KEF 104/2, 105/3, or 107/2?


I've been using four KEF 102/2s, a KEF 100C, and Velodyne HGS-10 sub for stereo music, movies, and HDTV. I want to upgrade at least the front LR speakers for stereo music -- the HGS-10 can cover 100 Hz and below. These speakers are driven by Proceed Amp2 and Amp3 (200 watts RMS into 4 ohm load). Processing is Proceed PAV (preamp) and PDSD (digital signal processor).

I don't recall having heard 104/2, 105/3, or 107/2, but am I considering all of them. Mostly like classical and jazz music. I'll look for a KEF 200C to upgrade the center channel. Main purpose of upgrade is stereo music; I am happy with 102/2 and HGS-10 for movies and HDTV.

Advice sought.
donbellphd

Showing 2 responses by dbphd

wizeline,

I'm a bit limited by a doorway, so the front baffles that house the mid and high frequency drivers of my 104/2s are 42" from the rear wall and 30" from the side wall. Stereo imaging is quite good, but when I removed my 36 XBR from between the speakers I was astonished by the improvement in depth. As a fellow listener said, it's as though you could walk among the jazz trio or the chamber music quintet. With reluctance, I put the 36 XBR back until I have a video solution with minimal acoustic impact yet better viewing angle.

db
wizeline,

One other thing that might affect your experience, although my basis for relating this is confounded: At one point in a effort to simplify, I replaced the Pioneer laser disc player I used for CDs with a moderate cost (range $200 to $300) Sony CD/DVD player and my Proceed PAV and Amp 2 with the penulitmate Sony receiver (444ES?) at the time. The air and transparency I had grown accustomed to with my KEF 102/2s collapsed. It was especially noticable on the Reference Recording, Big Band Basie. The magic was restored with a Sony 9000ES CD/SACD/DVD player and a return to Proceed stuff. So I really can't attribute the loss to either the CD player or the receiver, or both, and I was trained not to confound variables.

db