Any love (or dislike) for KEF Carlton II ?

[wulbert]

I have a pair of these (with added super-tweeters) but they never seem to figure much in discussion.

Are they rated as being any good? I like them. Bass is perhaps a bit ill-defined, they are nice with voices, easy to listen to. I don't use them because they have been deemed "too big" so they sit unused in storage.

I've read elsewhere that they were second from top of the KEF's range at the time but they seem to have a low profile. Any one else own or owned a pair? Any opinions?




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[madmike]

Funny looking supertweeter if I may say so....bass unit is an ABR apparently.

 

[wulbert]

Funny looking supertweeter if I may say so....bass unit is an ABR apparently.

Yes, large bass unit is a passive radiator. Super tweeters are Taket Batpure apparently.

TAKET BATPURE Supertweeter - Mini Project

Hello everyone. I fancied doing a little mini project with a second pair of these excellent little supertweeters which shall be used with my 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold speakers housed in Lockwood cabs. I originally ordered a pair of these months ago and found them to be benficial with the Tannoys...

theartofsound.net

I assume the super tweeters are wasted on me since I can't hear above 12-13 khz, although some people say they add to the sound in other ways.
No other replies. I seem to have bought a pair of the world's most uninteresting speakers!

 

[colasblue]

They look exactly the same as the Carlton III except for the livery. The Carlton 3 was a top model in the Kef budget series which started with the Coda III.

Is that real wood veneer? - if so it's bit better than the vinyl wrap of the later version.

They'll be decent enough but weren't one of the rated models at the price point (£200-£300 ish in the 1980's).

At that time it was Monitor audio 352's, Mission 737's and 770's, Heybrook HB2's, Celestion SL6's, LS3/5/a's and Linn Kans that were the reviewers' favourites.

The star of the Kef range at the time was the 104.2 which was real wood veneer and £500. Expensive for then but incredible value if you had the space.

 

[wulbert]

Is that real wood veneer? - if so it's bit better than the vinyl wrap of the later version.

I'm pretty sure it is real wood I'll have a look later to check.

Thank you for your detailed reply. I wasn't sure how these fitted in to the historical line up.