New or Old

@derekdick that's awesome.  Like I said, I really love my 107's.  Had them nearly a decade, and most speakers don't make it a year in my house LOL.

I will satisfy your curiosity by letting you know I went with the KEFs and have been very happy with them. 

Everything else in the system has been upgraded since the original post, but the KEFs are staying.

curious what the OP ended up with?  @derekdick 

I was always curious about those JBL's, but I LOVE my KEF 107's.  Don't think I'll ever part with them, even as other speakers come and go through my home - as many have in the past decade!  Legacy Focus, Quad 57's, Beveridge, Apogee, Janszen, RCA LC-1's, Tannoy Arden, Sony SS-M7's, Bozak, probably several I'm forgetting.  I prefer the 107's to them all.  Don't get me wrong, all have their strengths and weaknesses...there is no perfect speaker.  The 107's have the best balance of sheer power/dynamics, deep bass, correct timbre of instruments, 3D soundstage (not flat, there is depth/texture to it), and nice smooth midrange.  Also not too large to be obtrusive, and I happen to like the styling, with I think is a bit MCM.  Finally, they can do both music and home theater justice (without a subwoofer!) and not all speakers can say the same.

Derek, message me..i have a great option for you. 

For that kind of $ you could do a more modern speaker, something that has good drivers and crossovers in it.  I’ve heard that the crossovers in the kefs are pricey if you have to replace the caps in there.

But yeah Bro, $1500 will buy you quite a few good speakers if you look preowned.

Yes the Kube certainly gives you a fuller bass response but it significantly detracts from the quality of the speaker. Perhaps with some better internal components or there may even be some information on mods or improvements listed online. I have listened to the 103s, 104s and 107 with and without the Kube and the difference was significant.  

any kef woofers from that period will have the surrounds replaced. I sold my pair for $1050. They were the R107/2 and the kube was included with grills. They were listed months with very little interest as those who like them wait to ‘score’ a pair. $800. Tops since they’re 30 years old. 

The KEF 107 is a fantastic speaker and hard to beat if everything is working properly. The Kube is essential with them if you want the full bass response. The T33 tweeter will probably need the ferrofluid replaced. It was an easy job on my 104/2s and only took about 30 minutes for each tweeter. The B110 midrange driver should not require anything. If the woofers have been reformed than they should be fine. The only other thing is the caps in the crossovers. They may need replacing. However, I have found the caps typically to be ok in this generation of speakers. 

Hi Elliot, yeah that is the sale, $1100 for a pair delivered. KEFs are $1300, with another pair at $1800 for sale a little further away.
I am of course looking for a great deal and a great sound.
WAF is covered, she would prefer the all black of the JBL, but will tolerate the rosewood KEFs (especially if I let her wrap them in black cloth or vinyl), so no issues there. 
Can locate them 6-12 inches from wall, so maybe KEF would be better that close.

I think I am looking for someone to say something definitive - the KEFs are ruined because the foam is not the original, or the KEFs are reference speakers and would be $10k in today's dollars and are leagues ahead of $2k new speakers (and considering the JBLs go on sale like this once a year, are the really just $1k speakers anyway?) or that the JBLs are miles better due to new tech and design and materials, and are warrantied for 5 years, and the KEFs could fail any day now and not be repairable.
Stupid pandemic, I want to be out touring places and auditioning speakers.

I guess the JBLs seem the safer bet, as you say, a few years then move on to something else.
But will I always be wondering how good the KEFs really are?.

Noromance:- maybe, but I also love a bargain and getting $4k speakers (1985 prices) for $1300 could be a bargain, or could be a money pit. It really is a question of which will sound best in my home, and it seems the chance to audition both there is not going to be practical.

So many choices, so many hard decisions.

assume you are talking about this JBL sale

https://www.jbl.com/loudspeakers/STUDIO+590.html

You can pass on both, keep looking, but for around $500. a bit more for the KEF, either is a lot of speaker

perhaps stop, ask yourself, are you looking for a great deal or a great sound? New with warranty, or risk?

Only return shipping involved with the JBL’s, audition IN YOUR SPACE, I bet you more than likely will keep them. At that price, you could listen to them for a few years, sell them, move on.

Assume either would be darn good: WAF, is there any wife acceptance factor involved? Which speaker do you want to look at every day for years?

I wouldn't risk the KEFs. I get the feeling you wouldn't either and are looking for confirmation here. 

Thanks for the responses and suggestions.
It looks like he has a number of ads up, so selling quite few pairs. Not sure if that is good or bad news. Is he a collector/audiophile playing with many options, does he do a lot of yard sales, is he well practiced at repairs. I asked more questions of him, waiting on the response.

I have repaired subs myself, so hopefully can spot if there is an issue, if he will take the top/bottom off for visibility
Otherwise it will be down to the audition, I am not buying them without hearing them for sure.

Yup, ferrofluid, but there is guide to refilling, so I can likely do that myself. When you say you have not heard a JBL you like, have you heard the Studio range, they do seem to get good reviews?

They are the originals, 107. Online reading suggests the 107/2 were not sold in the same numbers and are hard to find.

I guess it is going to come down to my gut feeling on meeting the seller and then the audition.

107 or 107/2? The .2 was a bit bright, but a good speaker. No new replacement drivers so I wouldn’t invest to much.

In its day the KEF 107 was a very good speaker. The Kube is terrible and should be rebuilt if not just tossed. I cant remember if the tweeters use ferro fluid and if so the fluid might need to be replaced. I have never heard a JBL speaker that I liked and think that the KEFs would be much more natural sounding if not a bit too polite in the highs. The other member makes a good suggestion listening for problems with the woofers. 

 

SEAS new high tech drivers are  tried and proven.
, Old is old, dated, My Thors are cerca 2002 and still command top performers. 
I thought my Philips 2 ways from 1981 were top top dawgs,,til I got the Thors next to them, and like WOW,,, then i heard just how shoddy the Philips were. 
However I bet those Philips with high Mundorf caps, would perform alot better than the original stock caps,, So to answer, look to new high tech speakers for true fidelity. 

WHY, after 6 months, is the owner flipping them? I would want an explanation I find believable. Something might be amiss.

Nearby, you can mask up and hear them? If not, and cannot return, no way would I risk it.

Take your most bass heavy source to push/hear the woofers, and what you know best for full range evaluation.

I have re-coned my woofers, and new surround of a sub cone, I know some of what’s involved. It's more time consuming removing the old glue, not too tricky. I would ask to see his shop, that will give you a feeling about how handy/skilled he is.

Be sure to get close, off to the side while playing, and listen for any noise from the coils, if not centered right, the coil can rub in the gap. If not, they were done right. Feel/listen, any air movement at the edges?

If you don’t have any bass heavy content, even if that’s not what you listen to, you gotta know. Consider, you might sell them yourself some time.

You could get hold of some of these (CD versions) pronto to test the bass. (all keepers anyway)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Bass_(album)

and crackling drums

https://www.discogs.com/Mickey-Hart-Planet-Drum/release/9697860

and frequencies and imaging of 3 guitarists (side 2, tracks 2,3)

https://www.discogs.com/Al-Di-Meola-John-McLaughlin-Paco-De-Lucia-Friday-Night-In-San-Francisco/mast...

my favorite female voice for mids (and wonderful music/musicians)

https://www.discogs.com/Cassandra-Wilson-Blue-Light-Til-Dawn/release/3188976




Most KEF’s are ineffieient, needing lots of power, this model is a fairly easy efficiency of 90db/1m/1w,

so the KEF’s can be driven by mid powered amp IF the amp can easily handle the KEF’s 4 ohm rating.

I would pick the KEF’s over the JBL’s, however, that is a heck of a sale on the JBL’s, and you can return therm.