Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I recently came across a nice pair of these in RI. I did my research, and read how some viewed these as the best speakers/monitors they had ever heard. I had to take the leap. What was the fuss about?

These are among the best "box" speakers I have heard. I've had Spendor S20's, S3/5's, and Harbeth Compact 7ES-2's (when I had the $$ to be able to afford Harbeths). These remind me more of the Harbeth's.

For $300? I would encourage others to give them a try in a small'ish room. You may find yourself equally suprised and amazed.

What "bums" me out is that they are in fact, older, and I will be sad if and when they fail on me. But until then, I am grinning ear to ear.

Tancr?de

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $125.00 from 2008

Summary:
Kef 103.2 is well balance and the bass is not so bad it all. Bass is tight because of the close enclosure and HF is very good. Mid is also very good. If i compare with Mission 737, Kef 304, Rogers LS7, they have nothing to be a shame. I'm not esoteric when it come to sound audio. I just analysis with logical mind and ears. Many speakers are good, and many amps also. My next step is to get a 3 way speakers, to have more bass and better mids, in theory of course.
Have to change crossover caps of course, every 15 years approx. And that is true for all crossover usually.
Sorry for deficient english, usually write in french.
Give 5 stars for the price i've paid. But 4 stars when they were new because of Kef charge name.
Paid 125.00$ canadian

Strengths:
Godd overall sound, that's all and that's enough.

Weaknesses:
Absolutly none.

Similar Products Used:
Rogers LS7, Mission 737, B&W 100, Kef 304 are more bass of course.

Spiralgalaxy5

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.86 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $70.00 from eBay

Summary:
Yes £70.00! (Price is in GBP as I live in England, UK, so equivalent to about $140) I'd been after a pair of these since I was a teenager - I thought they looked so great with that real wood veneer and three-point mounted woofer + my Dad had these KEF Chorales (early 1970's speakers) that I thought sounded amazing - I was an impressionable 4 years old when he got his first real HiFi so I guess that "KEF sound" is one of my earliest memories! He's still got the Chorales and they still sound great BTW. Prior to these I had been using Tannoy M2's (on stands), then I got some KEF C40's, also on stands. The C40's had been purchased 2nd hand and were better than the more modern Tannoy M2's in terms of resolution but the cabinets weren't that great and the bass was a bit of a let down: despite having twin 8" drivers the frequency response wasn't that good (68Hz) and, more worryingly, what bass there was seemed coloured by the speaker itself - probably the cheap cabinet construction. The Tannoys were OK but had that typically fluffy "hole in the middle" sounding bass stemming from their tuned port design, also the sound of cymbals and other tinkly bits from their tweeters was less than crystal - mind you they were only £120 new so maybe I am being unreasonable. I was expecting better things from the 103.2's... They didn't disappoint! I finally had a "real" HiFi system on my hands and I eagerly re-explored my CD collection! Superb neutral but revealing sound, as others here have commented. I have seen someone write (not on "audioreview") that older KEF speakers have a flat and lifeless mid-range, the first part of that statement is true - the second is not. They thrive on a big amplifier with plenty of "overhead": make sure that you have lots of Volts available to get information through that complex crossover... almost as if you were driving 16 Ohms instead of 8 - and don't expect miracles! This is a 25 year old design after all - maximum spl 106dB (peak). I use a brace of NAD 214 amps (each bridged) to achieve an "effortless" (transparent) drive to the speakers. Their bass response is very clean and smoothly rolled off by design. KEF engineers didn't trade away quality of sound for extended (or ragged!) bottom end. The frequency response is +/-2dB from 20kHz (basically flat) all the way down to 60Hz (-10dB at 37Hz and 30kHz). This is good from 19 litres closed volume, but what is better is how it sounds in practice! A revelation to me is that the timbre of bass notes is clearly reproduced by the speakers - you can hear the way in which a bass guitar is being played so clearly, you get all the emotion in a string bass - they are quite amazing at this. Other reviewers have been equally complimentary on their sound at other frequencies and in particular I would agree on the sheer presence of vocals from these speakers. I think they benefit from being partnered with a "stiff" transistor amplifier source, such as the NAD in my own system. I don't think a low power "delicate" source (e.g. small Class A) would be a good match for these speakers. Given their "head", I would say that you CAN play satisfyingly Loud Rock Music through 103.2's but that somehow it doesn't feel right to do so - I think I need a cheap pair of large & sensitive speakers to switch in for modern compressed / high-volume rock listening :-) I'm building a sub-woofer to use with the 103.2's (using a KEF B139 driver) but I am going to have to be very careful with the crossover and phasing etc so as not to upset the clarity of the lower notes from the 103.2's. I don't think I'd ever want to sell the 103.2's - they are keepers. The only problem is that my CD player is the next "weak link" due for upgrade and I doubt I'll find such a bargain as I did with the 103.2's. One final thing: I've seen people write that you can do "this and that" with crossover networks in some of these older Reference KEF speakers to "improve the sound". Be very wary! Do you really think that you can improve on a team of professional audio engineers long hard work by the simple expedient of, e.g., shorting out a capacitor to "improve the bass response"? These 1970's Reference designs are just that: Reference. The components were carefully selected, individually in the case of capacitors, to each pair of drive units to achieve the +/-2dB response and resultant excellent stereo imaging. Maybe you can improve by replacement with some modern components but unless you have the original data, the exact values of the components when the system was built, you will most likely not make improvements. Bottom line is: if they sound great, leave them alone! My 2p (or 4c) worth :-)

Strengths:
All-round reproduction of music, excellent stereo imaging (who needs surround-sound if you have good stereo?) They let you enjoy the music and stop worrying about the equipment :-)

Weaknesses:
None - within their specification. But: not available new and I believe no longer fully supported by KEF themselves - sob!

Similar Products Used:
None compare - would love to try some 105.2's though :-))

Price Paid:  $10.00 from a yard sale

Summary:
I bougnt these speakers at a yard sale for $10 for the pair. They are in good shape, although only one speaker had a cover on it. I knew KEF was a good speaker, but I was shocked to find out that these originally had a cost of $900 a pair! Unfortunately, I don't have the class of equipment that the others have - I have an Onkyo TX-904 receiver (60 watts per channel) and the speakers are fine. They have good all around sound. I have each speaker sitting on a KLH Model 6 speaker and I use them together. They require about the same power. I live in an apartment so I can't blast them loud anyway. The KLH's provide the bass response and the KEF's provide the rest. I agree with just all about all the reviewers. The speakers are great for chamber music, classical and jazz. Bad recordings don't give them justice. But I do use them to listen to all kinds of music. Marvin Gaye sings great out of them.

Strengths:
Great response. Compact size. Great value if you find a pair at a good price.

Weaknesses:
Lack of low bass. The KLH's fill that in.

Similar Products Used:
Advent loudspeaker, KLH Model 6, Infinity SL 10's.

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Can't remember

Summary:
Other than an 1985 Land Cruiser, this was the best purchase of my life. They have outlasted a bunch of good equipment including a Luxman Class A Amp, a Rega Planer Table, 2 Denon CD/DVD player etc. They reproduce the music like it was meant to be heard. A high end audio dealer in Denver once put it to be prefectly. "Hey man, I listen to this stuff all day, when I go home I HAVE TO listen to KEF's"

Strengths:
You can listen to them all day. The music is right, but make sure you have the amp to do them justice. My new ADCOM 120 is'nt quite there. I miss the Luxman.

Weaknesses:
They don't make them anymore

Similar Products Used:
Rega Planer 2 Ortofon MC-20 w/ T-20? Luxman 150 Watt Amp Denon DVD MK Sub Woofer B&W Center & Surrounds