Excellent dinamics, high sensitivity, very revealing, excellent construction.

Too revealing to be used with anything but first rate electronic (so you have to spend more unless you already have them).

I have been going up the ladder of KEF's 1980's line-up for a while. I started with the c60, then 202, C80, 101/2, 103/2, and I have loved them all, so I had been on the market for a good pair of 104/2's. The first pair I bought on e-Bay came with fried woofers on one side (the seller reimbursed), and the second pair had one tweeter. Combining the two gave me a complete pair. Unlike most others on the resale market, neither of these had the crumbling woofer dustcovers. I think that may be because they were used with the front grilles on, keeping ultraviolet on. Although they might look sezier and sound slightly more open, keep the grilles on, there is a reason for them. (I also think the crossover design takes the losses n the grille, as to me they sound more natural wih the grilles on. Listening, these speakers are amazing, but also ruthless. The midrange is so accurate that any flaw in the recording or your system is revealed. Many mid-fi systems will not sound good with these speakers, as any clipping or switching noise from the amp or quantifying noise from the DAC will be irritating. So, once the speakers in place I had to upgrade the amp (from NAD 2200 to Bedini 250/250) and the CD player (from Rotel RCD 975 to Meridian 506.20 with Bel Canto DAC2) and that cost me more than three times what I spent on the speakers, all purchased on eBay. Still, I've got to say, my old vinyl sounds a lot better on these speakers, once you get over the pop and the crackles. Which is to say that digital has still a long way to go before it can match the quality of the KEF 104/2. Everything else about how they sound has already been said in the 60 or so posts before me, and I agree with how great they sound and don't think it would be productive to add any more gushing comments.

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KEF C60, KEF C80, KEF 103/2, KEF 101/2, Celestion DL8, Celestion Ditton100, Ohm Walsh 2, Mission 770 Freedom, Mission 700-II, Boston A40

Add's that extra octave or two on the bottom end for low - level listening. Very well made. Fun to play with!

MUST NOT be used for high level listening due to the potential for terminal damage to bass units which will cost £45 each to replace. Slight (Very slight!) loss of transparency, narrowing of stereo width and depth but we are talking negligable here. Rarity - cheaper (inferior) 104/105/107 models readily available on eBay but KUBE 200's are rarer than Hens Teeth. The neighbour's will hate you!!

Kef KUBE 200 Interesting to note the comments regarding the use of the KUBE Active EQ. I have to assume that most of them are from KUBE 104 or similar users. The KUBE I have is the last and (according to Kef themselves), the best model, the 200. The KUBE 200 provides fixed equalisation which extends the loudspeaker’s bass response below its normal, unequalised cut-off point. On the 104/2 the bass cut-off is extended from 55Hz to 20Hz It offers variable low and high frequency parametric equalisation. The HF Contour control adjusts the high frequency level above 1kHz, while the LF Contour control adjusts the low frequency level below 160Hz, controlling the balance between bass and midrange. The LF Contour control applies equalisation to compensate for the actual effects of room boundaries on the perceived bass response of the speaker. The case is extruded aluminium and the front panel is about 8mm thick. The build quality is excellent and is far removed from the little plastic boxes of the other KUBE's and there is a plethora of sockets on the back which allow for bi-amping and level matching due to fixed and variable outputs. One word of warning - DO NOT USE HIGH LEVELS WHEN THE EQ IS SWITCHED IN as there is every chance you will over extend the bass drivers to the point where they are damaged. Cone excursion is significantly increased even at low level so bear this in mind with older examples of speaker (see my other review of the speakers for details on cone - rot). In use, the KUBE really does extend the bottom end and with careful tuning, can help with room problems. It certainly allowed me to remove (read mask) a nasty resonance in my 21' x 12' sparsly furnished room. That said, the eq is only used at low volume where it fills out the bottom end rather like a loudness control but less "in your face". Yes, to the purist this is about as bad as it gets - "tone controls"? "good God, are you MAD"? Well actually the KUBE 200 does work as intended and as long as it is used sensibly and one realises that it does limit the transparency and stereo width a tiny, tiny amount, it is an excellent addition to the 104/2, provided that is you can find one!. Kef do still have power supplies which are commonly lost and they can supply you with a copy of the user guide if you ask nicely. This is because they are nice guys themselves, Paul Drake (Service) and Dave Petit (Technical Support) in particular. Nothing seems too much trouble and they genuinly beleive in the products the company sells.

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Behringer Parametric

Very musical, smooth, solid tight bass with loads of headroom, the very best speakers you can buy for £300

Bass not as strong as I would like at low volumes.

Bought SH for £300. I previously used standmounters (Cura CA10), however after listening to these I would never go back. The best speakers I have ever heard for £300. Deep tight bass, with great timing and punch. Excellent with all types of music. They outperform most sub £2000 speakers with ease, that considering their age is outsatnding. Anyone looking for a pair of good quality flooratanders look no further, an absolute hifi BARGAIN!!!!

Fatigue free listening, Wife friendly (well my partner Jane seems to like them!), Small footprint, serious bass extension "in room" which appears to be at odds with paper specifications, easy to drive - a 25watt valve amp is a match made in heaven unless you are a Megadeath fan with no hearing left.

Errr......none that I can think of. Seriously, I honestly cannot think of an issue other than the fact that they really need 8mm spike threads rather than the 6mm ones Kef fit.

Kef Reference 104.2. Quite possibly the best speakers ever made. Sweeping statement that but if you read the other 50+ reviews and own a pair, it is clear that it's not far from the truth. I bought my pair from a guy in Hastings, UK and they were in >reasonable< condition apart from the foam "doughnut" in the centre of the bass units having rotted away. A trip to the Kef factory in Kent saw four new Raymond Cooke spec reconed units fitted for £147 GBP. While they were there, the crossovers were checked and a "leaky" midrange driver was re-sealed at the rear. The speakers were measured and came fully up to original spec and the guy that did the work (Paul) reckoned he built them originally in 1986. Michell "Big Mother" speaker terminals were also fitted while the cabinets were open. Once home the tired looking rosewood was rubbed down (along the grain!) with 0000 guage wire wool, cleaned with white spirit and then given a rubdown with teak oil. Due to the age of the units (1986) they were thankfully fitted with the wooden framed grilles - later models were plastic framed and cannot be recovered without a hell of a lot of mucking about. New grille cloth was sourced from Maplin Electronics, the old cloth removed (tedious taking out a couple of hundred staples!), the frames re-painted matt black and then recovered with the new cloth and an electric staple gun. The badges were stripped of all paint, repainted satin black and the raised ledgends gently had the paint removed with a file. They now look as good (if not better) than new and the new bass drivers have given them a whole new lease of life with a more extended and tighter bottom end. Kef still support these from a spares perspective but have VERY limted stocks of parts. I used up all but one of the stock of reconed bass units but of course, they will recone my old ones eventually. Tweeters are readily available and are a "self fit" fifteen minute job. The bass units are NOT incidentally, neither are the midrange drivers which according to Paul are "a complete bloody nightmare of a job" and are £45 each with two hours labour. Crossovers do get burned out if abused and are £75 each so go easy. As previously stated, grills are a reasonably easy recover job for the early wooden frame "peg" method of attachment type but the plastic magnetic attachment type are difficult, if not impossible to recover so be aware of this when buying second hand. Bass unit centres will be dodgy so DO NOT touch when cleaning out the bass cavity. If you are at all unsure of the condition of second hand units add up the above figures and reduce the asking price accordingly. Once you get hold of a pair you will not want to let them go. Trust me, these are absolutely fantastic speakers which easily hold their own against many £2000 GBP "modern" units. They work particularly well with valve amp that have a 4ohm tap as they offer a genuine 4ohm resistive load over the whole frequency spectrum. All this talk about needing big transister muscle is absolute crap. They work very, very well with 25watts of class "A" valve power as they are a genuine 92dba. Apparently later bi-wire models sound smoother but quite frankly, the earlier ones are smooth enough - especially with valves and I have always had very mixed results with bi-wire. Bi-amp YES but bi-wire is not worth it IMHO. Beg, borrow or steal the money to buy a pair and keep an eye on eBay. If you see them - don't think twice - buy them. You will not be disapointed. If you are then you are either a Naim fan or need your ears cleaning out. Same thing i suppose!!....

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Highs and Mid-range sounds best playing Vocal Recordings first, Rock Second. Value for money $800 is cheap for this quality, replacement speakers still available.

Base could be stronger at lower volume.

In Short they produce excellent life-like Mid-Range and Highs, the bass comes into it's own mostly at high volume sweet and clear. It is here where you walk a fine line with the tweeters, as I have blown a set on pink floyd; on the subject of repairing them everything is easily accessable. The CD recording quality is everything to these speakers you will end up avoiding listening to your lower quality cd's. The KEF's excell at Vocal Recordings ie: Stacy Kent, Linda Ronstadt,Shirley Horn or Lucinda Williams. Rock very much depends on the Recording, Pink Floyd is astounding. I agree with the power hungry nature. I run them with Odyssey Mono Blocks, Tempest Pre-Amp and Gronberg Cables through-out a Denon multi Disk CD DCM 380 or a Arcam Alpha 6 CD. Odyssey Mono Blocks have more power than is needed for the KEF's. The KEF Cube makes a bass difference but not much. Finally they are beautiful furniture for any room and their small dimension 11" Wide is narrow visual frontal, 16.5" Depth and 36.5" tall

Accurancy, Cleanliness, Durability, Good Looks, Outstanding Sound.

Substantial clean power appetite, demands to be surrounded by equally capable system components, a challenge (or joy) to properly place in busy rooms.

I spent alot of time comparing higher end speakers when I was looking to upgrade my system. I listened to some of the most highly tauted speaker components available at the time for extended periods at elevated volumes and noticed one common trait to all of them. My ears felt tired within 60 to 90 minutes. That is, until I listened to a pair of 104/2's. One hour, two hours, four...I wanted to hear more, not take a break. I can't overstate the accuracy and realizm of the 104/2 speakers. These don't have to resort to funny phase gimmicks to get your attention and keep it. I have had an ongoing love affair with my pair for nearly 15 years and my affection just keeps growing. They are power hungry and demand large feeds and contacts for maximum range. Although I have heard them run with tubes, I have been very satisfied powering them with a 100 watt Carver 1.0m magnetic field amplifier. The amp is rated 100 watts @ 8 ohms/200 watts @ 4 ohms and the 104/2's take the 200 watts in stride. The more clean headroom your amp has, the better your experience will be with these speakers. My musical tastes run a gamut from new age to hard rock to classical and back again and I have to say that these speakers handle all but the most absurdly overloaded tracks with authority and confidence. I do recommend that you acquire a Kube unit to realize the full potential of the lower end of these jewels, especially if your room is large, or very open. I have used a Kube since day one, but I imagine the same can be accomplished with a high quality EQ with a little effort. If clarity, accuracy, detail, and just plain clean loud music are a priority for you, you should consider a pair of 104/2's to go along with the rest of your high end components.

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Kef 104/2's that says it all!! Just listen to a pair!!

Buying them for the first time was a thrill! Just an awsome memory now.

I was looking for a good pair of speakers back in 1985.I was comparing different brands and models and then came the Kef 104/2's! They brought the music to a whole new level! I had to laugh because there was no way I was prepaired to spend that much money on a pair of speakers. I had no place to listen to them! (living in a apartment at the time)LOL. So I went home and the next day I went back and bought them! There was no way I was not having them. The design is sexy but, most of all the sound is amazing. I do use the Kef Kube most of the time for the increased lows I personally like the Kube. So, for about 16 years I had to baby the volume until recently I found a new home for the Kef's. I call it loudville! P.S. They look brand new still. Love'm.

Warm clear sound from a tube pre-amp.

Need some clean strong SS power.

I've had 104/2's for well over ten years. I still cannot believe how the 104/2's step up to the plate with each improvement I make to my system. The sound gets clearer, wider, deeper and more engaging. Like magic, you forget all about loooking for new speakers. They seem to work best with a tube pre (pas-4 a great match) and a SS power amp with a minimum of 100 real watts a channel.

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Everything

Nothing

Just to update. I added the Arcam FMJ p amp with hugh results. These speakers do need power, I'm convinced now. A whole new layer was revealed just by adding 15 watts but up to 740mv now (100watts). I still think a bit more power would be great, another 15 and I'm home. I think I will bi amp with mono blocks, another FMJ bridged should do the trick. Bass, treble, imaging, everthing has improved 50% with this addition. I am home as far as sound is concerned. I cannot recomend these speakers enough. I bought on reviews you should too.

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Tannoy

In the review. For the price a hifi steal. I have mentioned bass problems but hey, my room shakes. The bass is dynamic not in your face.With up firing woofers that's what you get.

Get the KEF Kube 100 for 5 more hz in bass and I recomend min 85 watt amps at 700mvs. They require alitle power to dance but only if you want to go really high. Otherwise they are very efficient. Play with positioning to gain alittle treble and bass. But hey these are minor things.

Well, to begin they don't suck the power of a 4ohm 200watt speaker, very efficient, 92 sensitivity. Low bass rating 55hz, I recomend you add the KEF Kube to did out 5 more hz, it's effective and really completes the speaker. I purchased them on the recomendations of this forum unheard and I have no regrets. These are a reference speaker which plays music not head banger stuff. Can play all music well but they are not cerwin vega's. I find they excell with older non digitalized music, I guess because that's when they were made for in 1991. I am planning rewireing with silver in the interior, but not because they need it, just to give them a face lift and I've read it's very easy and others have recomended this with these speakers and rave the gains. I will post the results in a few months or so. I have made 2 upgrades to cables and these speakers took them easily with gains. Probably more room for upgrades if they took them that easily. Went to Wire World eclipse 111 speaker cable and wow and then Nordost Red dawn interconnects again wow. I had a struggle with bass authority but then tried positioning and the bass really came through tight and deep. Balance and clarity are their strong points and don't stress with any music or any frequency. They take it all without distortion. I use teh with an 85 watt 700mvs amp but they could use more. 100 would be great but a pre power at 120watts is probably the best. My amp does start to stress at extreme volumes but no clipping but I'm sure I hear alittle bass loss. Power problem is not the speakers fault. Overall, thanks audioreview forum, I ove them an dliver all that was said about them. For a 11 year old speaker amazing, they are a classic as said. I can recomend that anybody would enjoy these speakers, they are fun. They really know how to play music and for those middle age guys withe music collections pre 1990 buy without reservation they are fantastic in their presentation. Really ahead of their time.

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More like auditioned. had trouble finding speakers at 2 or 3 times the price to sing like these guys.