The KEF Model 101 Mini-Monitor of 1979

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• Sheee-oot. I had a pair of these in the mid-80s. Sweet, low coloration for the time, but limited dynamics. Good imaging once you ditched the grills. Like most amps and speakers of that era, terrible wire connections. The B-110 woofer was the midrange driver used in the 105. It needed a powerful amp to get it to sing (81dB!), but then you had to be careful of breaking it with too much juice. This was considered as an alternative to the LS 3/5a BBC monitor; some considered it to be better.

• I own a pair since a year now. First time I heard these at a second hand seller I was immediately blown away. Added a small REL quake subwoofer. Driven by NAD C372. I find this a brilliant combination, but most of that is due to the KEFs. Is is just amazing that speaker of almost 40 years old are so good. The combination of KEF with subwoofer is easy match because the KEFs do not pretend to have bass. KEF also do not use bass reflex making them easy to position.

• I forgot to add one more very important practical fact. These speakers are so small that also my wife finds them acceptable in the living room. The subwoofer can be easily put out of sight due to lack of directionality at low frequency.

• I heard these gems way back in my teen years going from one audio shop to the next trying out speakers with my old man. It was one thing we both loved to do. Our favorite test song was Bruce Cockburn's - Wondering where the Lions Are. These small but heavy speakers are simply mind blowing! I remember my jaw dropping. The smooth bass roll off and huge sound! One day I hope to own a pair.