KEF tweeter needed

[fogcity]

Hi all,

I have a pair of KEF 104/2's with one dead tweeter.
I need a replacement part.

KEF no longer makes the t33 (1191) tweeter.
Suggestions on where else to look?

I would prefer to replace just the blown tweeter, but if that doesnt work then I'd be looking for suggestions on alternate drivers (and assume that i'd have to replace both tweeters).

Also, I've had one repair place say that no one can REPAIR the t33 tweeter since it is often the voice coil and that is proprietary to KEF. Another repair place said they'd give it a shot. A third place in Germany claims they can fix it no problem, but that requires shipping to and from Europe. Comments?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Colin]

Haave a search in this forum - there was a similar query a few weeks back. At the time, I mentioned Falcon Acoustics in the UK (www.falconacoustics.co.uk) and Wilmslow Audio (www.wilmslowaudio.co.uk - I think!) as being long-time suppliers of replacements. Someone else on the forum had other suggestions.

These two supplier used to offer replacement drivers (ie other types) with suitable crossover mods.

Good luck with the hunt.

Colin

[fogcity]

thanks for the suggestion. my strong preference is to find an original KEF tweeter or to have mine rebuilt and recalibrated.

i have to imagine that someone in the USA also has ONE blown tweeter and ONE good tweeter, but has decided to replace them with a new pair, and might want to sell me their one remaining good one. anyone?

note the following reply i got from windslow audio:

The 811528 is a nominal 8 ohms but this should not affect the performance.
Assuming your T33 is front mounted then the exchanging the units is
extremely simple and straight forward. If your T33 is rear mounted with the
front faceplate removed and held in place with a central securing screw then
the 811528 will not fit as a replacement. This is because the front
faceplate is not removable. In these instances we fit a Morel MDT29 which
does have a removable front plate.
In either case the crossover is not altered

[planet10]

Contact KEF directly. They are still fixing B139s & B110s so i expect there is a good chance that the T33 can be fixed. Ideally they would be able to supply a butterfly assembly and you could fit it yourself.

I had a pr of T33 SP1074 thru a while back (almost a year ago -- the pr sold for $85 -- picture attached)

From this auction on eBay you need an T33 SP1191 which is a different beast. Shipping from UK shouldn't be too much of a hardship.

The SP number is very important... the T33 just indicated a 33mm tweeter, the SP number says which one.

dave

[mlloyd1]

Kef pointed me to Adcom (imagine that) in the USA as a distributor that stocks replacements when I needed them. I had to get a replacement midrange for my 104/2 about 2 years ago.

Who did you contact? I'm worried now if I need a tweeter at some point I'll be SOL :-(

I won't part with my KEF 104/2 until they go up in flames ....
... maybe

Good luck!

mlloyd1

[fogcity]

thanks for the response.

i did contact KEF. they said "we do keep parts for at least seven years from the last date of production on all our speakers, however if a speaker is over ten years old the parts become no longer available. I did in fact check for a cross-reference part number however there is not one."

regarding the tweeter's identification, KEF also said "The tweeter you are talking about is a T33 and is actually a measurement rather than
an actual model number. There are several different T33 tweeters, which are the same size but meant for different applications. You are looking for a R1191 tweeter for your 104-2's."

i've now removed the tweeter from the (INCREDIBLY WELL BUILT!!) cabinet and it says "KEF T33 - SERIAL NO. 011749 - SP1191 - 4 OHMS - TS1191 - 14684". so yes, i am looking for a KEF tweeter, model 1191, in the T33 series. i would prefer a pair.

[fogcity]

mlloyd1:

just called adcom (main number in Scottsdale AZ)
They said "call KEF America". dead end...

[fogcity]

OK so here is a crazy development...

The 104/2 has a separate metal housing for the midrange/tweeter, bolted to the main cabinet and hooked up via a detachable wiring harness. So I pulled each of these off and swapped them around.

The unit with the "dead tweeter" again sounded like it had a dead tweeter when I moved it to the opposite speaker. logical...

HOWEVER

The unit with the "good tweeter" ALSO sounded like it had a dead tweeter when I moved it to the opposite speaker.

In other words:

1. one cabinet produces NO treble with either tweeter
2. one tweeter produces NO treble in either cabinet

So i guess I have both a dead tweeter AND something blown out in the tweeter section of one crossover?

[planet10]

The event that took out the tweeter could well have taken out part of the XO ... at least that is fixable.

dave

[mightyjimbo]

There is one on E-BAY right now.