SpeakerTalk

nicnic · Posted: Fri May 16, 2003 12:54 pm Post subject: KEF CARA - any info?

Could anyone provide any information about this pair of speakers I have. They were bought around late 80s in the UK, and look similar to the C40 from the 80s. There is a model number on the rear, but I cannot remember this. On the front, to the left of the tweeter they say "Kef Cara Digital Series".
I looked on Kefs website but haven't found them there or anywhere else.
One of the drivers is a little bit dodgy so may need replacing but I have no idea if a replacement is available, or where from.
All I know is they sound pretty nice, and were priced at a fairly budget level when they were bought.

allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

I have been looking around a bit for this but can't find any information.
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nicnic · Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 12:19 pm Post subject: Made for Lasky's

I queried these on the Kef website and got a reply from a Clive Pitt - apparently they were manufactured in 1986 for Lasky's (is this the name of an old hi-fi shop?). He said that I could only get the tweeter replaced, not the other driver. I still don't know if these are some interesting or rare speakers, I don't know how much of a respectable shop Lasky's was.

The model number for the Caras is SP3076, and they have a working driver in each, and below that, the same size "dummy" (please excuse the non-technical language), for the bass - the cabinet is sealed and they are not bi-wirable. The closest speaker I could find to these is the old Kef C40, which look to have used the same drivers - are the C40 drivers still available anywhere?

allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

I remember Lasky's. Probably bought from them at some point. As far as I remember they advertised nationally and they had a big mail order facility.

I have had a look at the C40s and I think that the lower drive unit is an acoustically coupled bass radiator (ABR). This is basically a drive unit without its magnet. It 'moves' as air is moved around inside the speaker and so sympathetically accentuates the bass.

Might I suggest that you unscrew a drive unit and get its number from the back of the drive unit if it is not available from the front. A photo if possible might also help. I will have a look around and see what I can do. I will get back to you about this.

Clive has been of help to me in the past. He has worked for KEF for many years and so has a wealth of knowledge.
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nicnic · Posted: Mon May 19, 2003 8:19 pm Post subject:

OK here are the links of some pictures of the CARAs. They are all I could take before my camera gave up on me.

You'll have to cut and paste the url otherwise it won't work.
On the magnet on the back of the speaker there is a sticker saying 6ohms, and also the numbers 097 and 1193.

As you said, the lower driver is an ABR with no magnet. On the rear of the ABR there is a sticker which says BD2000 and SP1185.

Another thing which maybe of note is that the cone, where it joins its metal frame is concave, whereas with the ABRs it is convex like most other speakers. I don't know if this is of interest to you.

Cheers.

allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

I am nearly certain the KEF Carina II's on sale in eBay at the moment use the same drive units. Please check and see what you think. You could buy these speakers and end up with spares. On the other hand the Carina IIs might be slightly better than your Caras as the Carina IIs have two bass drive units rather than one bass unit and an ABR. Currently bidding is at £4.99 and so you could if you are lucky get a bargain.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3025179649&category=3276
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allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

There are a pair of Caras on sale in adTrader at the moment for a very reasonable price. You could get them for spares.
http://www.adtrader.co.uk/classhome.php?class_id=52&trader_id=5290
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nicnic · Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2003 10:05 am Post subject:

I had a look on the ad trader site, but I can't find them, I guess they might have sold. Any idea how much they were going for?

allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

Pair of Cara's on ebay now starting bid £10.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3029463326&category=3276
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allanson · Site Admin Joined: 22 Apr 2003 Posts: 55

Pair of Caras on eBay (currently £10) and also single Cara starting at £4.
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SloopJohnB

Hi,

I know this thread is old but I couldn't help but smile when I saw Lasky's mentioned! I used to wander in and head straight for the loudspeaker section. Goodmans Mezzo's, Magnums (Mmmm Magnum - 12" Bass...), Q series bookshelf speakers and then there were the real thing: KEF's - Oh boy - those 104/2's looked amazing Very Happy

C60's and C80's V. nice too....!

Anyway I remember the Cara and it was indeed a Lasky's special (and quite a bit cheaper). C40's were around £200 believe it or not! The C40 uses two (active) B200 type units, the lower one has a further rolloff output from the crossover for improved "low frequency handling". Actually, the design is not that good for deep bass (though it LOOKS as if it should be), around 55Hz-ish bottom-end. What it DOES do is make for a very sensitive speaker. These do go very loud for not many watts... Anyway I checked with KEF for driver replacement availability and it is a "no-go". The guy I spoke to even seemed to think that the C40 bass drivers were different to similar speakers in the range (C30, C20) which seems a bit odd. The Tweeters were made in Japan to KEF specifications, but they still have that sweet "KEF" top end so I guess I forgive them. I think the C40 was the last in a line of very similar 2xB200 + 1xT27/33 boxes which were all just that bit bigger than the popular "bookshelf" speaker.

If anyone is still reading at this point, I have a pair of C40's in reasonable condition (1980's Black ash finish - of course) c/w with short stands on castor wheels that I am not using anymore - one of the bass drivers looks a little "odd" on close inspection (Polyprop cone slightly "out of shape" in one place but absolutely no voice-coil rub and you will not hear colouration of sound from this irregularity during normal use - Dust caps, surrounds all OK, Tweeters fine etc. Cabinets, grilles, badges etc all good too - would not look amiss as part of a KEF collection... I might just have to keep them in fact...)

No, really I would prefer them to go to someone who would appreciate and enjoy listening to music through them. If anyone wants to take them off my hands for a nominal sum (nothing silly) then please get in touch (Spiralgalaxy5@netscape.net). Collection only and I'm in Dorset. They are nice loudspeakers and need only a small amplifier (classic 30Wpc is absolutely fine) - I'm only changing because I've moved on to an even nicer sounding pair of R103.2's Wink

Cheers

Tim

django · Posted: Sat May 06, 2006 11:17 pm Post subject: KEF Cara.

Hi,
Does anyone still have Cara photos?
The link to http://nicksharman.tripod.com/kef/ seems long since gone.
Can you help?

muka · Introductory Contributor Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 1

Photo is still can be found in eBay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9723881253&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting

KEF Cara is my first KEF speaker