3 options: bookshelfs


The following options in my area:

Kef c55 (1989)
Boston acoustic CR 9 (’94)
Cambridge M-80 (2000s)

Spare the details, but I will be unable to audition these, so I need some guidance. These were all at $500-700 price point back in the day to the best of my knowledge. Leaning towards the BAs since I am more familiar with that brand.Fwiw, CR 9 was flagship model in that series. They developed the Kortec soft dome tweeter for this model and the CR 8. The other 2 are more of "wildcard" options. For lack of a better term, I listen to mostly 90% "classic" rock, 80s new wave, 70s punk. Source: Vinyl playback. Kefs are intriguing option but probably the biggest gamble in terms of maintenance. I believe this was the first UniQ series they produced (at least at this price point), and from what I gather, the tweeters are known to have some potential failure issues over time. However, the owner claims they are fully operational. They also are a 4 ohm load. CSW are known for their "value driven" lines, however, the M 80s were their flagship speaker in the M line. Question: of the 3, regardless of my musical tastes what, is the overall better product in terms of imaging, sweetspot, transparency? I assume Kef. Question #2: in a 10 x 15 space, with my tastes, what is the safest option? For this discussion, let’s focus on these 3. Thanks!
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Showing 1 response by rar1

I owned the KEF C55s and they were wonderful speakers.  British design, Canadian made.  Paired them with ADCOM 545/ 500 II electronics.  They were my divorce present to myself.  Only issue I could see is that they are 27 years old.  I would think that the speakers surrounds, etc are showing their age.

If priced at a $100 or so, I might take the gamble. 

Rich