KEF 105.4 In the House!
- Thread starter hjames
- Start date
SimplySound
Kent Engineering & Fondry
I’mDon't have R105.4's but R107's... love vintage KEF's and all the people who keep 'em going!
...and agree Heather, upload to AK for posterity!
Working on getting the best out of mine right now. Trying to upload a photo direct from my phone but failing.
SimplySound
Kent Engineering & Fondry
Yeah Roo... a cap refresh is probably in order. Look up the R105.4 at Falcon Acoustics.
Yes. Thanks. I’ve been in touch with them already but there are out of stock at the moment. Plus someone has been into the speakers in the past and hard wired everything with speaker cable which makes getting the crossovers put to do the recap myself tricky.
Might take them to a place called Wilmslow Audio to do the recap for me and they can toil with the wiring as I don’t have a decent soldering iron or (any more) the patience.
Any other tips anyone? They are in really good condition and I recognise the qualities others have described elsewhere in this thread in their sound - but I am finding them a bit shouty when pushed hard.
SimplySound
Kent Engineering & Fondry
Ha. Yes. Could be that I guess though I have a very capable of high quality mono blocks that are known not to be ‘forward’ or ‘shouty’ and won’t be breaking into any kind of sweat at the volumes I am talking about. Plus I also have a pair of Castle Winchesters which don’t show a shouty trait at all in the same system.One word... "Tubes"!
May investigate valves at some point though as never owned any other than ins guitar amps.
audioguysf
New Member
I was just gifted a beautiful pair of 105.4's in a large package deal with one catch....I need to replace one of the 8" drivers! Apparently the original owner attempted to repair it with appoxy and now the driver makes a terrible scraping sounds when coming up and down....it's still cosmetically fine however. I'm having a hell of a time finding an exact driver to replace it with. If anyone on here might be able to help me I would really appreciate it! It's a 8" 4ohm driver with a triangle shaped metal frame. The exact number on it is sp1076. I really want to get these units up and running and Ive got nowhere else to go!
Robint
Super Member
First I would remove the surround by pulling gently around the basket. Once the surround is free see if it still rubs. If it doesn't contact https://www.speakerrepairshop.nl/en/ they have 8" rubber surrounds in stock. I have just refoamed a pair of Kef B110 using their rubber surrounds. If this doesn't your only hope is Ebay especially the UK version. I had a pair of Kef B200G's shipped from the UK when one started to rub.
audioguysf
New Member
Thank you for the reply! I wish it was as simple as refoaming....I took it out and it definitely rubs. You can hear it. I couldn't find anything when I searched. It might be a super rare piece. I think my vest bet is having someone take this speaker apart and repair it....
About 6 months ago I bought a matching pair of Kef 105.4s in great (original) condition, just missing the dust covers for the woofers and the hood. I paid A$1100 (about$700 USD) and I nearly didn't buy them because they were not that big an improvement in sound over the Mission 780 Argonauts (first version) I was using. But there was something in the naturalness and flat tone curve that I responded to, plus I knew (thanks to this forum) that they could be improved by a recap. So I ordered the capacitors from Falcon Acoustics and taught myself how to solder.
As others have reported, the improvements in sound were significant - especially the tweeter range and the bass response.
But in the last few days I have heard these speakers sing like I've never heard before. The difference has been the amp. I started with a Cambridge Audio CXA-81, then tried running some Class D amps as monoblocs (Fosi Audio ZA3s) with a tube pre-amp, then a vintage Sansui AU-888 which sounded great but needed some work doing to it. Just before Christmas when I was wondering if the Sansui was too far gone, I ordered a Chinese Transaudio D5-Pro which is based on an old Dartzeel design and has had amazing reviews (see this thread https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/recieved-my-dartzeel-nhb-108-copy-from-china.825905/).
Well, I'm just wowed by the setup now - such an incredible balance of detail (but not fatiguing) and musicality hearing every instrument's distinct tone and place on the sound-stage. And the amp is not even fully burned in yet. These are truly incredible speakers when recapped and driven by the right amp.
As others have reported, the improvements in sound were significant - especially the tweeter range and the bass response.
But in the last few days I have heard these speakers sing like I've never heard before. The difference has been the amp. I started with a Cambridge Audio CXA-81, then tried running some Class D amps as monoblocs (Fosi Audio ZA3s) with a tube pre-amp, then a vintage Sansui AU-888 which sounded great but needed some work doing to it. Just before Christmas when I was wondering if the Sansui was too far gone, I ordered a Chinese Transaudio D5-Pro which is based on an old Dartzeel design and has had amazing reviews (see this thread https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/recieved-my-dartzeel-nhb-108-copy-from-china.825905/).
Well, I'm just wowed by the setup now - such an incredible balance of detail (but not fatiguing) and musicality hearing every instrument's distinct tone and place on the sound-stage. And the amp is not even fully burned in yet. These are truly incredible speakers when recapped and driven by the right amp.