Arjan_S

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
These speakers were my ultimate dream speakers. Back in the early nineties I joined a lot of hifi demonstrations of Transtec, the dutch importer of Kef and Quad and I had regularly visits to my hifidealer, where I could listen to all the beautiful Kef speakers. Mostly it was just listening, since I couldn’t afford most of the speakers that made a deep impression on me. When I heard the Kef 103/4 for the first time, I was perplexed. Perplexed of the natural sounding without any colouration. What I especially liked was the character of the bass. At first notice and especially when compared to other loudspeakers, the bass seemed quite shy. But the opposite is true. The Kef 103/4 is not a very large speaker but the bass extension is far more than you would expect considering its size.
What really striked me was not the bass, but the balance between high, mid and bass. The bass itself creates that powerful ambiance/atmosphere and gives that live-feeling. This speakers excelled in the reproduction of vocal music, strings and piano. The Uni-Q system provides that unheard instrument placing. If the recording is OK, you will hear all the instruments, not from the direction of the speakers, but exactly where the instrument was placed. If you close your eyes, it’s impossible to locate the speaker. The music is not thrown into your lap, but beautifully placed in front of the speakers.
The first time I listened to those speakers in private, at my hifi-shop, I brought a lot of CD’s to listen to. What happened: I put on the first CD and listened and listened and …..
I wanted to listen to more CD’s, but the speakers forced me to listen to that first CD, only because it made so much impression on me. With these speakers, you forget the speakers and you will enjoy the music in a way that you never thought it would be possible. I think that is the best compliment I can give to this great speakers.
But reality was that I couldn’t afford them at the time, nor could I afford the Quad pre- and power amplifier which were connected to those speakers. But I then already knew: Once I can buy them, I will. The same with Quad.
A couple of years later I bought the Kef RDM two, from the Monitor series, which also made a great impression on me and until now they were my ultimate speakers which I could afford. They are really beautiful speakers, totally natural and without colouration. I have placed them on heavy target stands.

Well, now it comes! Half a year ago I finally bought a quad combination, the same which I listened to back in the late eighties and the early nineties: The very compact Quad 34/306 combo. I love the retro look of it. It replaced a huge Harman Kardon amplifier and together with the Kef RDM2 I almost heard the sound which I heard 16 years ago, at my hifishop. I was struck by the great sound of such small equipment. A couple of months later I bought the Quad FM4 tuner. Boy, what a great sound from that tuner. If you listen to Live-recordings, it’s unbelievable what quality you can have from FM!

And now the final: A couple of weeks ago I was Googling on internet and guess what I found: Yes, the Kef 103/4, 15 km’s from my work. In great condition and for a price which I couldn’t let go without paying a visit to the seller. He had replaced them by the mighty B&W 802D. Even though I didn’t know if my home equipment would be a good marriage with these Kef’s, I decided to buy them.
I didn’t expect them to sound as good as the RDM 2 (given the equipment and the room size (4,5 x 6,5 meter) ), but I was so wrong.
Soundstage was stunning. I never was a fan of much bass, since it often brings more harm than good, especially with small speakers. I always preferred a bit lower bass which was better controlled. The RDM2 has a great control of its bass. But with the 103/4 the bass was awesome. I listened to my favourite CD’s and was surprised to hear lower bass in songs which I had never heard before. And that bass really carries the music, instead of taking the leading role.
The whole tonal balance of the speaker is so good that if you tell me the musical artist is playing or singing live in my living room (while closing my eyes), that I will believe you instantly.
You don’t have to go to live concerts, because the concerts come to you. Of course, if the recording is of top quality.

The combination of the Quad 34/306 with the Kef 103/4 really suites my taste. I don’t agree with some people that you have to spend thousands of euros to make these speakers shine.
I paid 500 for the Quad combo and 300 for the Kef 103/4 and you know what: I can only laugh!
Even if you put the volume to almost zero, the complete tonal balance which the rich bass remains totally intact. That was really a difference in comparison with the small RDM 2. They need to power them more to come alive. All instruments, including voices, have the exact amount of body as real life, even at low volume. Put on some great choral music and you will be perplexed. Put on some cello and you will be perplexed. Listen to the acoustic guitar and you realize the body that wasn’t there before the KEF’s 103.
And the same thing happened again as 16 years ago: I had ten CD’s next to me in order to listen to a couple of numbers on each CD, I put on the first CD and stayed with that one. Again, I was so impressed by the musical emotion that these speakers produced, that music came to the first place and I forgot all about these beautiful speakers that were the reason of this involving experience.

With the KEF 103/4, music is EMOTION. They produce such a natural sound that you are convinced that this was the sound how it was recorded. Thank you Kef for giving me that experience, day by day!

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Singapore

Summary:
Bought these speakers when in Singapore to upgrade my old stereo to prologic. I like the black ash finish and I also purchased the 100c center speaker, 70s rear speakers and 30b subwoofer. the subwoofer is pale compared to US models but adds nicely to the bass vs the Kube 200. THE 103.4 are VERY DEMANDING SPEAKERS as many have written. I had monster cable but when I replaced it with nordost flatline and biwired then they really came alive and you can here strings plucking right in your face. I have the DENON AVR 3000G gold receiver and love it. It is the dual voltage model with wood side panels. Now thinking about upgrading to a new one but read some reviews here and may just keep mine. ALSO FOR THE 104.3 ,ROOM speaker position is critical. You have to play with them a bit but it is amazing. Defintely a high maint unit but a nice speaker. I can understand why some reviews thought they were bad. I have a small room now and placement is not good so not great sounding currently.

Strengths:
Nice build, timeless and rich looking, great sound for the size when properly placed and wired

Weaknesses:
Need to invest in cables and biwiring and have a room which allows placement. Also need to oil the black ash as they dry out easily.

Similar Products Used:
KEF 30b sub, 100c center, 70s rear.

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Singapore

Summary:
Bought these speakers when in Singapore to upgrade my old stereo to prologic. I like the black ash finish and I also purchased the 100c center speaker, 70s rear speakers and 30b subwoofer. the subwoofer is pale compared to US models but adds nicely to the bass vs the Kube 200. THE 103.4 are VERY DEMANDING SPEAKERS as many have written. I had monster cable but when I replaced it with nordost flatline and biwired then they really came alive and you can here strings plucking right in your face. I have the DENON AVR 3000G gold receiver and love it. It is the dual voltage model with wood side panels. Now thinking about upgrading to a new one but read some reviews here and may just keep mine. ALSO FOR THE 104.3 ,ROOM speaker position is critical. You have to play with them a bit but it is amazing. Defintely a high maint unit but a nice speaker. I can understand why some reviews thought they were bad. I have a small room now and placement is not good so not great sounding currently.

Strengths:
Nice build, timeless and rich looking, great sound for the size when properly placed and wired

Weaknesses:
Need to invest in cables and biwiring and have a room which allows placement. Also need to oil the black ash as they dry out easily.

Similar Products Used:
KEF 30b sub, 100c center, 70s rear.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Since my original review of the 103/4, I have added an ACI "Force" powered subwoofer to my system. Using high-pass 65Hz plug-in filters connected to my amp's inputs and setting the sub's crossover filters at around that frequency, after careful positioning and fine-tuning of the sub the performance of these speakers has made a quantum leap. Not just the bass, but ALL other parameters of the sound have improved substantially: dynamics, tonality, treble and midrange clarity, soundstage, focus and dimensionality. Buying these speakers on the used market and adding a sub, for a little over $1,000 you can have a terrific music system that will outperform a single pair of speakers costing three times as much.

Strengths:
Transparency, coherence, neutrality and soundstage

Weaknesses:
None at the price

Price Paid:  $370.00 from ebay

Summary:
I recently picked these beauties up on ebay for $370. I have owned the 103/4's in the past, as well as the 105/3's. I probably wouldnt have bought them except that the seller just happened to live only 10 minutes from me, and he had the original boxes, etc. I just could resist buying these at such a good price. As per my earlier experience with the 103/4's, I felt they were good enough speakers, but just not up to level of the 105.3's. Especially in the bass region. I really wasnt expecting that much from them, really buying them because I wanted to hear that Kef sound again that I had fallen in love with from (via the 105.3's) so many years ago (really regret selling those). Well, needless to say, my stereo system has changed quite abit from when I owned the Kef's in the past. I am currently using a Krell 300i with a Pioneer Elite DV-45a (this universal player is an exteremly good bargain at current pricing, $399 or less, and plays DVD-audio, SACD, and of course normal redbook cd's). And, this player is exteremly good at normal cd playback, easily besting my CAL Audio Tube dac. Well, after getting the 103/4's home and setting them up, I was BLOWN AWAY!!!!!! These speakers are incredible!! I am so hooked on listening again. Its been a while since I've felt that. The speakers just disappear and I am left with a lush, beautiful sound-stage. And, the bass is phenominal!! I am shocked. It feels like I have a sub in the room!! What I determined, agreeing with previous reviewers, is that these speakers are very revealing of the components used with it, as well as the qualty of the recording played. Also, the speakers demand a good sized room. The room they are currently in is rectangular, approx. 16 feet x 36 feet. In this room the speakers come alive, and the bass becomes very solid and tight. As an experiment, I moved them to a smaller, average sized room, and the bass response diminished greatly, as well as the soundstage, depth, detail, etc. Kef actually did an excellent job with the 103/4's. Its a shame that these speakers, as well as the 105/3's, didnt receive the praise that they deserved from the audiophile community. But then again, if they had, I probably would have gottem them at such a bargain price!! In conclusion, if anyone is looking for a great speaker at a ridiculous price, the 103/4's bear serious consideration. Just keep in mind they require very good components and a descent sized room to bring out thier full potential.

Strengths:
As per review.

Weaknesses:
Very demanding re: components, room size.

Similar Products Used:
B&W, Magnepan, Kef 105/3, Metaphor, etc.