Vintage KEF vs new Salk


Hi all,
I recently started a thread asking if posters think I could do better with modern speakers vs my KEF Reference 3.2s. Unfortunately, my speakers need refurbishing to sound the way they should, so now my follow-up question is: am I better off sinking  bucks into what I have, perhaps upgrading some elements, or should I get one of the Salks I've been looking at? I just emailed Jim Salk to ask about the silk tower, song3 encore, and Veracity 2 and ST, so I'm sure I'll get useful info about my options there, based on the details of my room and such.
I don't have the urge to repeat all the info I provided in my earlier thread about my other equipment, what I listen to, etc. Perhaps someone could simply speak generally about how the two options might sound relative to one another in any room, as well as the likely cost of a non-DIY KEF fix-up.
Thanks,
Marc
128x128m669326
The crossover situation is actually easy.

e-mail kef and ask for crossover schematics.  They’re fgreat about that.

then e-mail the schematics to madisound and they’ll give you a quote.  
You can usually, easily, swap crossovers out yourself.

Still, if you like the idea of an open and clear sound with tighter bass, go new.  Salks are great and you can get an even better deal used.  There are a few pairs of used Salks right now for under $4k.  Any of them would probably suffice!

Wait time on a build from salk can be 6 months... ask hilde45.
Where did you see used Salks? I looked and didn't find any that would work for me.
Thanks.
As I stated in your other post, your KEF Reference Model 3.2s are fantastic speakers and would be hard to beat. The Salk speakers are very nice sounding speakers with wonderful cabinetry. However, they have a different sonic signature compared to the KEFs. Personally, I prefer the KEFs but your experience may be different.

Your KEFs are easily refurbished. The midrange drivers have rubber surrounds and do not need replacing. The internal cavity-coupled bass drivers also have rubber surrounds and do not need replacing. However the donuts on the bass drivers are foam and might need replacing. The donuts in my Reference Model Ones and Twos are still fine. The major item that should be replaced is the ferrofluid in the NT25 tweeters. Several people have done this with pictures on Audiokarma. I have not done mine yet. I did replace the ferrofluid in my KEF 104/2s and it was a simple job and took about 1/2 hour for each speaker. The caps in the crossovers may need replacing but I have found that they are typically ok with these speakers.

You stated they need refurbishing. What doesn't sound right with them? Typically it is the high end getting dull when the ferrofluid begins to dry up in the tweeters.