 
I have little doubt that the new R-series has improved compared to the old one. Is it worth the money is another question though. But I have to say i have my R500s ports bunged with the half-bungs. Without them they would produce boom .
 
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