KEF 107.2 Floorstanding Speakers

KEF 107.2 Floorstanding Speakers 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 20  
[Sep 29, 2021]
eschmuntz


Strength:

I’ve finished a too to bottom restoration with a pair I picked up. All internal seals, wiring, woofers etc replaced/repaired. The 10” woofers seem to be a very high quality driver. The t33 tweeters serviced. I’m using a Rotel RSP-1582 preamp and a Crestron 7x200 (ATI) amp. At 4 ohm they are receiving 300 wpc. I’ve been listening to this pair for the last few days with just about every type of music there is. “Stepping” by Babatunde Olatunji is shocking to the system. They throw an incredibly realistic sound stage. The low end is superb. I don’t have the Kube, but I’ve used my parametric equalization to boost the lower frequencies. It’s remarkable this speaker can produce such a quality low end from 10” woofers operating in such a small sealed enclosure. Pipe organ is way fun. They are capable of producing music at staggering volumes. Efficient and easy to drive. Brilliant design. I’m in to this project for $780. Money very well spent. Their easier to restore than the 104/2. Very well laid out. Easy to strip and rewire. I love the fact that the grandkids won’t kick a woofer while playing.

Weakness:

Heavy as hell. It’s not the most beautiful speaker you will see.

Price Paid:
780
Purchased:
Used  
Model Year:
1992
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Jan 13, 2019]
Jleeck


Strength:

A very transparent and accurate transducer. Disappears easily and not fussy with positioning. Definitely studio monitor grade speakers. Needs some supplementary bass (sub woofer) without the KUBE Equalizer.

Weakness:

The woofer cones need refurbishment after few years and the ferro cooled tweeters need a refill of ferro fluid to sound their best.

Price Paid:
1200
Purchased:
Used  
Model Year:
1987
OVERALL
RATING
5
[Aug 16, 2012]
DENNIS
AudioPhile

OMG IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY. IF YOURE READING THIS THEN HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE ENJOYED THE CLARITY,THE REALISM,AND THE COMPLETE EXPIERIENCE THAT THE KEF 107 DELIVERS.
UNFORTUNATELY I AM HERE TO TRY TO SELL MY SET.
NEAR MINT, ALWAYS KEPT IN CLIMATE CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT.
FIRST 1000.00 CAN HAVE THEM, NOT HAPPY TO SELL BUT I DONT HAVE A CHOICE.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 18, 2007]
George
AudioPhile

Strength:

I woud say the bass wich goes down to almost below 20 Hertz! I have tested those twin 10 inches woofers with every possibe test cd from Stereofile test cd's to perhaps the best one by Granite Audio. They're just amazing.
Midrange is equally good all the way to the top when the paper tweeter takes over!
If you could get hold of some Tomas Koner and Jascha Heifetz cd's then you'll see my point.

Weakness:

None


When I bought my KEF 107 back in 1987 in England I felt great, as the most important part of my system was brought bck to Athens in Greece.
Speakerwise to my liking there was a thin line betwwen KEF and IMF with the later using KEF's drivers. Great speakers too, but very difficult to place and stricktly monitors. My vote went for KEF.
To mate these speakers you need at least 300 watts at 4ohms. Once you tackle this problem then you've crossed the muddy river! Don't bother with the KUBE it just pusts a veil around the beautiful sound these speakers produce. Another trick is to use top gear in order to fully exploit the potential of these long gone wonders of speakers. You do that and then you'll come to realize that speakers close to their sound would cost you a pretty penny say over 30.. smackers!
My system consists of : Pluto turntable 12R,pluto arm special 5A with a Koetsu Urushi cartridge,cd player:cd7reference by Audio ResearchTape:Dragon Nachamishi. Mark Levinson 25 Phono stage.Mark Levinson 26 Preamp.Mark Levinson 23.5 amp. The entire system is cabled by NBS master series. Power conditiner: TICE block III Singature Series.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 09, 2005]
buril2000
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Bass, overall sound, dynamics, looks. Everything!

Weakness:

None

I have been looking for these speakers for almost ten years, and when I finally found a pair in mint condition, the desicion was easy! My system is: meridian 501 pre, 504 tuner, 508 ca and 2 meridian 605 monoblocks. After a few seconds, I realized that I am never going to let these speakers go! The bass is DEEP with 100% control, even on very loud passages. The dynamics are excellent, even at low level. The midrange is smooth as silk, and makes female voices sound very lifelike. And the treble sounds like ripples in a clear mountain lake! Although they are quite big and heavy, they look good in my medium-sized livingroom. They are quite a difficult load for the amplifier, so make sure that you have enough power! I'm dreaming of a surround-system with 3 pairs of 107/2, so if anyone's selling, I'm buying!

Similar Products Used:

kef 105, kef q75, kef reference model two

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 16, 2005]
Herabmsls
Audio Enthusiast

When I acquired the 107.2's without the matching KUBE bass equalizer, I felt that the bass was weak and I really had to look for that KUBE to maximize their potential as full-bodied speakers. The 107's then were driven by a combination of Audio Research SP9 MK2 preamp and Quicksilver 8417 monoamps and Rotel 1072 cd player. While in search of the KUBE, I tried biamping using the 60wpc tubed monoamps on the mid/high and a Quad 606 amp on the low frequencies. With this set up, I noted an improvement on the bass output that is deep, tuneful and adequately complimenting the mids and the highs. For now, I'm holding on this pair of audio masterpiece that is an all around performer, be it classical, rock or jazz. Biamping is an option that does away with the KUBE and rewards the listener with a well-balanced sound that comes close to the original.

Similar Products Used:

Sonus Faber Concerto Grandpiano, Harbeth HL5, JBL L100T, Dahlquist DQ10, Polkaudio 10b

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 16, 2004]
PARTS
Casual Listener

Strength:

Superb punch and drive , Imaging,soundstage depth n width. Brilliant head assembly.

Weakness:

Internal wiring as all early KEF, Intrusive protection circuit, Castors , remove and fit spikes. Head assembly ,as all kef ref ,could be more innert,with a more secure spigot arangement.

Suprised to find no reviews for kef r105/4 loudspeakers. Anyone know of these ? Head assembly like the kef r107 T33 treble b110 mid two forward facing 8" drivers in the lower cab , protection s stop ect. I used a pair of these before purchasing kef r107 , still using the 105/4 in my second system , superb little speaker though protection i found intrusive , operating when using high power amps ect . I also found that the imaging and soundstaging of these speakers improved substantialy when they were rewired with audioquest cable , and fitting a concrete base improved the bottom end . Seems like another overlooked superb kef product .

Similar Products Used:

KEF R107

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Nov 16, 2004]
PARTS
Casual Listener

Strength:

Constantly show improvements with equipment upgrades , stage depth , bass , full range , child proof .

Weakness:

Dont quite disapear like Martin Logans or the 105/4 , bottom end and room placement can be tricky , treble and mid performance .

I use KEF R107 MK1 rewired with chord cable , no kube as I found this curtailed treble detail and added hiss , I thoroughly recomend rewiring the speakers if possible , can also benefit by being bolted to a granite or similar slab , improving bass definition , imaging , depth , detail ect . I bought these to replace a pair of KEF R105/4 loudspeakers which had been heavily modified by removing the protection circuits , fitting a concrete base and rewiring with audioquest cable , These were exceptionaly good loudspeakers , but I was completly floored by the demo given with the KEF R 107 , the walls and ceiling melted away , the bottom end was frightening , dynamics stunning , a soundstage that completly surounded me . Sadly though I lost a lot of the speakers performance when I moved to my present location , these speakers revel in a good large solid enviroment , concrete floors and ceiling with brick and plaster walls , plaster board and suspended floors do them no justice . I still enjoy using these speakers ,though the treble and mid are slightly lacking by todays standards they bring a wholeness to music , an almost organic quality that brings performances to life . I find these speakers to be extremly revealing of amplifier performance , if there is hiss or hum from your amp these may highlight this , I loved the musical fidelity Nu Vista 300 power amp through these but couldnt live with the valve noise , same with a bat VK3I pre amp I used . I think a Tact Audio 2.2 or Music First Passive would do wonders ? Time to start saving again .....

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio R50 transmition line loudspeakers ( KEF B139,B110,Celestion ) Nightingale Audio Transmition Line Speakers ( KEF B139,Peerless,Isophon ) Rogers Studio 1 monitors KEF R 105/4 loudspeakers Martin Logan CLS 2 Tannoy d 700 Ruark Accolades

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Sep 14, 2004]
O'Shag
AudioPhile

Strength:

Clarity without any harshness. Large dynamic range, ample soundstage. Perfectly neautral character. Tremendous presence. Every thing a flagship speaker from one of the world's premier speaker manufacturers in the world should be.

Weakness:

From what I can gather, none

I first saw and heard the 107s back in the mid 80s, and was instantly impressed by the way these speakers effortlessly filled the listening room with the most outstanding stereo image – every detail clear and discernable even at low volume levels – utterly smooth and imperturbable even when pushed hard at high volume levels – it left me determined that someday I would own them. It took many years, but the pair I now own, serial #002383, is a very late model pair in immaculate condition – still brand new really. The 107s are remarkably well built and beautiful to look at. They’re fairly large but easy on the eye even in rooms of modest size. The pair I own are finished in finely polished rosewood (real wood), but 107s were also produced in a Walnut finish in limited numbers (I personally much prefer the Rosewood). Large head-covers are covered in a high-quality black fabric that has a silken sheen. These head-covers fit on top of the bass units, over the swivel mounted MF/ HF units. With the head-covers on, the speakers resemble two simple monoliths. I find the design to be very elegant. Because the 104/2s (which I also own) have won many awards and were considerably more affordable, they are generally far better known member of the KEF family. However their bigger, slightly younger sibling is in a different league both aesthetically, and sonically. Like one of the excellent reviews I’ve read, one can’t help being struck by their understated presence, and the impression that these are something out of the ordinary. Those visual cues happen to be correct. These speakers combine tremendous dynamic range and power handling with unusually vivid stereo imaging. Precise matching of amplitude and phase, and careful control of an on and off-axis response ensure that the directional and ambient information contained in the recording is preserved accurately in sound reproduction. With well recorded CDs, SACDs, or DVD-Audio, these speakers are capable of delivering fantastic results. Another outstanding attribute is their exceptionally neutral character. The 107s have a unique approach to optimising the integration of the low, mid and high frequency sound to achieve exceptionally smooth dispersion in the listening room, where the head assembly is combined with upward-vented low-frequency energy to enable the entire audio bandwidth to be directed to the listener from an area not much larger than the human head. Low-frequency directional effects are almost non-existent when compared with conventional forward-facing bass units, and the bass vents height above the floor virtually eliminates floor reinforcement effects. The 107s are quite efficient. They use conjugate load matching in the dividing network, which enables them to present a flat, resistive load to the amplifier. The impedance is set at 4ohms, resulting in a doubling of effective sensitivity and therefore of output level, over a conventional nominal 8ohm load. I’ve found that these speakers do revel in plenty of high-current/high-quality power and will reward by really opening up. They really enjoy being driven by tube amplifiers, such as my ARC Classic 120 monoblocs. I find the 107s to be outstanding in the low-frequency department, with extremely accurate bass reproduction, much more so than all but the most expensive of today’s speaker systems. In fact they are far superior to the several speaker systems I’ve owned over the years, and to most that I’ve heard. They are capable of a genuine bass extension flat to 20Hz, and further capable of powerful response below an incredible 15Hz. This can be accomplished with the K-UBE (KEF Universal Bass Equaliser) where plenty of ‘boom’ and extension can be dialed in, just as you like it. The K-UBE is a valuable part of this speaker system because it is an integrated part of the hybrid dividing network to provide passive frequency division with active response shaping. This arrangement maximises the system’s dynamic range with any given amplifier, and, by providing independent control over low-frequency balance (extension and Q), allows the user to optimise the low-frequency/mid-frequency balance to suit the speaker’s room position and to select bass performance characteristics. This is not to say that great results cannot be obtained without the K-UBE, given that most quality processors today have extensive bass control features, where one can dial in on Q-factor, extension, and contour. The 107s benefit from good quality source components, preamps and amplifiers; I’ve had first hand experience of this. Every time I’ve fed them better power or better source signals, their performance has improved noticeably. As I mentioned above, these speakers love a good power source, and I’ve found them to be particularly keen on tube amplification of around 120 or so watts per channel from my Audio Research Classic 120 monoblocs and SP6e and SP4 preamps. My impression is that its now more than 10 years since their production run ended, and yet there are extremely few contemporary or modern day speaker systems that can match or even better the performance of the 107s. Model 107 Specifications Frequency Response…………..20Hz-20Khz +/- 2db at 2m on reference axis Directional Characteristics…….Within 2db of response on reference axis up to 15Khz for +/- 10 degrees vertically up to 10Khz for +/- 30 degrees horizontally. Maximum Output……………….112db SPL on programme peaks under typical listening conditions. Enclosure Volumes……………..LF enclosure 72 litres. MF/HF enclosure 8.5 litres. Amplifier Requirements………...Suitable for use with amps capable of providing Between 50 and 300W into 4ohms resistive loads. Nominal Impedance……………..4 ohms resistive from 20Hz-20Khz Characteristic Sensitivity………..90db SPL at 1m on reference axis for pink noise input of 2.83 Vms, band limited 50Hz – 20Khz (anechoic conditions) Weight…………………………...45kg (99lbs) each Dimensions……………………..1165(h) x 330(w) x 448(d) mm. 45.9” x 13” x 17.6” Height of Origin of Ref. Axis…..1020cm (40”) above base of cabinet (not including feet) Angle of Reference……………..+1.5 degrees from horizontal.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 803, Thiel CS2.2, Polk RT3000p, Paradigm Studio Reference 100v.2

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 06, 2004]
hatehifi
AudioPhile

Strength:

Able to produce goose bumps and can be as delicious as the finest champagne. A pure uncolored bass. Seamless coherency between the chassis. Lets you hear the music and forget the hifi gear.

Weakness:

Misses somewhat detail in the highs, e.g., some sizzles are not as sizzly as in real life. I WOULD GET A HEART ATTACK IF SOMEONE CHANGED THE SETTINGS ON THE kube. IT IS PHENOMINAL HOW THE INTERPLAY FOR THE SETTINGS IS.

I have the original R107 with the T33 softdome tweeter and the 'old' KUBE that allows for Q-factor along with bass notch and contour. They were purchased late 1989 and were kept immaculate and driven with large NAD amps. The sellers wanted something 'new' and I repeatedly asked if they were really sure that they wanted to sell 'em. Happy me. I immediately replaced the rubber grommets of the bass and mid units, keeping count of the turns on the screws. Their rubber had wasted away. The bass surrounds were still intact. I also replaced the KUBEs' external wiring with Gryphon Guideline II (Siltech)& Clearaudio MPC-plugs as I own an integrated amp. The speakers took about 30 hours breaking-in before the sound surpassed the 'original-used' state. I was amazed at the component quality and build of the KUBE. I had a pair of the KEF R101s and their KUBE was good but flimsy compared to the 107s'... I was astonished to see that the wiring for the "head" mid-hi unit is simple 3x2.5 electric wire! I didn't change it becuase I didn't know whether their are crossover parts inside the head, i.e., after this wiring. Does anybody out there know? Anyway, they SOUND superb as they are. Also, has anyone experimented with a better power supply for the KUBE? It has been a long time since I heard the R107/2s, and, of course, KUBE and room placement and front-end also contribute to ones' acoustic impression. I do recall that I 'liked' the original R107 sound better than the Mod/2, i.e., most noteably with its metal-domed tweeter and another (I think) simpler KUBE. I found less involvement with the flow of the music and more attention to the 'sizzle.' It doesn't matter - THESE ARE FABULOUS SPEAKERS, far surpassing the main stream stuff out there. I am fortunate that I already 'reworked' my hifi gear during the past three years. I am satisfied with my present 'playback.' At age 50, I'm not too inclined anymore to run out and change a component 'cause someone says its 'better...' I have a good memory for sounds and I've tried to set up my system this way, in a word: UNSPECTACULAR. I do not like whistles and bells "if they ain't there in the first place." I do find the 107s 'shape' the signal somewhat mid-band, like little rolls of fat - say a 30" waist that sounds like a 30.5" waist, i.e., there are more articulate speakers out there, maybe some 'Maggie'-models or QLNs come to mind but this is negligable on the whole. These are "sit back and enjoy-the-music" units and not, per se´studio monitors e.g. Rogers 9/5 with a sweet spot of about 12"...; the 107s allow you to walk around the room 'loving' the sound[stage] and 1/3 of the width of my room IS the sweet spot. The bass is as good as I'd like it. Once the KUBE is set up [optimally] then there is no humbug bass smearing the sound, i.e., there is bass ONLY when it is in the signal. And -it has been stressed before- the drivers are SO coherent that all music flows as if "it is simply there." These ARE NOT SPEAKERS, i.e., they sound like they are not there at all. For me, a great compliment. I have a CD: Gianmaria Testa / "La valse d'un jour" (harmonia mundi, dist.) and it was recorded live (with a MD-recorder or maybe DAT) outside in the countryside and you can hear the birds singing in the trees in the background while he sings and plays guitar accompanied by Pier Mario Giovannone. Well, there were several takes (the R107s are so good one can easily determine 'what' type of studio mix/overdub/sound decay/etc. etc. etc. is on the recording...), and after adjusting my KUBE after the run-in time with my chassis' screws I heard distortion out of the right channel! Did I somehow damage the rubber suround on a woofer? No, the small amp that they had used while making the recording for two takes had a ripped cone that buzzed at certain times. If you've ever had a torn woofer membrane then you know the sound --AND THIS WAS SO HONESTLY REPRODUCED THAT IT SOUND LIKE my UNIT WAS DAMAGED: I'd heard this recording 30 times at least on other top-notch gear but never was this "nuance" noticed by me before. The rest of my system: extremely massive rack (over 98kg empty weight) tripod sand/leadshot-filled steel on Mitchell steel tip-toes on concrete floor, MDF and 48-ply plywood bases Interconnects by Gryphon mod. Reference Gryphon Tabu Century integrated Amplifier w/inboard phono Audiomeca Romance with Sumiko BPS vdH and CS-Electronic PSN (similar to Clearaudios' Master Ref. PSN) with Becker ative cable to the amp Spectral SDR 1000SL CD-player /balanced Rotel RT-1024 alalog tuner harman/kardon CD491 cass. deck 5x2.5 Oelflex shieded wiring from the circuit breaker to the outlets: analog (with TDK filter in the wall), digital (with in-wall filter) and direct line into the amp

Similar Products Used:

Celestion SL600, Infinity RS2.5, Acoustic Balance Ska, Rogers 9/5, AR3a

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 20  

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