KEF Blade 2 as replacement for Reference 107/2


A former owner of KEF Reference 107/2s posted that he moved to Blades, and that it is the obvious progression. I really love the sound of my 107/2s, and John Atkinson and Tom Norton raved about them in their reviews a few decades ago, but I'm wondering if it's time to move on. I haven't heard either the Blade or Blade 2s. Anyone had the opportunity to compare 107/2s with Blade 2s? I've had a lot of opportunity to compare the sound of the 107/2s with LS50s supplemented by Velodyne HGS-10 subs. The LS50s are amazing speakers, but not quite 107/2s, especially for large orchestrations.

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If you exclude the bass of the Blades (play something acoustic) and compare to the LS50 the Blades are still way better. The Blades disappear and give the best soundstage I have heard. It also has the largest sweet spot of any speaker I have heard. Compare the Wilson Alexa to a Blade and you will see the difference in sweet sport size.

The KEF Reference line is also very good. Not Blade level but the Uni-Q driver is also excellent on the Reference line. The lack of coherence on the Blades is a new one to me. Everyone’s ears are different, mine love the Blades.

I heard the older top of the line KEF model at a dealer and I was not that enamored. The Blades and LS50 I love.


My 107/2s are driven by a Parasound JC 2 BP preamp and JC 1 monoblocks, LS50s by an Ayre KX-5 Twenty preamp and VX-5 Twenty amp.  I suppose either setup would be suitable for driving Blade 2s. 
Although I have no experience with the 107/2s, I do have a Pair of Blade 2's powered by a chord hugo 2 > c22 pre amp > 2x Mcintosh 275 in mono.  The speakers do truly disappear and the soundstage is incredible.  I never really thought a pair of speakers could place a singer or an instrument with with such precision.  Sometimes I swear the must be a center speaker between the blades.  It has been a long time since I've stopped trying to replace some component, but for at least now, I'm there.  Perhaps a pair of mc2301s one day, but benefit/cost is getting marginal at this point and the equipment too big.  

I also have a KEF LS50 on my imac with a chord mojo, decware zma amp (40w tube) and a small subwoofer (velodyne minivee 8").  I'm not a fan of subwoofers unless necessary but the little ls50's can only move so much air.   I've tried the wireless LS50's but wound up returning them after a week.  They had much better low end but they just didn't sound magical to me.  This could have been due to tube amplification on my passives, also partly to blame for the weaker low end.  

Anyway, if you love the LS50's, the Blade's are another level.  I find both of them to be amazing.  I had a pair of Reference 1's for about a year and I would describe those as being close to what Blades sound like, but still missing the low end.  If you happen to be in NYC, you can come hear them.
I have heard the Blades (not the Blade 2s), several times.  I had never liked them much.  I found the sound pinched, congested and centered in the upper midrange.  Then I heard them driven by Odyssey Stratos Mono Extremes.  It was like another speaker altogether.  Point of the post is that, with the Blades, amplification selection is critical.  Not just watts, but the quality of the watts.