kef 104 etc
- Thread starter inductor
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Lou G
Super Member
The following is directly from the KEF Museum website:
In the early 1970s KEF invested heavily in digital technology to assist in the design and manufacture of loudspeakers. The first loudspeaker to benefit from this was the first of the new Reference Series, the Model 104.
Model 104 was an 8 inch two-way system with an passive radiator augmenting the low frequency response, a format that was developed previously for the Cadenza system. The B200 bextrene coned bass driver for the 104 had a short coil/long gap magnet system for low distortion and the system included a three position acoustic contour control, which allowed +/-2dB of midrange level adjustment.
In 1976 the system was updated into the 104aB, where aB was an abbreviation for ‘acoustic butterworth’, relating to the shape of the acoustic response of the midrange and treble drivers in the crossover region.
In 1984 KEF introduced the Model 104/2.
Model 104/2 was a high output, high sensitivity speaker system possessing exceptional dynamic capability, able to reproduce a very wide dynamic range at high output levels. The optional KEF KUBE equaliser was available to extend the low frequency response down to 20Hz (-6dB, Q=0.5). Technical features included chassis-less midrange units, conjugate load matching and the twin coupled cavity bass reproduction system. A bi-wired version was introduced in 1990 and it was later included in the Raymond Cooke Series.
So, the 104 and 104ab share similar cabinets and drivers but mainly differ in their crossover design.
The 104/2 is a completely different design and is not related to the 104 or 104ab. The 104/2 is a three way system in a tower configuration. The drive units are: 2 B200 bass units (SP1188), 2 B110 midrange units (SP1190) and a T33 tweeter (SP1191)
In the early 1970s KEF invested heavily in digital technology to assist in the design and manufacture of loudspeakers. The first loudspeaker to benefit from this was the first of the new Reference Series, the Model 104.
Model 104 was an 8 inch two-way system with an passive radiator augmenting the low frequency response, a format that was developed previously for the Cadenza system. The B200 bextrene coned bass driver for the 104 had a short coil/long gap magnet system for low distortion and the system included a three position acoustic contour control, which allowed +/-2dB of midrange level adjustment.
In 1976 the system was updated into the 104aB, where aB was an abbreviation for ‘acoustic butterworth’, relating to the shape of the acoustic response of the midrange and treble drivers in the crossover region.
In 1984 KEF introduced the Model 104/2.
Model 104/2 was a high output, high sensitivity speaker system possessing exceptional dynamic capability, able to reproduce a very wide dynamic range at high output levels. The optional KEF KUBE equaliser was available to extend the low frequency response down to 20Hz (-6dB, Q=0.5). Technical features included chassis-less midrange units, conjugate load matching and the twin coupled cavity bass reproduction system. A bi-wired version was introduced in 1990 and it was later included in the Raymond Cooke Series.
So, the 104 and 104ab share similar cabinets and drivers but mainly differ in their crossover design.
The 104/2 is a completely different design and is not related to the 104 or 104ab. The 104/2 is a three way system in a tower configuration. The drive units are: 2 B200 bass units (SP1188), 2 B110 midrange units (SP1190) and a T33 tweeter (SP1191)
You can see pictures of the big magnets here :
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kef-104ab-recap-and-restoration.441578/
https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/kef-104ab-recap-and-restoration.441578/
