Never really thought of myself as an audiophile but after the amount of equipment I have gone through in pursuit of "the sound"...always had an air of snobbery to it that did not appeal to me, however I guess I can concede the point.

My Kef 103.2's are matched to NAD separates, 1240 Pre, and 2200 Power amp with Pioneer PL600 (The good one) with a Grado Silver cartridge.

I have had many sets of speakers hooked up to this system and the KEF's are officially considered hobby wreckers. You cannot do any better without spending seriously big bucks, even then you are only getting small incremental improvements.

These still amaze me, notes hang in mid air, just balanced, bass is tight, punchy and appropriate never boomy or overstated. The highs sparkle and there is NO cringing, they just fit. Very special speakers.

My whole system NOT including the Grado Cartridge cost me about 350 to put together. The KEF's were 125 of that (and yes I realize I stole them).

NOTHING will touch what I hear for even 10 times the money,NOTHING.

I would consider these to be a good value at 400 - 500 a pair just based on performance alone. You simply cant buy this sound new for that money.

I've owned my 103.2's for over thirty years. I cannot say that about any other component I have ever owned. They have been driven over the years by NAD receivers, B&O receivers, Kenwood (1980's vintage) integrated amps, Carver amps, tube equipment...you name it. They are currently being driven by a pair of restored NAD 2400 power amps (bridged) and they are spectacular. They recently became even more spectacular when I recapped them. I would recommend this to anyone who owns these speakers. It is easy on the older versions (I understand the newer units have the crossovers glued in and they are tough to get loose). Make sure you get matched caps from a company that specializes in audio.

These speakers hold their own against the Maggie's in my listening room. They can be purchased and restored for about $300.00 a pair or less, and they will (pardon the expression) snot-bubble any modern speaker at 3-5 times that price.

This speaker really surprised me. I am a Kef loudspeaker fan and am especially fond of the reference series and the monitor series. My preferences only go to KEF from the late sixties to the middle nineties. The eighties being the top of Kef's products.

This is such a natural speaker and has the exact timbre on all instruments and vocals. The total character is involving and warm, though technically speaking it is a very neutral speaker.
It produces music with the right weight/scale to make it real. The bass is warm yet fresh and detailed. I honestly must say that I prefer closed speakers instead of open speakers with a port. The bass in this speaker is much faster and clearer than so much other Kef speakers with open ports.

It feels like that the mid low has a little warmth added to it, because it sounds so nice in that area, so smooth, but I can't detect that with other recordings.

This speaker is all about natural balance and faithful reproduction. The high is sweet yet sparkling enough to be involving. It doesn't have the slightest agressiveness, this T33 tweeter is really nice. The mid is beautiful and is the main reason why people rate is so well. It is all there, it is so relaxing and yet so real. I have heard speakers where the mid is more evident or clearer, but I haven't heard speakers where the mid is so coherent with the high and low.

The bass is great. This is a speaker that proves that bass is important for the overall weight it gives to the music. It really balances the music.

I must say that the bass can be a bit too much if you don't place the speakers well. I prefer the speakers to be a bit higher than usual, otherwise the speaker can be a bit outbalanced by the bass that can overshadow the rest of the spectrum.
Especially long rooms can have some issues with the bass. A bit of bass boom or bump can occur. But when you sit on a higher chair, the balance can change immediately.

So it is not the speaker that could be the problem for the bass, but the room and the placement.
But I do love the bass. It is detailed warm and the prove that you need this bass to get a full presentation with every sort of music.

This Kef 103-2 reminds me of the Kef 101. Its sonic character is about the same, yet the 101 has a bit more open mid. The 103 however is more matured and grown up.

This speaker has really surprised me. I dare to say to you that I might even prefer the 103-2 to the 103-4. They are both mighty good speakers, but they excel in different areas.

Purchased KEF 103.2's w/ Rosewood cabinets as demos in 1985. Originally ran through NAD 7140 Receiver as power and radio signal. Also, ran Garrard experimental turntable purchased in Englan in 1970 through it until upgrade 1998. Since then, sources include Linn LP12, NAD 7140 as tuner (still one of the best sources for FM signal), Linn Karik/Numerik as transport/DAC, and Naim 102 pre-amp, 180 amp, Hi Cap, separate power supply for 102 control, all run through proprietary balanced power supply and dedicated 20 amp circuit.

Auditioned a system upwards of $150K after I upgraded, and it couldn't beat what I was already hearing. Only other more recent upgrade was DIN-RCA interconnects that I had Orchard Electronics in Exeter, England, build for me about 5 years ago...huge improvement at a fraction of the cost of original Chords. The 103.2's are still up to the task.

If you enjoy listening to music, get a pair of these.

I stupidly sold a pair of these 10 years ago ... Big mistake.
Finally found another pair & paid $500 for them but this is a serious bargain. These sound better than modern speakers up to $3k - $4k
I'm in love with music again.
Running through an old Akai amp & Pioneer stable platter CDP. I don't find them fussy partnering wise.

Kef 103.2 Reference Monitors

I'm no expert in the audiophile field but i know what I like my vintage system includes a Marantz 2275 a Thornes TD 160 with an Ortofon 2M Blue MM Cartridge, and now heres where things get a little tricky I'm now on my third set of speakers with this system. The first was my high school favorite the JBL L26 Decade ( wife thought they were to big how sad for me ) there gone, then came a pair of Celestion SL6S which I (we) love to death and will never part with. So now I`ve been bitten by the I love vintage bug and after having sold audio for a living in the 70's was on the hunt for what I remember to be some of the best sounding loudspeakers I`ve ever heard The KEF 101 / KEF 103.2 or the large and forever ugly 105.2. I had to rule the latter out wife says to big. So to make a short story long I bought a pair of 103.2's from a guy for $200.00 Very good condition but I think I'll have the cabinets refinished. So here I sit with my SL6S and now my beatiful 103.2's how luck can a guy be !!!!!!!

Pulled my old KEF 103.2s from the basement today after making some changes to my audio system. After reading the reviews, boy am I sorry I did not take better care of them! Long story but hooked them up and at high volume (in my unfinished basement!) on Billy Joel's "Downeaster Alexa" (only CD in Marantz player at the time), they sounded quite good. I bought them in 1987 - used Dire Straights "Lady Writer" as my comparo song (did I mention I'm NOT an audiophile?!), moved several times and did not store them properly: At low volume, there was some buzzing. I fondly recall that these were amazing when placed properly as some have mentioned.

I was sad to learn that KEF no longer supports such a great speaker system (seems like a bad business decision) and I am on here in hopes that someone can recommend a good, honest "speaker tune up" person in NJ or NYC. I don't care if it's an audiophile working out of his basement so long as he'll only sell what I need, if anything at all can be done to improve low volume response, short of retiring the KEFs. Thanks for any help.

PS. Got a kick out of the "con" that one gent's speaker stands made his KEFs perfect height for cocktail holding...

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.

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

Absolutly none.

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

Similar Products Used:

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

Natural warmth to tone/instruments, excellent on voice, vivid expansive soundstage lots of inner detail. Very inviting and musical when coupled with good electronics.

Poor electronics can be a disaster. Very revealing. Many blame this speaker for poor sound when its really revealing crud upstream.

Wow, I'm part of the love fest for these little speakers.

Updated the internal wiring with high purity Cardas wire, high purity speaker binding posts many years back.

Still have them. Friends bring in new speakers (b&w, proacs, paradigms, NHT). Many of newer $1000 designs are faster, more bottom end extension, etc. but they come of sounding analytical compared to the kef's which smoke'em when it comes to music sounding like music, very natural and palpable with lots musical bloom and inner detail.

Careful placement is a must for an expansive three dimensional sound stage (a 1/4 of an inch matters). Get'em at least 3 feet from the back wall and about 8 feet apart (and slowly bring them closer/further apart to lock in the sound stage) with just a slight toe in. Good rigid stands are a must. I've placed a brick (yes a brick) oin top of each to cut down resonance/vibration when on stands (the weight couples the speaker to the stands better). Unforgiving of poor electronics or cables.

Similar Products Used:

NHT, paradign, ProAc, Theil, etc.