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KEF Blade 2 as replacement for Reference 107/2

A former owner of KEF Reference 107/2s posted that he moved to Blades, and that it is the obvious progression. I really love the sound of my 107/2s, and John Atkinson and Tom Norton raved about them in their reviews a few decades ago, but I'm wondering if it's time to move on. I haven't heard either the Blade or Blade 2s. Anyone had the opportunity to compare 107/2s with Blade 2s? I've had a lot of opportunity to compare the sound of the 107/2s with LS50s supplemented by Velodyne HGS-10 subs. The LS50s are amazing speakers, but not quite 107/2s, especially for large orchestrations.

db
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Showing 5 responses by dbphd

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dbphd OP
1,616 posts
 
My 107/2s are driven by a Parasound JC 2 BP preamp and JC 1 monoblocks, LS50s by an Ayre KX-5 Twenty preamp and VX-5 Twenty amp.  I suppose either setup would be suitable for driving Blade 2s. 
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dbphd OP
1,616 posts
 
Anyone know the closest place to Santa Barbara, CA where I could hear Blade 2s?  KEF isn't very helpful in this regard.
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dbphd OP
1,616 posts
 

I also never compared the R107/2s with the R1s except with a length time gap.  Anyone do a closer comparison and if so what are your thoughts.

 

db

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dbphd OP
1,616 posts
 

yyzsantabarbara -- I'll take you up on that offer.

I never actually tried the R107/2s with the Ayre setup, because I had had a poor experience inserting a Bryston high-pass filter between the preamp and amp, and I was admonished not to put anything between them because of the zero-negative feedback used in Ayre designs.  R107/2s rely on the KUBE.

db

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dbphd OP
1,616 posts
 

I’ve often regretted giving away the 107/2s. I did so because the KUBE wasn’t balanced, and I was moving to an all Ayre set up: DX-5 DSD, QX-5 Twenty, KX-5 Twenty, and VX-5 Twenty, that sounds best balanced. I replaced the 107/2s with Reference 1s, augmented with a pair of Velodyne HGS-15s with SMS-1 acoustic bass management and high-passed with a passive balanced Marchand filter. I’ve yet to hear Blade 2s or 207/2s.

db

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