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Sweet dreams are made of this
Fresh from his stint with various New York jazz clubs and the Miami Vice Squad, STEVEN PATRICK squares off with KEF's mini miracle
THE KEF Coda 7 has definitely set a precedent in bookshelf speaker performance over the last year. It deems the whole "performance has its price" theory obselete. At its retail price of RM850, the KEF Coda 7s have gone into territories of conveying musical performances that were deemed impossible within this price-range.
Sure, the KEF Coda 7s came out after the landmark Mission 760's, but KEF researched further, assured that they could take low-priced/high performance bookshelf speakers even further while "borrowing" a few features from the Mission.
Features
The KEF Coda 7 shamelessly incorporates the upside-down drive unit pioneered by the Mission. What was considered a curiosity in speaker design is now the accepted norm. This highly-acclaimed two-way bass reflex number has put a 130mm bass unit above a 25mm HF unit.
The Coda 7 has a front-firing port, and the designers have kept the sensitivity to 91dB. This wonderful figure means that the speakers are not particularly fussy about the amps they're partnered with so ....
A Marantz PM44SE and a Harman Kardon HK1200 were used to drive them for this review. The source? One long-serving, ever-faithful Philips CD950. Tweaks included Monster Cable and XLO leads and some red wine.
Sound
The sound is commercial but not shamelessly so. It's punchy and beefy with considerable mid-range presence, a combination that is hard to come by. The natural integration of the bass, treble and mid-range gives the KEF Coda 7s' presentation a certain maturity. Nothing is too obtrusive.
Vocals are projected well into the room. Regardless of whether they are Maria Callas or Madonna, performances are easy to follow with a smooth note-to-note transition. But be warned, this is not an overly-intimate vocal affair as the Tannoy Profile 631s. The KEF Coda 7 has an overall musicality that is arresting.
For instance, it manages to convey the chunky, free-form rhythms of Black Grape enthusiatically while allowing Shaun Ryder's grotty vocals to come through with reasonable clarity. The KEF Coda 7s are no amateurs at conveying sonic "oomph." These speakers recognise the fine line between dynamics and bombast.
Whether it's a full blown orchestra playing Beethoven or whether it's Rickie Lee Jones doing a quiet acoustic gig, the KEF Coda 7s will convey it convincingly.
It was also found that the KEF Coda 7s performance level increased when amplification was upgraded. The Harman Kardon HK 640 coaxed a sharper and more accurate performance from the KEF Coda 7s than the Marantz PM44SE did.
Conclusion
If you want the missing link between a vocal-confident Tannoy and a toe-tapping Mordaunt-Short bookshelf speaker, you might want a KEF Coda 7.
It's got a good groove and a reasonably clean vocal sound. With clean amplification, the KEF Coda 7 will provide you with hours of musical performance as well as sonic savvy.
The Coda 7 strikes the perfect balance between a sound that wakes you up in the morning and one that sings you a little lullaby at night. Sweet dreams ....
Model: KEF Coda 7 loudspeakers
Price: RM850
Type: Two way bass-reflex
Frequency response: 48Hz to 20kHz
Power handling: 70W
Sensitivity: 91dB
Impedance: 6 Ohms
Review sample courtesy of PERTAMA AUDIO (PJ) SDN BHD (03-719-3957),
44-46 Jln SS22/21, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya
Category: Group E
Verdict
For: Nicely integrated sound; with bass well in perspective.
Against: At RM850? Surely you jest!
Rating
Sound: * * * *
Value-for-money: * * * *
