SpeakerTalk

[Matt Daniels]

Hi Folks
Just thought I'd share my thoughts on some newer KEF kit I aquired recently.

KEF Front end

Everybody here obviously loves the older KEF kit and I'm no different having cut my teeth as it were on a pair of 1976 KEF Concerto's years ago (and which are still in my attic next to my beloved Quad 405/2 power amp that used to run them)

these days though I've been converted and dragged up to date by these unbelievable 205 floorstanders.

Strange old story behind them too, the short version is that they were used by Mclaren in an av installation for about 20 hours then stored away for about 6 years before being dug out and written off as damaged as careless fingers had managed to push in the tweeter domes.... Well, one way or another they ended up with me as someone couldnt bring themselves to skip them

Anyway, 900 quid in repairs later (had to replace all three main UniQ drivers including the 204 centre one and the goddamn sub plate amp was duff too) and the system finally got to fire up and play.

I'd chuck in a load of adjectives and expletives but the truth is I'm just speechless..... Lost for words....

In cinema mode the air vibrates. Positioning and effect steering is incredible. Total immersion doesnt begin to cover it.

Put some delicate sounds on in stereo and it just carries you away. With youre eyes open you can just about identify where the speakers are in the soundfield but close them and they just vanish.. quite remarkable.
I'm familiar with earlier refence series speakers and its a trick KEF have had down pat for some years but honestly folks, this a different level.

Bass extension is massive and superbly detailed but not at all boomy even in my relatively small room, KEF do some clever stuff rolling the bass drivers off in sequence apparently, whatever it is it works in spades.

I'm about 50 hours in to the new drivers and theres a richness and subtlety developing I'm loving more and more.

Got to save up for something better than my old NAD T770 now (The onky donk in the pic is retired now... didnt do the rig any favours in music mode though the surround was quite good) the amp runs out of headroom long before the speakers

Got a pair of iQ30's doing surround duty until I can find a pair of 201's (and the money lol), I'm not hugely popular in the house right now as you might imagine but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.....

Thanks for reading my wittering, I just needed to share with some peeps that might understand why my hair is standing on end whenever I play music at the moment .
Matt

[TL 200]

Congratulations,
nice to read from happy musiclovers.
_________________
Without music, life would be a mistake.

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche,
The Twilight of the Idols, 1889