Kef Reference Model 1 in rosewood veneer

[Lawrence001]

I bought these in AVforums as a stopgap but I've now gone standmount in my main setup as I only sit about 6 feet from the speakers which fire across the narrow width of the room and I found they work best.

These were the smallest floorstander in Kefs top range and have a bass woofer inside that fires through the port. They are the least boxy/phasey speakers I have owned. They also have the famous point source uniq tweeter for outstanding imaging. The veneer and cabinetry are superb. They are known for their smooth non fatiguing sound.

The one issue when I bought them was a compressed grille on one tweeter. I pulled it out with a safety pin but as you can see it looks a bit untidy. These were voiced with the main grille on so you won't see it in place.

I am looking for my money back on them so a bargain £235 collected from north London.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170204/7040688ec91a36f83adb2e60c9d5d6aa.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170204/15307d02877970561a098485ea7518a9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170204/7ff85a5c2624709b2bc340aef7f5b42c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170204/d4f51854047d1d6914495042f2005027.jpg
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[Lawrence001]

Couple of small marks on the back. (The white patch is just the light reflecting.) The tweeter grille does not affect the sound of course it's just a minor cosmetic issue. I think I got an absolute bargain here and I'm passing it on.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170204/c7ca0b2c6871f3c674a9619a4e1db773.jpg
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[struth]

Easy fix that couple of chips. Nice looking speakers these. Love the wood. Looks to be a bargain to me. Rosewood i think and was an expensive extra

[Lawrence001]

Yes I think the rosewood came late in the day the early options were black ash and "rosetta burr", a man made veneer from real wood compressed under high pressure. I believe the black ash was initially £995 but may have gone up by the time the rosewood option was released. These were £1295 then.

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[johnB]

These are cracking speakers - I've had a pair for 15-20 years or so (black ones), still use them regularly. The rosewood on these ones looks beautiful. Someone is in for a bargain.
Cheers
John

[Lawrence001]

This is now on hold as maybe the grass ain't greener as I thought. Need to try moving the standmounts to find a better spot.

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[struth]

Surprised no one bought em. I would have if in area and had the cash

[Lawrence001]

Thanks Grant I will try and update the thread tonight if I can do some comparison but as you know its always best to live with them both a little while. My trichord pulsar dac swung it the Ref's way but the MF trivista dac did have a synergy with the XQ1's.

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[Lawrence001]

Well I realised that I moved the xq1s inwards to fit the ref 1s in which had brought them in front of the fireplace so the wall was about 9" behind them instead of nearly 2 feet, this was having a bad effect on the bass. If there is any serious interest in the ref 1s please PM me as its now 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Basically the refs have a tighter bass as you would expect.from a 3 way while the xq1s have the "hypertweeter" at my head height which I prefer.

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[Lawrence001]

Now definitely withdrawn, sorry!

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[struth]

:lol::D