Kef km-1

I had the opportunity to listen to a pair of these. Only 2 known pairs imported to the U.S.. These were designed as studio monitors for the BBC. Design requirements were a non colored reproduction of music with 120db output.
They have built in amplification that is 1600watts a side. They are definitely over built to survive the thermal assault on the drivers.
So how do they sound???? I will preface my comments with the fact that my "data base " of studio monitors or high end consumer speakers is fairly limited. I have listened to my Infinity IRS Betas in the same room ( which is too small to really let either one show there ultimate potential). The KEF's have serious dynamic range. They have no problem sounding great all the way up to 120db.
The vocals sound a little dry to me. Mark Knopflers vocals sounded muffled to me. I will say that my Infinities are a much brighter speaker, even my Speakerlab 50's are brighter. KEF is known for the dry sound , some say more accurate . My ears tend to like a more alive sound but I probably could get used to the KEFs if I lived with them for awhile.
The Betas and KEFs both have 8 12" drivers so they both have the capability to scatter the chickens. I will say that the KEFs need a little more volume to wake up. My Betas have more bass at conversation levels. With the servo control the Betas will go lower but that really doesn't matter unless you are watching movies or some artificially added bass.
The KEFs will play louder than the Betas and have more of a" punch" of sound . I do realize that comparing these is like comparing an apple to a watermelon but that's what I have....
My final thoughts are that for my living room they are not my cup of tea but they are an exceptional speaker. Accurate to 120 db and in a studio probably awesome. I'm just glad to have gotten the chance to listen to these.:yes:

Here is a little info on them...

http://www.kef.com/html/us/explore/about_kef/museum/1980s/Professional_Series_km1/index.html

thanks for the post, kef is a company that for the most part does their own thing in their goal for accurate reproduction.

These are for sale on USAudioMart right now.

very cool, indeed.

WOW, thanks SC!!! I posted about these here, and now we have someone who has heard them!!! Way cool! :thmbsp:

It's hard to truly compare sound unless the speakers are in the same system.

I've never seen those KEFs before. Not surprising, they weren't a consumer offering. Thanks for the posting. :thmbsp:

Fun stuff!
I was just recently reading a bit about the amplifiers used in active KEFs and Meridians and it seems as though the KM-1 used the Quad 405-2, eight of them.

I've been enjoying my Meridian M10s(only four amps) for the past few weeks and have gotten used to the sound you might be describing the KM1 puts out although not at 120db

http://www.hifiloudspeakers.info/speakertalk/viewtopic.php?t=372

tubed said:

Fun stuff!
I was just recently reading a bit about the amplifiers used in active KEFs and Meridians and it seems as though the KM-1 used the Quad 405-2, eight of them.

I've been enjoying my Meridian M10s(only four amps) for the past few weeks and have gotten used to the sound you might be describing the KM1 puts out although not at 120db

http://www.hifiloudspeakers.info/speakertalk/viewtopic.php?t=372

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It was the Meridian M10 that I thought of when I saw these KEFs.

theophile said:

It was the Meridian M10 that I thought of when I saw these KEFs.

Click to expand...

Active designs can be quite special.

tubed said:

Active designs can be quite special.

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Sorry to take this thread off topic but have you ever started a thread on the M10s tubed?

theophile said:

Sorry to take this thread off topic but have you ever started a thread on the M10s tubed?

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As a matter of fact I did, Theo.
I posted a couple pics, told how good they seemed to sound and got a couple of atta-boys.
Keeping a thread going isn't my strong suite(laziness) and putting to words what is superb doesn't ever match the actual superb-ness

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=634346

I think a thread on active speaker designs would be nice.

Many pardons to the OP who will hopefully follow up.

tubed said:

As a matter of fact I did, Theo.
I posted a couple pics, told how good they seemed to sound and got a couple of atta-boys.
Keeping a thread going isn't my strong suite(laziness) and putting to words what is superb doesn't ever match the actual superb-ness

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=634346

I think a thread on active speaker designs would be nice.

Many pardons to the OP who will hopefully follow up.

Click to expand...

When I was asking you about whether you started a thread, I also wondered whether I'd posted in it. :stupid:

I have a memory problem(which is inconvenient but not a handicap) courtesy of a viral infection caught when I used to work in a Pathology lab.

theophile said:

It's hard to truly compare sound unless the speakers are in the same system.

I've never seen those KEFs before. Not surprising, they weren't a consumer offering. Thanks for the posting. :thmbsp:

Click to expand...

The Kef's have built in amplification so they can never really be compared to other speakers . I will say that my Betas were in the same room with the same upstream components as the Kef's . Like I said comparing studio monitors to high end consumer speakers is hard because they are designed for completely different applications. My tastes lean to the Betas for my living room ( looks and sound) . I just appreciate the engineering that went into the big KEF's.