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Is KEF no longer relevant?

It seems to me that 20 years ago Kef was quite a respected speaker manufacturer. Granted I knew far less back then about audiophilia, but for someone just starting out, that was my impression at the time.

Although Kef still makes speakers in the $5,000 - $15,000 range, they never seem to be the subject of serious discussion here on the 'Gon. These discussions are dominated by a group of the usual 20 or so suspects that we hear about over and over again. And no disrespect meant against that group - they are mostly, if not all, great speakers to be sure. But Kef certainly at one time was a pioneering and extrememly respected brand. What happened? Is this because they lost their "sound" after Raymond Cooke died? (an accusation I remember reading somewhere) Or are they just perceived as a "yesterday's news" brand?

No doubt there are many happy Kef owners out there who may answer this thread telling me how great their speakers are, even by today's standards, and I have no argument with them - I am a former Kef owner and very fond of the brand - but they clearly are not "darlings" of this forum. What happened?
studioray
ironskull
2 posts
 
I own a pair Kef ref 203 towers for L/R front, Kef uni-Qs surround, and Kef kht-9000 back.
My front center is a Bohlender-Graebener 220i planar-ribbon.
The BG 220i sound is so much better that I intend to replace all the Kefs with BG Z-92 towers and Z1 bookcases.
stewie
187 posts
 
This will echo a lot of what's been said already, but the one pair of Kefs I owned, the Reference Threes, were terrific speakers. I replaced them with a pair of Von Schweikert VR4 HSE's, and the the VRs certainly have more dynamic range, the KEF's can't be beat for the seamlessness of the sound; the mid-range was especially impressive. I don't know about the new KEFs, but older stuff holds up remarkably well.
duece1
5 posts
 
They are still relevant - thanks to eBay and Audiogon... I remember when I was a kid in college, early 80's, dreaming of owning a pair or 104/2s when I got that great job. Instead, I got married and got busy with life. After my divorce 3 years ago I finally got my first pair of KEFs for my apartment... some Crestas. And then a pair of 102/2's that are on stands in my bedroom. They are lovely. I don't know about their new speakers - I have never been overly impressed with what I've heard in the showrooms - but I still know I will eventually own some 104s, or something that sounds like the ones I heard 30 years ago. Hopefully they will have a KEF badge on them but, even if not, the sound is the thing. Whether they can still build speakers like the 104, KEF set the bar so they still are having a positive effect.
phaelon
1,052 posts
 
Back in the 1980s I was reading "Stereo Review" and "Audio" magazines the way young people read about exotic automobiles - I knew I couldn't afford this stuff but I loved music and dreaming cost me about a $1.75 at the newsstand. When I worked up the nerve to visit some audio shops to actually hear what I was reading about, I was mostly disappointed. What I was hearing didn't live up to the hype IMO. Then I heard the Kef 104.2s and, at the risk of sounding over dramatic, I now had a mission. So off to Radio Shack and a pair of LX5s I went (Did you expect a fairy tale). I'm happy for this thread and to find others have warm memories of the 104.2s. I still feel some regret that I never got to own them.
aktchi
274 posts
 
What many of us remember are not the speakers per se but the memories of our younger years... :) Going back to the speakers, KEF 104's belonged to the British family of sound, mainly "2 cubic feet" boxes. Directly or idirectly they all benefited from the research at BBC labs. IMHO the best representative of this group was Spendor BC1. Its direct successor Spendor SP1/2r was recently introduced.

However, at some point Harbeth overtook Spendor as the inheritor of that heritage, the extent of which is symbolized by the fact the that the son of Spendor founders moved to Harbeth. New companies like Proac also came along.

Another important point in this context is that when dollar was strong, the best speaker values often came from Britain, at least in this budget range. Now, with much weaker dollar, the best value may well lie with American speakers.
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