Another great find. KEF 105/3!

[GTIanz]

Thank you Glenn I really appreciate that.

I'm an absolute beginner. Learning as I go.

All of this is nothing compared to the work I see you putting in. Wish I had the guts to rip all the black veneer off of these and re-do them in a nice natural wood finish - or perhaps a piano finish

 

[GTIanz]

I still have the kef's hooked up.... At normal tv volumes I don't have to worry about the distortion in the midrange. Don't think I'm doing anything to damage the mid.

Anyways, I'm watching a Paladia documentary with ice-t "something for nothing: the art of rap". Quite a few cuts from popular rap songs.

These speakers sound great with rap! (I was bumping the volume and not having any issues with resonance/distortion.) Truly impressive.

I have my subs crossed at 50hz and set low to just give a little support.

The kef's bass is tight and punchy and the crispness in the mids and tweets is great for rap.

Edit: jay-z and kayne west "Paris". Worth a listen on a good system.... I'd only ever heard it in my car.

 

[GTIanz]

If there is a hum, it sounds like there's a grounding issue somewhere.

Figured the hum had to be something electrical in nature. I initially thought it was a problem with the speakers themselves. Turning the system on with no source there was a hum that was audible from the listening position.



I don't think I was able to hear any electrical interference with the Infinity's due to their low sensitivity.



I have always just used a good old surge protector that I have had for like 20 years. Figured I should probably step that up a bit and get a basic power conditioner.



Bought an APC G5blk

I was able to hook up my entire system through this unit. I also took the opportunity to clean up and organize the wiring. Did my best to consolidate and isolate all power cords to keep them away from everything else.



Very effective results. Now with the system on if I put my head right up to the uni-q driver I can just barely hear an electrical hum. Ever so slightly louder on the left speaker than the right. Completely inaudible just a foot or two away from the speaker.



Was late at night when I finished. Didn't get a chance to see if this will have any impact on the issue I am having with the resonance/distortion on one of the uni-q drivers. This problem I'm betting is a result of the driver itself or the crossover.

Edit: as expected there is still an issue with one of the uni-q midranges. I'm going to take it in to a local pro to see if it can be saved/rebuilt.

 

[GD70]

Good info. I bet a lot of us have a ton of overlapping wires causing noise we don't really hear.

 

[GTIanz]

Good info. I bet a lot of us have a ton of overlapping wires causing noise we don't really hear.

Ha! I'd be with you in that if I don't hear it then it doesn't matter.

I've got my infinity's hooked back up now and couldn't tell you at all if there is any improvement in sound quality.

And I'm sorry to those who have done it.... But, I think people spending a fortune on power cords are crazy (not to mention $250+ speaker wires and interconnects wow!). But hey to each their own.

I just figured it was time to get decent protection on my investment. And, I can 100% confirm that the electrical hum that I was hearing is gone.

 

[GTIanz]

I fixed the Uni-Q midrange driver!

When I pulled the tweeter the first time I had dislodged the tweeter leads from their glue and the wires were ever so slightly protruding outside the circumference of the tweeter.

Can easily see the problem from an earlier image:

Ultimately it was a voice coil rub and it was my fault.

I was about to attempt removing the magnet (suggested as a possibility on this driver). When I removed the tweeter and tested again the mid sounded fine - this led to the identification of the tweeter leads being the culprit. I'm a beginner and this is all new to me. Good learning experience.

After pushing in the tweeter leads and re seating the tweeter the issue was resolved.

Got them put back together and hooked up. Beautiful detailed music is now flowing from a great pair of speakers.

 

[canuckaudiog]

Now we are talkin'! I knew you would figure it out

I'm looking forward to your impressions!

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

 

[Audiofriends]

KEF 104/2 - 105/3 woofers refoam.

Good morning,

I was wandering if you have experience listening. I saw actually that you did a great job. Only the donuts you have used are very stiff, and are getting deformed when mounted (see your own pictures). The donut is meant as a dust cap, not for mechanical resistance. And these dustcaps give a lot of resistance.
I will bet that the bass will disappoint you a bit, because the system doesn’t work anymore as it used to be. But maybe playing in will solve the problem. Take note when you mount the iron bar / rod between these speakers.(!) If you put them to tight you might lose a magnet of the woofer. So be careful.


Also some info on: KEF-RR104mk2-foam-repair/

Best regards, Fred

 

[GTIanz]

I was wandering if you have experience listening. I saw actually that you did a great job. Only the donuts you have used are very stiff, and are getting deformed when mounted (see your own pictures). The donut is meant as a dust cap, not for mechanical resistance. And these dustcaps give a lot of resistance.

Best regards, Fred

Why is it you believe that I have used the wrong dustcaps? The lighting and the photo aren't very good. But, I can't see any problem with them.

 

[canuckaudiog]

Good morning,

I was wandering if you have experience listening. I saw actually that you did a great job. Only the donuts you have used are very stiff, and are getting deformed when mounted (see your own pictures). The donut is meant as a dust cap, not for mechanical resistance. And these dustcaps give a lot of resistance.
I will bet that the bass will disappoint you a bit, because the system doesn’t work anymore as it used to be. But maybe playing in will solve the problem. Take note when you mount the iron bar / rod between these speakers.(!) If you put them to tight you might lose a magnet of the woofer. So be careful.

Best regards, Fred

Hi Fred,

Could you tell me where you found that information? I'd like to know for future suggestions of restoring these Kef speakers.

As far as I know, the majority of the donut foam kits available should be fine and retain the original performance of the speaker. Of course, I say that without any measurements or empirical data to back that up, so if you have some could you share it with us or at least let us know where the source of this information is?

Thanks,

Jeffrey

 

[Audiofriends]

Good morning,

Well the donuts on the photo's you have shown have not a round roll anymore. Further they are very inflexible. If you want I can send you a free sample of mine + a sample of your used donuts (I have a few left). The donuts + the foam surrounds give a lot of mechanical resistance, what make often a good woofer a bad midrange. Fs is going higher, efficiency in higher frequencies are getting higher.

Vance Dickason https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vance_Dickason says that with normal hifi speaker about 20% of the mechanical resistance should come of the surround(s), 80% of the spider. Well in this case I bet it's now 300% / 80%. So, the surround (excluding PA/active subs etc.) better is to flexible than to inflexible.

Best regards, Fred

P.S:

Vance Dickason
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vance Dickason is a loudspeaker designer, consultant to a wide range of loudspeaker manufacturers, and a published author.

Dickason has been working as a professional in the loudspeaker industry since 1974, when he founded Speaker Research Associates (SRA).[1] He is well known in professional audio and audio hobbyist circles as the author of the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, which is now in its 7th edition, and Loudspeaker Recipes: Book 1. A contributing author to audioXpress magazine,[2] and for 21 years the editor of Voice Coil, a magazine for the loudspeaker industry, Dickason was awarded by the Audio Engineering Society for his contributions to the audio industry in 1995.[3] Owner of Vance Dickason Consulting, he is frequently booked as a guest lecturer. He has given presentations for ALMA (the Association of Loudspeaker Manufacturers and Acoustics), The Loudspeaker University, the Kenwood Electronics International Installers Conference, and an advanced seminar at AutoSound 2000.[1]

Dickason is the father of two children, Jason and Jennifer.

 

[GTIanz]

Good morning,

Well the donuts on the photo's you have shown have not a round roll anymore. Further they are very inflexible. If you want I can send you a free sample of mine + a sample of your used donuts (I have a few left). The donuts + the foam surrounds give a lot of mechanical resistance, what make often a good woofer a bad midrange. Fs is going higher, efficiency in higher frequencies are getting higher.

I think the lighting is playing tricks on your eyes. I assure you the surrounds are not "loaded" and are in fact round. The cone moves freely.

I will admit that the foam looks "different" than the foam you used - but, how can you judge stiffness based on appearance alone?

Are you saying that you have one of the donuts I used and one that you used and that you can tell the difference?

 

[Audiofriends]

Good morning,

That's correct. I have let made the surrounds myself at a good specialist. If you want I can send you both, and you will see and feel the difference. If you send a PM, I'll send them for free.

Best regards, Fred

 

[GTIanz]

Thank you audio friends.

Sending them to me won't be necessary. I have put the speakers up for sale.

 

[blazeaglory]

Did not see that coming...lol

 

[GTIanz]

Did not see that coming...lol

Suppose I should give an explanation. The kefs are very accurate and precise. They also image well.

But, in my space I prefer the big soundstage and more powerful bass response of my infinity rsII's. I also need to fund the purchase of a pair of rs2.5's.

 

[baco99]

Too bad you're on the other side of the continent.

 

[tomtomaudio]

Can this be confirmed? Honestly, I couldn't even find any information as to whether or not these tweeters have ferrofluid. What I did find is confirmation that 20-25 year old ferrofluid will likely have dried out by now.

I don't even know which section should be separated.

Hi GTl, just have done mines. Yes they had ferrofluid I had to clean out the sticky sludge from the gap in the magnet and from the inside and the outside of the voice coil. It's not too difficult. I've uploaded some pix that will help you. Any questions please ask.

Here's a video showing the result.