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Kef 104/2 - a few restoration tips

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Splash56

New Member
I recently made a modest overhaul of some Kef 104/2s. I've listed a couple of tips below that may be useful to others. Nothing new here, but maybe not as well known as they could be.

Removing old donut foam
A couple of people online suggested the heat gun method as an alternative to cotton buds and solvent.
After rubbing away for a few minutes with IPA and getting nowhere I tried a heat gun on low with a scraper. It was really easy and fast - only a minute or two per woofer. It leaves a smooth residue of glue, but that's fine for re-gluing the new donuts.
Pic was taken after reassembly while waiting for new donuts.

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Removing speaker baseplate
Once the feet are removed you can use the same holes to insert M6 bolts and use these as jack bolts.

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Damage to cable from binding posts

Mine were partly damaged by the sharp edged recess in the cabinet back, so I made some new cables.
The spade connector for PCB is a 4.8mm female. The old Kef spades are fatter than modern ones so you need to open up the connector a bit with a small screwdriver.

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Spare pin at strip connector
This one threw me for a bit when reassembling. There are 9 pins on the PCB but only 8 sockets in the connector.
The connector has a peg at one end to help make sure you get it right when reconnecting. This is all shown in detail on the crossover info that someone has posted on Scribd.

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I think the spare pin was used for testing at the factory, as it is connected to the main +ve incomer.

Great speakers and fun to work on, though I was luckier than many as the cabinets were in pretty good shape.
 
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Great speakers.
Just as important as the donuts (maybe more so) the tweeters must be serviced.
Plenty of threads on AK about the ferrofluid. Readily available on EBay for beer money.
At 30+ years old they are overdue if not already done.
Don’t jeopardize your tweeters!
 
Thanks, I have already changed the oil in the tweeters. What I haven't done is the crossover. I couldn't see any visible deterioration so popped them back in. Will do it one day.
 
Splash56 said:
Thanks, I have already changed the oil in the tweeters. What I haven't done is the crossover. I couldn't see any visible deterioration so popped them back in. Will do it one day.
Click to expand...
What visible deterioration did you think you would see? The caps aren’t going to explode or leak, they dry out….
Replace em.
 
ivandezande said:
What visible deterioration did you think you would see? The caps aren’t going to explode or leak, they dry out….
Replace em.
Click to expand...

At the least, measure them with a meter that can do effective series resistance (ESR) and capacitance. If an electrolytic cap has more than an ohm or two of ESR, or is way off in value (outside of its rated tolerance), it's in need of replacement.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
You blokes haven't seen what's driving these - a Technics SU-C03. Those caps are six years older than the Kef's!
 
If you do eventually recap your 104/2's, Falcon Acoustics (UK based) sells the Alcap brand of NPE capacitors. The Alcap brand is the closest capacitor match you'll find to the KEF originals. Falcon even sells a specific capacitor kit for the 104/2's. Falcon does ship internationally, and fairly quickly from what I've read, though I don't know what extra taxes or tariffs are attached to the prices now too?

Great speakers...! Good luck...!
 
StimpyWan said:
If you do eventually recap your 104/2's, Falcon Acoustics ...
Click to expand...

Thanks, I had read up on Falcon's cap kits before buying the Kef's. Approx $350 NZ to get the kit here. I'm planning to listen to the speakers for a while before I take that step. That way I can confidently report that they sound $350 better, plus labour.
 
There's a good chance you won't hear any difference with a recap (I didn't with the 2 pair that I recapped). Even so, I'd still do the recap as a preventative measure. Especially if you plan to keep them.
 
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