Modern equivalent of KEF Reference 102/2?

[jamesd]

So I picked up some KEF Reference 102/2's on Craigslist many months back and there's a lot I like about them. They're much faster than the Snell and Vienna Acoustics speakers I usually run, and they work best backed up to the wall behind them.

I'm wondering what a modern equivalent to the 102/2's might be? I had the LS50's for a while, and I liked them, but these seem to do scale better and feel a little more natural.

 

[Craig B]

I'm not certain that there exists a modern equivalent; at least, not on build quality for the (relative) price.

Maybe small passive ATCs, or perhaps those industrial looking Tannoy dual concentric models with the angled side corners...System 1000 or System 1200.

The Tannoys are a bit fugly by comparison to the KEFs (or to most anything else) though.

 

[oldius]

My favourite small speaker is the Kef Reference 103.2 which does so many things right. Fundamentally, it is exceptionally well balanced.

Before I knew about the 103.2, I demoed several small speakers in my old house. By some margin, the best I heard was the ATC SCM20, a passive design, I think it was the ASL. It weighed a ton for its size and was remarkably free of colouration and cabinet resonance. It was a very impressive speaker indeed to my ears.

 

[zippy]

You didn't say your budget, but in terms of current models, you'd have to go a long way to beat the KEF Reference 1.

 

[jamesd]

You didn't say your budget, but in terms of current models, you'd have to go a long way to beat the KEF Reference 1.

I'm not speaker shopping at the moment (but aren't we always?). I'm wondering what it is about these speakers that I find appealing and what other speakers might possess the same qualities.

 

[kondo]

I liked my 102.2 and 103.3,104.2,happy days.

 

[Jonathan]

always thought the 103.2s were pretty cool looking ... probably not the height in reproduction but likely not terrible - would be lovely for a classic 'period' naim set up maybe

 

[oldius]

always thought the 103.2s were pretty cool looking ... probably not the height in reproduction but likely not terrible - would be lovely for a classic 'period' naim set up maybe

They are significantly better than you allude to. I preferred them to nearly every 'small' speaker I heard, including several >£5k. I don't own a pair so I have no axe to grind either.

 

[Hoopsontoast]

201/2s, although need a little space behind to work best but they do have built in room-boundry compensation if you need it.
They are probably one of the best (least compromised) real world speaker I've heard and owned.


System by Robert Seymour, on Flickr

 

[jamesd]

always thought the 103.2s were pretty cool looking ... probably not the height in reproduction but likely not terrible - would be lovely for a classic 'period' naim set up maybe

I keep thinking about this. I’ve never heard anything Naim (I’m in the US). I thought why not go all out on the qualities that I like in these speakers....and my mind went to Naim, with having only read about their amplification.

Right now my KEF’s are in a secondary TV setup with a weird hodgepodge of what-I-had-laying-around gear: Nakamichi Receiver 3 as a preamp into a big Rotel power amp. Source is Roon/Tidal via Chromecast into an old Emotica DAC (it’s great!).

I don’t think I’d buy a LP12 being in the US, but I have a RP6 I could use as an analog source.

What would be the absolute cheapest way to dip my toes into the Naim pool just to see if I like it?

 

[Jonathan]

I keep thinking about this. I’ve never heard anything Naim (I’m in the US). I thought why not go all out on the qualities that I like in these speakers....and my mind went to Naim, with having only read about their amplification.

Right now my KEF’s are in a secondary TV setup with a weird hodgepodge of what-I-had-laying-around gear: Nakamichi Receiver 3 as a preamp into a big Rotel power amp. Source is Roon/Tidal via Chromecast into an old Emotica DAC (it’s great!).

I don’t think I’d buy a LP12 being in the US, but I have a RP6 I could use as an analog source.

What would be the absolute cheapest way to dip my toes into the Naim pool just to see if I like it?

where are you in the US? i'm in los angeles ...well if you're ever around these parts ... you know ... at any rate naim gear tends to be much more plentiful in the northeast as there have been lots of dealers up that way - or near any canadian border - as there's lots of second hand naim gear there too. If you watch the ebay listings you'd be likely able to pick something up very cheaply ... I was quite pleased with the last set i got (62/140) for around $550 or so ... you may well do as well or better ...

i should mention that i didn't have any PARTICULAR reason to suggest KEF might be good bedmates for naim ... but rather that they seem to go very well timeframe-wise ... in a museological sort of way ... might well be stunning together though ... I would rely more on others to come forward with their assessements

 

[alanbeeb]

I love the 103.2 and found they absolutely bested the atc 19s in a home demo, despite being over 35 yrs old.
But they look like quite different design of speaker to the 102.2.... the 103.2 is sealed box with separate 8' woofer and tweeter, not ported dual concentric like the 102.2. why are there so few sealed box designs around nowadays?