Speakers Head-to-Head - KEF Cresta 2 VS KEF 103.2

Just picked up this beautiful pair of KEF Cresta 2 speakers off Craigslist here in the LA area and boy...are they sweet.

Speakers - KEF Reference Three

KEF Reference 3, KEF Reference Three, KEF 3, if only there existed a standard name for these speakers I'd have had a much easier time researching them. As it stands though, I couldn't have made a better choice.

My appreciation with KEF started over a year ago with my purchase of the KEF Reference 105 series 2 speakers. These blew me away, and still do to this day. The modern Reference Series had high ratings and I was pleased to find a pair of the three's on Audiogon this past week.

How do they sound? Amazing. Brilliant. Commanding bass, crystal clear highs. This is a tiny listening space representing about one half of my loft. These speakers are much too big for this room but the way I trade out speakers these will find their way downstairs as soon as the wife takes off shopping for the afternoon :)

More on their sound later as I have more time for critical listening. Suffice to say, I'm blown away - and very pleased with this purchase.

Speakers - KEF 105.2

Next to my Vandersteen's, these are my favorite speakers. The KEF 105 Series 2 were way ahead of their time in regards to design. There is an inherent problem with these speakers, however, that should be mentioned. The woofer material is heavy and this, over years, causes the woofer to sag and for it to rub inside against the voice coil. This causes distortion and renders the speaker useless. BUT, as I found out from a forum post, there is a way to prolong the life of the speakers. Simply rotate the woofer each year. I've done this once already as the speaker, indeed, started to rub, and the pair is due again for another rotation. I have to wonder just how many rotations I'll get before the woofer material fatigues to the point of permanent sag. KEF doesn't support these any more and the only way I've found to get a replacement woofer is via eBay or private sellers.

How do they sound? Magnificent! These have fantastic dynamic range. The bass enclosre design provides tight, powerful bass, and the separate mid and tweeters are clean, crisp, non-fatigueing. These are wonderful speakers. You don't need a sub with these at all. The KEF 105.2 sound wonderful at low volume as well. That's how I usually play these as they are part of a "loft" system that I turn on during early weekend mornings. I have these paired with my McIntosh MC 2100 and an Adcom Pre-amp.

Update: HiFiCollector.com community member, Tony sent in this link to a KEF user forum - great info there - thanks Tony!

If you have any stories or photos of your KEF 105.2 speakers, please leave a comment or email me.

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KEF Audio's 105.2 official page.