E41: A Conversation with Andrew Jones - the KEF years

Today, in my second conversation with the remarkable Andrew Jones, one of the most innovative, successful, respected, and enduring loudspeaker designers of the past five decades, he takes us back through his time at KEF, a period from 1983 through 1994. And for those who are new to our hobby and industry, founded in 1961, by the 1970s, KEF was blazing the way in computer aided loudspeaker design, modeling, and acoustic research. And during Andrew’s tenure there, first as a research engineer under the inspired and visionary direction of Laurie Fincham, eventually becoming KEFs Chief Engineer, KEF had become the hotbed of innovation, leading the way in the field of research-based loudspeaker design, certainly in Europe, if not the world. It was a historic time in the development of loudspeakers, and Andrew had a rather significant hand in that dynamic.
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[@hazimsabanovic5476]

This is so interesting and educative, thank you!

[@jamiesmith6838]

I have brought & kept my KEF 105/3. Pound for pound they are still difficult to beat price per performance wise.. & I don't even use the KEF Kube! Super sensitivity. Linear 4 ohm load that won't freak out most amps. 300 wpc capability. High output levels of 112db+. Deep bass response down to 20hz. This is 90's tech at that! I sold my B&W Matrix 802 series 3 & kept my KEF!

[@marcus1970]

Part 2 was even better than the 1st!........ This time I saw the run time and thought I'd have to break it up in 2 watching sessions.... But again the story is so riveting, it had me glued firmly in place...... Can not wait for the next instalment....... That issue of activated carbon having more of an affinity to the moisture within the air than the air itself would come to no surprise to any Aquarist.... I believe Kef continue to use this principal in the Muon... About 5 years ago as I toured Kef Maidstone HQ..... much of the time all I could think was A.J had likely been in this anachoic chamber, live room, museum,listening room, display area... Genius of a loudspeaker designer.

[@theaudioanalyst]

Hello Marcus, we are SO HAPPY to hear that this time has been well spent. I know Andrew is VERY busy, and I am SO grateful to him for taking the time to chronicle his amazing - and SIGNIFICANT - journey with us...

[@juanmillaruelo7647]

Fascinating stuff. :-)

[@troybranch9720]

I just bought the 104/2 KUBE. I'm running it through the tape. Is there an explanation of the contour and extend? I can't find any manuals online minus a post quoting it. Extend is fixed and contour is variable. What exactly is the contour doing?

[@theaudioanalyst]

You may download a PDF of the original KEF Kube 104/2 owners/instruction manual at HiFi Engine... www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/kef/kube-1042.shtml with your free membership... While this service is provided free of charge, because of their limited bandwidth, they have established daily, weekly and monthly limits to the number of files you can download.

[@troybranch9720]

@@theaudioanalyst unfortunately you have to have an account to download. Registration is closed for whatever reason.

[@troybranch9720]

@theaudioanalyst it seems like + contour adds base - cuts it off. From what I read about extend its a set value.

[@VicLaaau]

Hi, can I have that speaker breakdown pic ?

[@theaudioanalyst]

? 😐

[@troybranch9720]

Google kef 104/2 it comes up in the images.