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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$3000.00
from Audiogon Summary:
KEF Reference 205 in cherry, made in England. Simply a gorgeous speaker, they're like fine furniture compared to a lot of the BOX variety. Two 8" bass drivers, a 6 1/2" Uni-Q mid w/ 1" tweeter in center and a 3/4" supertweeter. Can be tri-wired/amped. I really like the sound of these, but it's a work in progress to love them. They are very detailed and revealing- which I like- and when paired with the right amp they can sound amazing. Get them on the wrong amp and watch out! I tried them with a Denon 4806 receiver, a McIntosh MC7106 multi-channel amp (no auto-transformers) and a Parasound amp. Not that any of these sounded really bad, but certain recordings seemed harsh and hard to handle. I then mated them to a McIntosh MC352 w/autoformers and that made a significant improvement. The highs, while still present and detailed, are not as abusive. As I said, I like forward sounding speakers. If you don't, these probably aren't for you. I listened to B&W 800 series, Paradigm Reference (series 3 and 4) and some Focal Electra speakers- all were too laid back and un-involving to me.
Bass is lacking in the lowest registers- plan on using a sub if you want to round out the bottom end.
I am overall pleased with the price to performance ratio of these speakers- I think with a little bit of patience and work these will be probably as good as I'll ever need. Strengths:
Very detailed and clear- engaging, not dull and lifeless. Great midrange with the right amp. Beautiful cabinets. Great value on the used market. Weaknesses:
Can be harsh and annoying with some recordings if mated to the wrong amp. Not the deepest bass around. Similar Products Used:
B&W 804, 803, 802, Paradigm Reference 100 v3 & 4 and Signatures, some florrstanding Focal Electras. Also Paradigm 100 v2- which I still have and LOVE (another great value on the used market)
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4 of 5
