Back in 1987, I bought a pair of KEF speakers and an NAD receiver, and
their performance (in terms of what I can perceive as "good" sound)
has been fine. But a couple weeks ago, one of the tweeters fell out
of its mount, so I need to either repair or replace the speakers.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how to decide which to do.

Is repairing a 17-year-old loudspeaker like repairing a 17-year old
car: you can expect something else to go wrong a month later? Or
would it be like repairing a 17-year-old computer: the products have
gotten so much better since then, you might as well bite the bullet
and buy a whole new machine? Or is the cost of repairing old stereo
speakers generally low compared to the cost of replacing them with a
similar-quality model? Is speaker repair something that any hi-fi
store can do? If not, how can I find a good repair shop? (I live
near Philly, PA.)

Part of my decision is also based on changing needs. The KEF speakers
are about two feet high, and one food deep and wide. When I bought
them, I didn't care about their size. Now I'm married, and we have
the stereo in our tiny living room, so if we could find a tiny speaker
that sounded as good (or better), we might be willing to cough up the
dough to buy new speakers instead of replacing the old ones.

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions.

Regards,

John

Exactly what went wrong such that they need repair ? -- most KEF drivers
show up on EBay and there is nothing irrepairable in the crossover.

With respect to size -- there are physical tradeoffs between bass extension
and the physical volume of a speaker cabinet. There are no free lunches, no
matter what Bose tells you.

Jack

"j.stevens" wrote in message
...
Back in 1987, I bought a pair of KEF speakers and an NAD receiver, and
their performance (in terms of what I can perceive as "good" sound)
has been fine. But a couple weeks ago, one of the tweeters fell out
of its mount, so I need to either repair or replace the speakers.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how to decide which to do.

Is repairing a 17-year-old loudspeaker like repairing a 17-year old
car: you can expect something else to go wrong a month later? Or
would it be like repairing a 17-year-old computer: the products have
gotten so much better since then, you might as well bite the bullet
and buy a whole new machine? Or is the cost of repairing old stereo
speakers generally low compared to the cost of replacing them with a
similar-quality model? Is speaker repair something that any hi-fi
store can do? If not, how can I find a good repair shop? (I live
near Philly, PA.)

Part of my decision is also based on changing needs. The KEF speakers
are about two feet high, and one food deep and wide. When I bought
them, I didn't care about their size. Now I'm married, and we have
the stereo in our tiny living room, so if we could find a tiny speaker
that sounded as good (or better), we might be willing to cough up the
dough to buy new speakers instead of replacing the old ones.

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinions.

Regards,

John

(j.stevens) wrote in message ...
Back in 1987, I bought a pair of KEF speakers and an NAD receiver, and
their performance (in terms of what I can perceive as "good" sound)
has been fine. But a couple weeks ago, one of the tweeters fell out
of its mount, so I need to either repair or replace the speakers.
Unfortunately, I have no idea how to decide which to do.

Is repairing a 17-year-old loudspeaker like repairing a 17-year old
car: you can expect something else to go wrong a month later? Or
would it be like repairing a 17-year-old computer: the products have
gotten so much better since then, you might as well bite the bullet
and buy a whole new machine? Or is the cost of repairing old stereo
speakers generally low compared to the cost of replacing them with a
similar-quality model? Is speaker repair something that any hi-fi
store can do? If not, how can I find a good repair shop? (I live
near Philly, PA.)

Speakers are generally pretty sturdy beasts, except for the surrounds,
which depending on materials, can decay over time. (That might be what
happened to you.) Replacing them is a standard operation that any
electronics repair shop ought to be able to handle. (You could do it
yourself, with a little know-how.) Many audio stores don't do their
own repairs, but ship it out to a general electronics shop.

As for the cost, my guy charges me $75 just to fill out the order
form. That generally covers labor, but parts are extra. I suggest you
call a couple of places and get estimates, then look around at some
new speakers and decide which way makes the most sense.

Part of my decision is also based on changing needs. The KEF speakers
are about two feet high, and one food deep and wide. When I bought
them, I didn't care about their size. Now I'm married, and we have
the stereo in our tiny living room, so if we could find a tiny speaker
that sounded as good (or better), we might be willing to cough up the
dough to buy new speakers instead of replacing the old ones.

Gee, that's never happened to anyone before! :-)

Speakers have gotten better over time, but the basic fact remains that
you can't get big bass from a small box. Buying a smaller speaker will
cost you a little at the bottom end, though you might get a smoother,
more appealing sound overall. Only you can make that judgment.

The other option is smaller speakers and a subwoofer, which is large
and squarish and can be tucked in a corner, but if your living room is
really tiny, that might not be practical either.

Bottom line: Your speaker is (temporarily) broken, AND it's larger
than you really have room for. Fate is telling you it's time to buy
something new. (And be honest, isn't that something you're kinda
looking forward to?)

As for what to buy, that depends on your budget. You can buy a nice
small speaker for a few hundred bucks, or a few thousand. Give us a
price range, and you'll get some recommendations. Also, how powerful
is your amp, and what kind(s) of music do you listen to?

bob

Bob and Jack, thanks for your replies. Assuming the cost of a
comparable-sounding pair of speakers hasn't increased since 1987, we'd
have to spend ~ $500 to replace the KEFs. If repair costs will run
~$75 plus parts, then reviving the KEFs could be less than half the
price of new comparable speakers. In that case, I think we can learn
to live with them in our cramped quarters.

For what it's worth, our NAD receiver is rated at ~ 70W. As far as
"hi-fi" recordings go, we like to listen to jazz, rock and reggae (I
also like a lot of stuff that is low-fi, e.g., old blues recordings,
but no audio equipment will make that stuff sound better than the
limits of its recording). Also, we don't crave the kind of obnoxious,
overbearing bass that seems to be in fashion these days. What would
you recommend as good candidates for us in the $250/pr range? Or is
that a question that's "off topic" in a forum that's limited to
high-end audio ;-)

Regards,

John

(j.stevens) wrote in message ...
Bob and Jack, thanks for your replies. Assuming the cost of a
comparable-sounding pair of speakers hasn't increased since 1987, we'd
have to spend ~ $500 to replace the KEFs. If repair costs will run
~$75 plus parts, then reviving the KEFs could be less than half the
price of new comparable speakers. In that case, I think we can learn
to live with them in our cramped quarters.

For what it's worth, our NAD receiver is rated at ~ 70W. As far as
"hi-fi" recordings go, we like to listen to jazz, rock and reggae (I
also like a lot of stuff that is low-fi, e.g., old blues recordings,
but no audio equipment will make that stuff sound better than the
limits of its recording). Also, we don't crave the kind of obnoxious,
overbearing bass that seems to be in fashion these days. What would
you recommend as good candidates for us in the $250/pr range? Or is
that a question that's "off topic" in a forum that's limited to
high-end audio ;-)

Obvious choices would be the PSB Alphas and Paradigm Titans (or Atoms,
if you want to go even smaller). Highly regarded by people who
wouldn't be caught dead with a $250 speaker. They're about half the
size of your KEFs, so they may not go as deep, but what they do may
well be cleaner. They're also available in a variety of finishes, so
you can choose a look that will blend into the surroundings better.

bob

In article ,
(j.stevens) wrote:

Also, we don't crave the kind of obnoxious,
overbearing bass that seems to be in fashion these days. What would
you recommend as good candidates for us in the $250/pr range? Or is
that a question that's "off topic" in a forum that's limited to
high-end audio ;-)

Two others that I would recommend auditioning are Monitor Audio's
Bronze series (n.b. they do require some breaking in) and B&W's
DM-303. I have the predecessors to these speakers and have enjoyed
listening to them for years.

sd