As I posted before, i ended up with a pair of old KEF Q90s (early 1990s vintage), which sound really fantastic. KEF's philosophy behind the Q series seems to have been to get the best sound quality possible for the least money. They did this by using drivers from the same range as the much more expensive Reference series (although not matched drivers), higher tolerance/lower grade (i.e.cheaper) components on the crossovers, and the cheapest box they could get away with. So the sound is 10/10, but the looks 6/10 - the box is chipboard with a faux wood plastic veneer (not unusual for the time, though).
To add insult to injury, my pair (pictured below) are pretty battered - corners bashed/dented, chips in the veneer, cracked baffle (hidden behind the grubby cover of the speaker on the left), feet missing, etc etc.
I originally bought them as an interim measure, as i want to spend money on getting my sources (TT, CD player/transport, DAC, streamer/music server) sorted before really spending money on speakers. But i like these speakers so much paired with my Exclam? that i am considering keeping them for a long time. To that end, I want to refurbish them so that they look as good as they sound, and I want them to look like wood.
My options are:
1. Do nothing ? just live with them (nah ? they deserve better)
2. Strip off the crappy plastic veneer and replace it with a real wood veneer, and sort out the covers. I?m not sure how doable it is to re-veneer old chipboard? This probably would be the least PT of the refurbishment options, but would result in something not that different from the original. The cracked baffle still needs sorting out though.
3. Build new boxes entirely. Now I?ve read plenty of related posts on this forum and others to know that it won?t be a walk in the park. Firstly, I would retain the original (Interior) dimensions exactly. The sensible choice of material seems to be veneered MDF, but ply and solid wood are options too. I really like the idea of solid wood, but I know that option?s the most vrot with danger. The biggest worry here (besides build effort) would be changing the acoustic characteristics of the speakers. The baffles I could do in thick MDF, much like Terra?s beautiful Visatons (http://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,56126.0.html). I could really make something stunning if I did this.
I would really appreciate the wise advice of those who have walked this road before - suggestions, comments, criticisms. Thanks!
PS ? Option 4 is to buy these absolute beauties from Francois: :drool: :drool:
http://www.audioexchange.co.za/product/kef-reference-three/
To add insult to injury, my pair (pictured below) are pretty battered - corners bashed/dented, chips in the veneer, cracked baffle (hidden behind the grubby cover of the speaker on the left), feet missing, etc etc.
I originally bought them as an interim measure, as i want to spend money on getting my sources (TT, CD player/transport, DAC, streamer/music server) sorted before really spending money on speakers. But i like these speakers so much paired with my Exclam? that i am considering keeping them for a long time. To that end, I want to refurbish them so that they look as good as they sound, and I want them to look like wood.
My options are:
1. Do nothing ? just live with them (nah ? they deserve better)
2. Strip off the crappy plastic veneer and replace it with a real wood veneer, and sort out the covers. I?m not sure how doable it is to re-veneer old chipboard? This probably would be the least PT of the refurbishment options, but would result in something not that different from the original. The cracked baffle still needs sorting out though.
3. Build new boxes entirely. Now I?ve read plenty of related posts on this forum and others to know that it won?t be a walk in the park. Firstly, I would retain the original (Interior) dimensions exactly. The sensible choice of material seems to be veneered MDF, but ply and solid wood are options too. I really like the idea of solid wood, but I know that option?s the most vrot with danger. The biggest worry here (besides build effort) would be changing the acoustic characteristics of the speakers. The baffles I could do in thick MDF, much like Terra?s beautiful Visatons (http://www.avforums.co.za/index.php/topic,56126.0.html). I could really make something stunning if I did this.
I would really appreciate the wise advice of those who have walked this road before - suggestions, comments, criticisms. Thanks!
PS ? Option 4 is to buy these absolute beauties from Francois: :drool: :drool:
http://www.audioexchange.co.za/product/kef-reference-three/
