My KEF 105.1's

Unless you are putting your small bookshelf speakers on a bookshelf or table, i would not rule out a small tower. The footprint would be very similar to a bookshelf speaker on stands but you would have lower bass extension. I mentioned the KEF Ref Model One earlier because I have them and really think they are fantastic. If you like the British sound there are a number of other small towers that you might consider including the Spendor s5, Quad 21L and Quad 22L. These all have a footprint similar to a bookshelf speaker on stands.

If you are set on a bookshelf speaker, I would highly recommend the Gallo Acoustics Classico CL 1. They are sold out new but might be available on CL or eBay. I paid $229 for a new pair with cherry veneer last year for a system for my wife. They are very efficient with superb detail and imaging and a smooth high end. They produce more bass than expected from such a small speaker. I actually preferred them over the KEF LS50 and they can be driven with moderate power, unlike the KEF LS50, which need a lot of power to open up.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check out the Gallo Acoustics, as I'm pretty set on a bookshelf speaker... Great to know about the LS50's
 
A bit late to the dance. But how about a pair of KEF 105.4's. Designed for the smaller room with 2 8" woofers.
 
A bit late to the dance. But how about a pair of KEF 105.4's. Designed for the smaller room with 2 8" woofers.

Love 'em but too big! I'm really leaning toward a bookshelf speaker... Will drive them with my McIntosh MAC 4300V 100 watt receiver... Thanks for the suggestion!
 
I can't believe I missed this thread earlier. As a KEF owner of 105.2 and two pair of 103.2's you don't lose much stepping down to the little brother. If you miss the bass you can add a small subwoofer. For similar reasons to yours I was willing to send off the 105's but I got no offers near my desired price so I'm still happily enjoying them. Somewhere in this review they mention how they had to stop and check they weren't actually listening to the big boys during their listening session. From my experience I concur!

http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/kef-model-103-2-327.html
 
I can't believe I missed this thread earlier. As a KEF owner of 105.2 and two pair of 103.2's you don't lose much stepping down to the little brother. If you miss the bass you can add a small subwoofer. For similar reasons to yours I was willing to send off the 105's but I got no offers near my desired price so I'm still happily enjoying them. Somewhere in this review they mention how they had to stop and check they weren't actually listening to the big boys during their listening session. From my experience I concur!

http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/kef-model-103-2-327.html
Ok awesome, thanks so much for the reco. I really love my 105.1's. Listening to McCoy Tyner's "Fly With The Wind" at the moment. I'd love to keep them, but there is just no physical space left. My McIntosh MAC4300V (100 watt receiver) struggles to power the 105's, at times.
 
I can't believe I missed this thread earlier. As a KEF owner of 105.2 and two pair of 103.2's you don't lose much stepping down to the little brother. If you miss the bass you can add a small subwoofer. For similar reasons to yours I was willing to send off the 105's but I got no offers near my desired price so I'm still happily enjoying them. Somewhere in this review they mention how they had to stop and check they weren't actually listening to the big boys during their listening session. From my experience I concur!

http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/kef-model-103-2-327.html
So I picked up a pair of KEF 103.2's today about 30 miles away from me... They'd been on CL for about 25 days, so I didn't have much hope when I reached out to the seller. I was surprised he still had them, and that they were in the sought after rosewood finish. I must say, next to the 105.1's, these are the best sounding speakers I've ever had. I will have these forever. At times, it really is hard to tell the difference between the 103.2's and the 105.1's. Amazing speakers. Thanks again, for the suggestion!
 
So I picked up a pair of KEF 103.2's today about 30 miles away from me... They'd been on CL for about 25 days, so I didn't have much hope when I reached out to the seller. I was surprised he still had them, and that they were in the sought after rosewood finish. I must say, next to the 105.1's, these are the best sounding speakers I've ever had. I will have these forever. At times, it really is hard to tell the difference between the 103.2's and the 105.1's. Amazing speakers. Thanks again, for the suggestion!

I've got 107's and 103.2's and I agree! Also have owned two pair of LS50. All very good speakers. The 103.2 have stayed the longest due to their price/performance ratio. They were also the first hifi speaker I ever heard, and really opened my eyes!
 
I have some KEF 105.4s powered by an Adcom GFA555II.. new Falcon caps and NOS tweeters.. not to hijack but I'm wondering similarly, about moving onto newer speakers, not necessarily Brittish. After reading this post, I started to investigate the LS50s but still really want to audition 107s..wondering how these or the LS50+ would compare to my 105.4s, bit for byte. I'd like to get more bass out of the KEFs and have been considering sub options, though the real answer, may be to just move onto something new(er).
 
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I can't believe I missed this thread earlier. As a KEF owner of 105.2 and two pair of 103.2's you don't lose much stepping down to the little brother. If you miss the bass you can add a small subwoofer. For similar reasons to yours I was willing to send off the 105's but I got no offers near my desired price so I'm still happily enjoying them. Somewhere in this review they mention how they had to stop and check they weren't actually listening to the big boys during their listening session. From my experience I concur!

http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/kef-model-103-2-327.html

Was wondering if I should be able to get my 105.1's pretty loud with my McIntosh Mac 4300V receiver? It seems to me that both the 103.2's and the 105.1's start distorting when the volume is about medium to maybe a touch high (I realize this is subjective). I know both of these speakers are rather inefficient, at 86db, but I'm guessing the MAC at 100 watts is only good for medium volume listening, at best. Any input is appreciated, thanks.
 
Was wondering if I should be able to get my 105.1's pretty loud with my McIntosh Mac 4300V receiver? It seems to me that both the 103.2's and the 105.1's start distorting when the volume is about medium to maybe a touch high (I realize this is subjective). I know both of these speakers are rather inefficient, at 86db, but I'm guessing the MAC at 100 watts is only good for medium volume listening, at best. Any input is appreciated, thanks.

I've never owned any version of the 105's but I've played my 107's fairly loud with as little as 40 watts per channel. Maybe we should define "loud" - do you have an app on your phone or any other way to measure the decibel level? My 107's are rated to 112 db. Don't think I've ever played them past 95 or 100 db, and that's freakin' loud for me!

Right now, I have mine hooked to a McCormack DNA 0.5...200-something watts @ 4 ohms.

You should not be be hearing any distortion, I don't think!

I'm not familiar with the Mac receiver, I'd have to look into the specs...I would assume it's rated for 4 ohm loads? Has it been serviced any time recently? Maybe it needs it? You could try hooking the KEF's up to a different amp if you can find one to see if it makes a difference.

If there is truly distortion though, I think the amp or the speakers need serviced. I would be sure it's nothing rattling in the room too...occasionally I'll hear a "noise" and it's something rattling...wall-sign/picture, guitar, glass on the table, etc.
 
The MAC 4300V is rated at 100 RMS watts per channel into 4 or 8 ohms. I attached a photo of mine, and you can see the scale on the power level. The lights will go into the PG (power guard) part of the level on highs or heavier bass in the music, then the distortion happens. New power caps were recently replaced (and other caps as well), by George Meyer AV here in Los Angeles. I like these speakers too much to get rid of them, so maybe its time for a Luxman M-4000, using the MAC 4300V as pre-amp...:biggrin: Really wondering if there's a problem, though... Thanks

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My Falcon recapped 105.2's might be even a bit less efficient than factory and have taken whatever I threw at them. I have run an MCS 3125 (120wpc), a Luxman 1120 (120wpc) and an Adcom GFA 545II (100wpc) to where the clipping indicators were flickering and the speakers handled it with no distortion. With lesser receivers (50-75 wpc) and even some older 100wpc amps I have noticed some high volume distortion and attributed it to the amp.

It could be the crossovers on your speakers getting old or the amp. Yes, try a different amp and see.
 
My Falcon recapped 105.2's might be even a bit less efficient than factory and have taken whatever I threw at them. I have run an MCS 3125 (120wpc), a Luxman 1120 (120wpc) and an Adcom GFA 545II (100wpc) to where the clipping indicators were flickering and the speakers handled it with no distortion. With lesser receivers (50-75 wpc) and even some older 100wpc amps I have noticed some high volume distortion and attributed it to the amp.

It could be the crossovers on your speakers getting old or the amp. Yes, try a different amp and see.

Just sat down and had a thorough listen again. On some recordings with wide dynamics between highs and lows, the receiver is playing fine and is at about the 1 watt mark on the levels, then will jump all the way to power guard (the top of the meter) and distort a bit (during a peak in the music - a bass drum, or a loud snare, for example). I then listened to some choir music (Morten Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium), and was able to turn it up loudly, without any clipping at all. I'm thinking 100 watts, music with wide dynamics, and KEF 105.1's is not a great match, but is fine for recordings without strong peaks and valleys. Any thoughts?
 
I'm not an expert but it seems the Kefs are experiencing big impedance dips for the low passages reproduction causing the amp to drive to clipping. I would assume the amp is the cause of the distortion because hey, the meter is telling you so. I have noticed this with big Infinity speakers known to be "amp killers". I have posted the question on the Infinity forums whether a recap of the speaker crossovers would help but never got a definitive reply. If the 103's do the same thing maybe the Mac/Kef combo just isn't a good marriage. The reason I'm thinking crossover recap is what I previously said about my 105's. I really don't push my 103's like that but folks in another thread are highly recommending a recap of THOSE just because they are prone to needing it.

If you really want to push your speakers try Harry Nilsson "Jump Into the Fire" from the Nilsson Schmillson LP. With the Infinities it was the first time I ever threw my MCS receiver into full blown protection circuit cutout. You might wanna get some earplugs lol. My Kefs are currently hooked to the AV setup so I really can't experiment with that scenario now.

EDIT: I've noticed the type of load jump you indicate before but not from 1watt right up to clipping (power guard) Maybe you should bring this question to the Mac forum.
 
I'm not an expert but it seems the Kefs are experiencing big impedance dips for the low passages reproduction causing the amp to drive to clipping. I would assume the amp is the cause of the distortion because hey, the meter is telling you so. I have noticed this with big Infinity speakers known to be "amp killers". I have posted the question on the Infinity forums whether a recap of the speaker crossovers would help but never got a definitive reply. If the 103's do the same thing maybe the Mac/Kef combo just isn't a good marriage. The reason I'm thinking crossover recap is what I previously said about my 105's. I really don't push my 103's like that but folks in another thread are highly recommending a recap of THOSE just because they are prone to needing it.

If you really want to push your speakers try Harry Nilsson "Jump Into the Fire" from the Nilsson Schmillson LP. With the Infinities it was the first time I ever threw my MCS receiver into full blown protection circuit cutout. You might wanna get some earplugs lol. My Kefs are currently hooked to the AV setup so I really can't experiment with that scenario now.

EDIT: I've noticed the type of load jump you indicate before but not from 1watt right up to clipping (power guard) Maybe you should bring this question to the Mac forum.

I put on Nilsson Schmillson (longtime fan) and the results were the same! Then, I just now pushed the receiver to about 10 watts, with the local classical FM station playing, before it clipped. I'm thinking the Mac just isn't up to task, for inefficient speakers. I really like the receiver, so like I said before, I'll keep my eyes out for a Luxman M-4000 to give the KEFS what they're hungry for. I rarely listen to "loud" music (again, subjective, I know) but to be able to turn it up just a little louder than I can now, on maybe a Saturday or something, would be great.
 
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4 months later, here we are.... It IS the McIntosh receiver that's distorting at lower volume. Hooked up my Marantz 2270 to the KEF 105.1's today, and I couldn't get the sound to distort at any volume level (including extremely loud). You'd think 70 "Marantz" watts wouldn't be enough for the 200 watt KEFS, but the sound was excellent at very loud volume. I brought the Mac to my repair guy today and he said I need to leave it with him because its not to spec and is distorting at way too low volume...
 
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I was going to say, it is likely the amp/speaker synergy.

I’m a big Kef fan, and a big McIntosh fan, but the two together don’t seem to jive. When I first got my 103.2s, I had three great amps at the time. My MA-6200, my Sansui AU-9900, and a Pioneer SA-9500. They sounded the worst with the McIntosh, better with the Pioneer, and best with the Sansui. At the same time, I had just finished repairing a pair of EPI M100s, and they sounded best with the MA6200.

I think it all comes down to Kef needing an amp with lots of reserve power.
 
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