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KEF 105.4 In the House!

Just heard back from the UK Audio shop - sounds like replacement caps will run around $140 US shipped -
and thats with them hand-matched to 2% tolerance ....

I need to do a little wood work to patch the bottom edge of the cabinets
where there is some minor chipping of the veneer, much like the JBL 250s do ...

The real question is - are they worth $750-800 when the refurb is completed?
I'll have to think on that over the weekend -
 
hjames said:
The real question is - are they worth $750-800 when the refurb is completed?
I'll have to think on that over the weekend -
Click to expand...

I'd say so...then again I'm one of those crazy "KEF Guys" that has three pairs of R107's laying around his house...

Talk to Canucker!!! :yes:
 
hjames said:
Just heard back from the UK Audio shop - sounds like replacement caps will run around $140 US shipped -
and thats with them hand-matched to 2% tolerance ....

I need to do a little wood work to patch the bottom edge of the cabinets
where there is some minor chipping of the veneer, much like the JBL 250s do ...

The real question is - are they worth $750-800 when the refurb is completed?
I'll have to think on that over the weekend -
Click to expand...

It all depends on your local market. Personally I do not find it difficult to sell gear that has been restored and raise the price because it has been restored - there is real value in restored speakers versus all original, which some think is "frankensteining" the speaker or "modifying it from its factory sound" etc. but the truth is doing it this way is really not, but rather just raising it back to factory performance.

The 105.4 is a special speaker, held in high regard by many, so I think on that note is an easy sale. But as for selling it for around $750-$800? That's tough to say. I think you'd at the very least get most of your money back, but all of it, hard to say.

I would say that, if you see the potential, like there are a lot of things you really like about the sound but it's just the reticent highs holding you back, then I would say go for it. Who knows, these might have a sound you love. But, if you're thinking "Ehh I don't know if these will really work for me.." I'd probably say to hold off and maybe resale them to someone else. Most of their sound should be there, it's just being held back by the original state of the crossovers.
 
Thanks - its really a hard decision - they do so much well -
the tight bass is amazing - but it doesn't go as low as my JBL 3 ways.
Mids are great. Treble is great, not quite as piercing as the JBL slots are on some material,
but since its still a bit overlaid - I'm hoping the caps will cure that.

I suspect the 105.4s, with just the right sub, could be replacements for the JBL 3-ways -
I just have to make up my mind if I am going that way ...

canuckaudiog said:
It all depends on your local market. Personally I do not find it difficult to sell gear that has been restored and raise the price because it has been restored - there is real value in restored speakers versus all original, which some think is "frankensteining" the speaker or "modifying it from its factory sound" etc. but the truth is doing it this way is really not, but rather just raising it back to factory performance.

The 105.4 is a special speaker, held in high regard by many, so I think on that note is an easy sale. But as for selling it for around $750-$800? That's tough to say. I think you'd at the very least get most of your money back, but all of it, hard to say.

I would say that, if you see the potential, like there are a lot of things you really like about the sound but it's just the reticent highs holding you back, then I would say go for it. Who knows, these might have a sound you love. But, if you're thinking "Ehh I don't know if these will really work for me.." I'd probably say to hold off and maybe resale them to someone else. Most of their sound should be there, it's just being held back by the original state of the crossovers.
Click to expand...
 
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Ok - what can I say, I am an optimist ... :D

I just ordered the cap kits from Falcon Accoustics in the UK - 2% tolerance.
More info as things progress!
 
reCap kit just arrived from Falcon Acoustics in the UK via Royal Mail!
Great turnaround ... the parts arrived VERY quickly -
10 days from when I ordered - 8 days since they were shipped!

Not sure how much time I have this weekend -
I'd like to swap the speaker terminals with some 5 way terminals I got from Parts Express -
and change out the wiring between the terminal and the crossover board.
 
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Just opened the package ... two baggies of blue ALCAPs
Also scared up the Parts Express 5-way terminals I plan to use instead
of the black rubbery originals.

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hjames said:
Just opened the package ... two baggies of blue ALCAPs
Also scared up the Parts Express 5-way terminals I plan to use instead
of the black rubbery originals.

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Click to expand...

Lookin' good Heather, good luck! Going to do one and compare before doing the other?
 
mech986 said:
Lookin' good Heather, good luck! Going to do one and compare before doing the other?
Click to expand...

Yep - I'm thinking that is a winning strategy.
Besides - I haven't opened the second cabinet yet or pulled that crossover.
Emma's busy tomorrow, so after I finish a few morning tasks,
I'd like to redo the one crossover board, if time allows, and see how it helps.
 
Just did the one, so far. Hooked them up to the Jolida tubes and played S&G - Sounds of Silence, Bowie - Young Americans, Ry Cooder - Get Rhythym.

Emma jumped in and played some Yusaf Lateef, Aja, and The Boss - she agrees - much better now ...


Definite improvement - mids are spectacular; treble has a different tonality - airy & clear; bass seems fuller & tighter -
make me want to jump right on the second one and have them both done ASAP ... gotta scoot & strike while the iron is hot!

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Finished the second one about 40 mins ago - I've been going through all music - listening to how stuff I know sounds on these speakers - stunningly nice. The Ruarks were somewhat better in the highs originally, not any more .. whew! (Ruarks are still a killer pair of speakers for the money - but the KEFs are a higher class system) ...
Went through a bunch of things ... Matchbook version of Icarus (Gary Burton & Ralph Towner!), Thank Heavens for Dale Evans, When the Poets Dreamed of Angels ... I Walk the Line (Original mono recording), Joline, IGY, and now The Snow Goose - got to shower and order-in Chinese soon - but its going to be hard to pull myself away ...!

I want to haul the big JBLs out of the room so I can spread the KEFs and get a better sense of their imaging ...
 
Those Elcaps don't age nicely, do they?

I'm glad to hear this worked out well for you Heather. I knew it would at the very least make a solid improvement in the sound, which has been my experience with all Kef/IMF/Celestion speakers I've recapped that use Elcaps. Can't wait to hear what you think, these are supposed to be real nice Kefs!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
audiodon said:
Your excitement is obvious and that's all the convincing I need. Just wait until they ripen!
Click to expand...

Back from a day-trip to Harrisonburg, VA ... Thanks everybody for the feedback - How long do you think it'll take to "break them in"

I'm only feeding them 60-80 watts with the Jolida tubes but they do sound quite nice so far. Playing all over the map - Emma is running through her 80s Favs from Christopher Cross and Donnie Iris (and many dance hits) to me with Boz Scaggs (Thanks to you), The Blue Nile, Daniel Lanois, The Hilliard Ensemble and Jan Garbarek ...Stones (Moonlight Mile) and on and on ..
 
Its a snow Day here in DC - unexpected telework ...
I put on a playlist of ECM albums (lossless via iTunes and Audio Alchemy DAC) and have been enjoying that as the soundtrack all day ...

Oh - I did switch the left speaker with the big JBL, trying to widen the soundfield. It worked ...
(the room is dark because the skylights are covered with snow!)

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