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KEF 103.2 - what to expect?

I was looking through my father's basement and discovered his old KEF 103.2 speakers gathering dust. From what I have read on the web, these are great speakers.

My current system uses an Arcam CD73 player, paired with an Exposure Super XV integrated amp, hooked up to a pair of Wharfedale Pacific Evo 8 speakers. I've spent a while developing that budget system and like it very much for listening to classic jazz.

I was thinking of using the KEFs on my "second system." I have a NAD 320BEE integrated amp laying around, along with an Exposure CD player (don't know the model, doesn't say) or a NAD 521 CD player.

3 questions:

(1) Is the NAD integrated amp powerful enough to run the KEFs? I noticed the KEFs are 8 ohm speakers, which I believe means they are harder to drive.

(2) One of the KEF speaker tweeter's looks slightly damaged. Not torn, but there is a fold/crease in the tweeter fabric. I haven't listened to them yet, but is there anything I should listen for to see if the tweeter is damaged?

(3) Anyone ever used an Exposure CD player (probably from the same time-era as the Exposure Super XV integrated amp I have)? I presume it is a step up from the entry level NAD 521 which served me well for many years.

Thanks,
David
dmloring
xiekitchen
821 posts
 
"Extremely bright" "fatiguing" ?? sorry that doesn't seem right.. cables? cd player? don't know why it should sound that way to you..
Yes they should accept bananas fine.
dmloring OP
34 posts
 
Xiekitchen -- why doesn't that seem right? The sound is open, yet thin and sharp, without the warmth I am familiar with in my current main system.
bongofury
1,160 posts
 
Like your Dad, I had KEF 102s and 104s driven by NAD 3200 power envelope amp. A gift from Pink Floyd and A & M Studios in 1987. Just gave them to my daughter in 2007 and they still lumber on.

Great mid ranges with KEF; true BBC studio monitor. Made for long listening sessions.

The firm's owner died shortly after your speakers were made and the company was bought by a Hong Kong company. The quality went down. In the early 1980s, KEF made the speaker components for the BBC, not Harbeth and Tannoy, so the 103s were the real deal.

Much has changed in two decades. With that said, the new Neat speakers and Spendor A1 and A6 speakers, two English brands, sound very similar to the KEFs from twenty years ago.

Remember to secure the KEF Cube, a sister piece of electronics that allowed you make many adjustments to the speakers. It is a small black metalic box with two buttons on the front.

By the way, the Exposure 2010 integrated amp and CD player are wonderful components that will marry well.
6550c
393 posts
 
"Remember to secure the KEF Cube"

That's what I was thinking too. Didn't those KEFs come with some type of bass boost "black box" that was inserted into the reciever's tape loop? Maybe that is why they sound somewhat bright.
6550c
393 posts
 
I think those speakers had bases (not bass this time, lol) that were to be filled with sand or lead shoot to provide "mass damping"...or was that another model?
Was said to help reduce sound coloration.

(I never really owned KEFs, but a former coworker used to rave daily about his KEFs and details such as this.)
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