Kef transmission line speakers

[redd_audio]

Hi guys and gals. I bought a pair of vintage Kef transmission line speakers. They have the t27 tweeters b110 midrange and the 139 woofer. They sound very good but it seems there lacking something. Not sure if it needs a super tweeter and if so which ones? And what do I do to the cross overs.

 

[Nat]

If the crossovers are KEFs, they may have electrolytic caps which have degraded over time. It is possible that, with use, the caps will reform, but generally the standard move is to replace the caps with film caps.
It is possible that recapping will make you love them, but it is also possible that the combination of the speakers and your amp isn't ideal. KEFs seem to me to need a lot of power to get up and going - I was a KEF enthusiast in the 70s and 80s, but have gotten somewhat less enamored of heavy well damped cone systems that can lack dynamics in the absence of amps with real oomph.

 

[Junk Audio]

I agree with Nat, They tend to sound better with More power. But even then tend to have Muffled Mids ( The English Pillow Fight effect) But hey, Rebuild the Crossovers and enjoy until you move on. They will sound better than a lot of stuff out there. And do at very least have a comfortable sound.... with the Benefit of having some Value..... There's a Pair of LS3/5A's within them.....)

 

[Yvan_donald]

Hi,welcome these are homemade with KEF components,these are very big and tall,a lot of TLS have been built base on IMF TL speaker.

 

[baco99]

those look awesome!

The T27 tweeters have their limitations. You could augment by adding a ribbon.

 

[revox-b77]

Interesting speaker. Congratulations.

 

[mech986]

Do you have pics of the front baffle without the grilles? That will show us the port or line terminus and we can see if it is a stuffed or lined line. Do you have any way to unscrew the baffle to get some idea of how the line is shaped? And do you see the crossover anywhere or do you need to pull the woofer to expose it?

Agree that the crossover may need some work. As for “an LS3/5a in there”, not quite, components maybe, but specific crossover, and loading. Will likely be very different in subloading dimensions of the mid and not nearly so good as being a point source with such a wide baffle and horizontal layout.