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Stereo - KEF 107 stereo speakers restored and review (Kef 105)
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- Опубликовано: 29 апр 2018
- Drive-units: 1" (25mm) metal-dome tweeter,
5" polypropylene-cone midrange unit,
two 10" (250mm) pulp-cone woofers.
Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz ±2.5dB
I bought my 105 Series1’s in early ‘79. 20yrs later a crossover cap blew. KEF repaired & recalibrated both head units, computer-matched. They are still all-original, & sound as great as Day1. I upgraded their fuses with Audio Magic Liquid Nano fuses, which after 75hrs of burn-in, improved their clarity & resolution. But sadly the particle board woofer cabinet, suffered damage from age, at 1 of its caster mounts collapsed. It will be repaired, I will never sell them, their presentation is 1 of a kind. I replaced them with a set of Von Schweikert Audio Endeavor3 SE’s, which are breathtaking in their own right, more dynamic. KEF’s Uni Q driver has limited excursion=limited SPL’s, & aren’t durable to extended high listening levels, I blew a set in 1wk🔊😎.
As a 104.2 owner, thank you for going into great depth on information about the 107!
I just found a pair of 107's in nice shape. I did the ferro fluid in the tweeters, installed all new caps from Falcon, and woofers were already done. I have 104/2's and love how musical they are, great detail and super bass(restored, a must). The 107 are better, still musical, mids and highs are almost the same as the 104's, but the bass goes down to 20 hz and you can feel it, wow. These are a keeper and would compete with many many high end speakers. Both the 107 and 104/2's make the speakers disappear, so hard to do. Love them. I have had way too many to even remember, these re top notch.
What amplifier are you running them with?
If you improve the crossover components and internal wiring, the resolution, smoothness, control, speed and many other parameters will improve drastically without losing the personality of the original design, but its defects will almost disappear.
The mid range driver is the kef B110, used in the LS3/5a monitors, nice video, thanks for sharing 👍
Hi Tweakerman
The B110 A with the Bextrene cone and a layer of viscoelastic damping is the driver used by the LS3/5A.
The B110 B used by the 105 is similar but somewhat evolved and in the Reference series they were selected and paired.
The 107 had an evolution of the B110B with a polypropylene cone, a material that no longer requires viscoelastic cushioning.
The Kube doesn't adjust HF, it adjusts LF parameters. Many preferred the 107s without the Kube, you notice a more transparent sound without the Kube, but the bass may be lacking without it. I removed the crossovers from mine completely and used active crossovers. I replaced the 2 bass driver surrounds, as the originals perish. I also built a passive pre-amp using Alps Black Beauty potentiometers. Amplification was 3 mono-bloc Quad 303 amps. That is my current system even after 30 years of working with audio, these are still working and sounding better than any other set-up I've listened to, and that includes any Focal speaker. The 107s were accurate loudspeakers that faithfully produced what the amplifier was throwing at it, that's what you want in a loudspeaker, but to achieve that goal they have to be constructed properly. That's why it's a 2 man lift, just to move the bottom cabinets around. Modern loudspeakers haven't really progressed compared to speakers that were produced in the 70s. Rogers LS3/5A, Quad ESL, Celestion Ditton 66 ,Tannoy Monitor Red, these are just a few from 60s-80s period that will trounce the majority of equivalent priced modern speakers of today
Great review, great back story! I actually think that the 107's are rather cool looking. I had a friend that had a pair of these, and he also had a large classical music collection. The sound was always amazing, almost as if the orchestra was in the room!
Ah, so you heard the KEF 107 too. I really like them and glad you enjoy my story.
I've bought a pre-owned 107 few years back. Long story cuts short, below are the updates that I put behind and brought it back to its best.
- Refoamed all 4 woofers.
- Replaced all capacitors with Falcon Acoustics kits.
- Replaced all internal wiring with solid silver wirings
- Replaced the tweeters with Mid West Speaker's MT-1191 (some modification required for mounting it to the tweeter housing). This ends up the most obvious improvement achieved amongst all the updates that I've done.
Thanks for the video. I wish I'd had a cool uncle who owned these back when I was younger. I would have been paying him a visit on a regular basis. :)
Beautiful Kef 107. It is a shame that some units have been as mistreated as the ones in the video.
If you liked the 105 and 107 with cheese components such as electrolytic capacitors, ferrite coils with fine wire and cheap resistors, you can't imagine what they are capable of with high-level components.
The T52 of the 105, once you filter it with high quality components and remove the 0.028 mH coil that is in series and that cuts the response from 16K, becomes a grain-free, fast and resolving tweeter. If you also feed them with high-end electronics and wiring, these speakers unleash in a way that is hard to imagine.
The 107, being somewhat superior, must be somewhat superlative once you remove that crap of internal wiring and filter components. The T33 without the funnel of bad filter components is surely capable of delivering a delicious sound
Currently my 105 are still the same as always, but their performance and quality are immensely superior to the original, with a fast and controlled bass, warm and precise mids, and defined, smooth and liquid highs. They will always be one point behind in speed and resolution compared to the best current High-End speakers, but the 105 will surely surpass them all in terms of scene, coherence and holography.
I recommend to you, and to all those who have old KEFs, that you improve the filters and wiring as I have done. You will surely be amazed
I love KEF 105 very much, especially for listening the classical music. I had used the KEF 107 for five years, it can created a very real music with your room height have a 11 feet or over with using a 10W tube amp or 50W Class A amp.
Thomas, I remember listening to the KEF 105 in a dealer in San Luis Obispo with the original PS Audio Model III. I never thought the 105 was ugly.
I just found a beautiful set of 107s,(today - 07/24/2021), in a thrift store. They were asking $300 for them, (there was no Kube)! I took them home, and connected the cables, and low and behold they sounded fantastic! I have an old BBE Sonic Maximizer, which does the same thing as the Kube, and I was set! The cabinets were nice. A little furniture oil, and a lent roller on the covers and these are now home to stay! Did I mention that I got the pair for $300.00?!!!!!
Deal of the century.
Looks like isobaric bass. I had a box in my car in isobaric and the bass was so so clean.
I love retro speakers. The oldest I own are 2009 for my Lumleys made by a legendary tube company. Incidentally the pic of the KEF’s at the end of the video were featured in the film American Psycho and a detailed run through of the system is in the book
2009 is bot quite a retro.
I have a pair of KEF 105/1 and still like them ........these speakers were designed for British rooms who are typical small rooms.............Big sound in a small room and they realy do that.!!! Bass is not to heavy and not pumping , the bass rolls off gently before the room becomes to exited BUT they are going lower than the classc bass reflex speakers , the bass is tighter, more nuanced and tunefull, not boomy as perceived with the latter bass reflex cabinets / woofers .
Hi
If you improve the crossover components and internal wiring, the resolution, smoothness, control, speed and many other parameters will improve drastically without losing the personality of the original design, but its defects will almost disappear and will put modern designs in trouble.
@@audiobiker Thank you !
I've owned several KEF Reference series speakers over the decades, from the 101 to the 104.2 and 105.2, as well as some lesser expensive KEF speakers like the C-40 and the Corelli. I just have never been able to enjoy a sound signature quite as much as that British signature. That's not to say I haven't heard several terrific loudspeakers but the 107 is magical to my ears. I have never been able to acquire a pair of them but have heard them often and I agree if you can find a pair in good condition at a good price then you are a very lucky individual. They aren't real easy to lug around though!
Nope ,they are heavy. I managed to buy a mint pair eventually.
My only wish is that you played a sample for us. Yes i know its coming through my headphones, but still I think we like that sort of thing. Thanks for making this video !
Sure. ruclips.net/video/SDoiPZ0qoNI/видео.html
@@ThomasAndStereo Thanks !
I recently got a VGC restored pair. It is an amazing pair of speakers, even compared to my Avantgardes, Wilsons, Vienna's! The midrange and highs were very sweet indeed, not harsh or fatiguing in any way. The bass needed some boost as I did not have the KUBE so I used a miniDSP in its place.
Jared Lee How's the MiniDSP working out for you? I ask, because I'd love to get a set. And I plan on using DSP in the near future anyway. Would probably save a lot of hassle, and money not having to deal with an old EQ unit. I imagine if you know how the kube works, you know what settings it uses. A DSP would work even better, or at least have the potential to anyway.
Hello Thomas. Last week I visited our local goodwill and they had two pairs of speakers for sale for one price. The KEF 107's and Carver amazing speakers. I knew about the Carver's, but knew nothing about the KEF's. The price for the lot was high for a goodwill, but it was 50% off so I purchased the lot for $150. The Carvers have issues, bit the KEF's are in really good shape and complete with the cloth covers.. Left speaker seems to work. Right speaker is missing the speakers terminals. I"m pretty sure the Left woofers need refoaming. I'm trying to find out as much as I can and after reading about the KEF's and watching your videos I think i have something special here. I'm hoping in the future I can afford to bring these speakers back to life. Just wanted to share my find and thank you for the information on these speakers.
Thanks for sharing your experience. The 107 are definitely a very special speaker. I picked up one finally in mint condition for a while and they are worth restoring.
Hello Thomas. Well it's been four years later and I probably won't be restoring these speakers. The woofers are blown and overall they are in good/fair condition. I'm going to put them up for sale as-is. Do you think I can get $150 for the pair as is?
Actually not blown, they need refoaming
Improving the crossover components might reap benefit, air core inductors and film capacitors, also the equaliser circuit may take some component upgrading....although the T33 tweeter was never the last word in drivers...
The KEF tweeter for the 105 was more capable than they allowed it to be. Kef sold a lot of them to other companies that made them brighter in other speakers (Beverage etc) . Polite and warm British voicing that may have seemed brighter in an all-brick/stone home. The bass, while I'm unsure- I feel it was probably a design choice for the time, or unsure of going too controlled or low efficiency like Acoustic research. The music of the era sounded fun with a bit of bass "slop" The 105 was a real milestone in that it was the first real high fidelity full range. The 107 was a "lessons learned" speaker from the 105. Incidentally, the $15000 maidstone was a throwback to the 105, complete with bloated bass.
Note:If the KUBE isn't used on any of the Kef Reference speakers of the period, treble is rolled off, lower midrange is (annoyingly) forward, and bass extension is cut by an octave.
I actually picked up another mint condition 107. I find the KEF kube too subtle and end up using a schiit loki instead. Thanks for the comment.
Hi Thomas, could you elaborate on your preference for the Loki over the Kef K-ube for bass boost on the R107? Is the Loki more transparent, quieter, does it integrate well and provide sufficient boost?
Its all about the Bass!
Thanks for uploading the video, do you have experience with kef reference 2.2/3.2/4.2 series? How they are compared to 107? Thanks
No I don't. Only the KEF 203.
thnx for info, go check them out today also same reason as you... the 105.1 vs the 107.1
Hi! This video made me so curious about the kef 107, that I had to try it for my self. I´m just starting my hifi journey here in Norway and got hold of a visually mint 107/2 pair. They needed refoaming but other then that was ready to go. It is now my quest to make them sound as good as possible and was wondering if you had any thoughts about a front end that will pair well with these? Looking to buy second hand and to go with a preamp poweramp/monoblock setup. Thanks!
I remember using it with my Moon w5.3 and it sounded good. You do need a bit of power to drive these things.
Hi a good match for the 107/2 are the meridian 605 monoblock I use them to drive the tops and meridian 505 monoblocks for the bass I love the 107/2 and will never let them go
More great amps for the 107 is NAD S200, Bryston 4BSST series, Levinson 23.5 or even a older Hafler
Hi Thomas after researching and watching your review of the kef 107.2 I purchased a pair they had the woofers repaired alone with the tweeters and the crossovers really everything one should have ,the bass is great but the mids and highs are not silky smooth like you described and what I would expect from a speaker of this Era, they are real tinnie sounding and I hate to say it but almost resemble a transistor am radio, I suspect who ever did the crossovers didn't voice them correctly and tried to brighten the mids and high what would be your suggestion so I might have this fixed as I can tell they have great potential but like they are they sound really bad now I must admit I am comparing the to a pair of Bozak concert grands and a pair of triton one R any suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Surely the filter is damaged or poorly repaired.
If you improve the crossover components and internal wiring, the resolution, smoothness, control, speed and many other parameters will improve drastically without losing the personality of the original design, but its defects will almost disappear and will put modern designs in trouble.
The original Kef 105 from which this speaker originated used a much better tweeter... (KEF T52). This tweeter has the flattest measured amplitude response of any tweeter ever made, even to this day. It is also completely devoid of stored energy and ringing and has high power handling. The KEF 107 is improved in every other way over the 105 but why they would switch to an inferior tweeter I have no idea.
I wish the KEF 107 tweeter was smoother.
The main weakness of the 105’s are mainly the crossover parts. With high level Mundorf Caps and resistors and air coils and some little touch to compensate for the new components, the sound is even greater
I've owned the 105's and thought they were very transparent. They were not bass heavy. In fact the bass seemed to roll off a little short in the end. I have always been curious about the 107's. I eventually sold my 105's for a pair of B&W's.
Yup, you are 100% correct about the 105 not being bass heavy. It does help if you have a 300w amp driving it but we definitely wished it had just a tad more bass.
Hey Thomas hello this really doesn't have anything to do with your video but we where talking a week or two ago where I was talking about getting a new preamp will I decide on buying the emotiva TA-100 and we where talking about the adcom being a bit brighte well the emotiva seemed to be a good match for the adcom it smooth it right out I just wanted to say if your on a Budget like I am it's a really Decent preamp.
If you've never see or heard of it have a look at it......oh I forgot to mention its Actually a Integrated amp with pre outs and also has a DAC also.Anyway if you get a chance have a look
Hi Andrew, really happy you took the time to update me. I was reading up on the emotiva TA-100 and I am just so impressed that today we can have so much for so little price. I actually went online to see if I can get one used. I had 3 Emotiva before and they perform excellent for their price.
Love your videos but this one even more as...I used to have Kef 104.2 then could get a pair of 107 which back then was my dream speaker. Indeed what I loved was the non fatiguing. Then found my new heroes speaker with the Wilson Audio Sophia serie 1, which has better bass, is more precise yet still non fatiguing. Still own them, Have you had a chance to listen to them? Having seen your review I’m considering the Emotiva T2 for a second home. Kind Regards Marc
I also have a pair of 104/2 right now. I have never heard the Sophia. The Emotiva T2 will be so so different than the 104/2. These KEF have very strong bass while the T2 has nuance bass but not strong.
@@ThomasAndStereo many thanks, very useful as I used to own the 104/2...I know the Emotiva will not be for me. If by chance your travel to Geneva/Switzerland you are most welcomed to listen to the Sophia’s
Just found a pair of 107s sitting at the kirb on trash day....Man they are heavy but I got them in my SUV and home. They are missing the top mid and tweet
Yes, they are stupid heavy. Those woofer once refoamed can go down to 18hz and yup, they can shake my house foundation.
Because I watched your video o the kef 107.2 I purchased a pair but they need service where can I get them serviced because right now the mids and highs sound like an am radio terrible
Great videos...keep them coming.....if you had to choose between Focal 1028beii, Kef 107/2 or the Tekton Double impact....and could only keep one of these pairs...which would it be...help me decide!
I would take 1028 because I like details and sharpness. However, All 3 speakers sound very different and the 1028 can easily give you listening fatigue. I mean the treble is really tilted up. Check out my video on what speaker to buy.
@@ThomasAndStereo Thanks much for your opinion. I currently have the 1028’s and agree with what you have said. I inherited some Kef Calindas and had the crossovers heavily modified and put new t27’s in.....they sound amazing.....I love the sound but would like to do it on a bigger scale that’s why I am considering the 107/2’s....but then all of the Buzz about Tektons has made me question this idea....I’ll check out your video on which speaker to buy....thank you very much!
@@chrisroberts5001 Also check out my video on the tekton. Thanks
I own a pair of these. What about a ScanSpeak tweeter replacement? Could you make any recommendations?
Sorry I know nothing about building speakers
How about the 105.4??
They are pretty rare, but there are currently 2 pairs on Kijiji in Montreal. I'm still thinking..
Yup and one is mine.
Currently, I am pairing pre lazarus power be1001 audioquest tyre 4 speaker wire but the bass is not deep
Tks Thomas
It should be very deep.
Tks thomas
In foto image 105 and 105.2 mixed up.
How does the 107 compare to the 107/2?
I only had heard the 107, never the 107/2
Pressure on the ears???
Na sprzedaż?
The 104's turned me into the audio need I am today.
In some way, The 105 did that to me too.
What about the vandersteen? How you rate them?
I actually did record a sound clip of all 3 speakers and was going to post a sound clip comparing all 3. Just have to find some time to edit it. I heard the same song on all 3 speakers because I wanted to compare. In the short time I listened, the bass on those are more full and fill up the room really well. I can't find that kind of 'fullness' in modern speakers. Highs and mids are what I consider the right kind of sharpness for it's era. Not harsh and bright at all, very musical, those speakers will please a lot of people just due to the weigh of it's bass alone. (And that was with a 45 w amp)
Thomas & Stereo how do you rate the vandersteen?
can't really, heard 2 songs on them only. it does the high better than 107, bass is less control but more filling than 107, but overall, it will please a lot of people. for its price, should seriously be consider.
I have kef KHT 6OOO . HTS&HTC-6001, I FELT GOOD WILL you comment on it
I never heard those. The only KEF hometheater speaker I had was the KEF FIve TWO MODEL 11. Each speaker have 11 drivers in it to create the 5 speaker feeling
www.1dayfly.com/be/nl/product/6161/kef-fivetwo-model-11-paar
Assuming it has similar sound characteristic as yours, then
1)For sure you need a subwoofer
2)Those speakers have the new type of sound and will sound nothing like the KEF 107
3)They are very detail and have amazing clarity. I am sure it sounds nice.
What do you feel about your KHT 6000?
Could you put victors contact info?
My memory of timeline has faded but Andrew Jones could have had a hand in those speakers.
I wonder as he did work at kef
83' - 94' I think
Kef 105,4 with pream power what
We put it thru so many frontend. From highend $20k setup to budget setup.