Don’t take our word for it, below ia the 5 star award given by What HiFi.
While some style speaker packages grab your attention with curvaceous cabinets and glossy finishes, others try to shy away from the spotlight. Take the KEF T105. Unbox this system and the first thing that you’ll realise is that the T101 satellite speakers are ridiculously thin – just 3.5cm, to be precise.
Once they’ve been wall-mounted alongside a flatscreen TV, they simply blend into the background – and make all the other packages in this test appear positively intrusive.
Easy to set up
If you don’t fancy attaching them to a wall, you can use the supplied tabletop plinths, which let you adjust their tilt accordingly.
The centre channel sits horizontally (the driver arrangement is still identical to the four other satellites), propped up by a slot-in strut. A pair of tiny Allen bolts hold your bare-wire speaker cable in place.
To help achieve their wafer-thin proportions, the T101s don’t use the likes of NXT flat panel technology, which you might expect.
Instead, KEF has created a brand new driver design that’s much shallower than
its traditional Uni-Q drivers, which can be found in its conventional speakers.
Even the accompanying T-2 subwoofer is much slimmer than the other bass boxes on the market.
But, if you thought that KEF had to make one or two sonic sacrifices to make the speakers this thin, you’d be wrong.
Real cohesion
For starters, the satellites display a remarkable sense of cohesion, whether they’re hung from walls on the supplied mounts, or positioned on their tabletop stands in a little free space.
They manage to generate a broad, lavishly layered and utterly involving surround field, and are just as happy filling larger rooms as smaller spaces (where their design comes into its own).
Spin the Blu-ray of Unstoppable and as the driverless train 777 hurtles along,
the KEFs communicate the power and brute force of the metal behemoth as effects are shifted from speaker to speaker with a real sense of depth and direction.
Dialogue fed through the T101c centre channel sounds natural and full-bodied – which is no mean feat for such a slim speaker.
With five deceptively compact model T101s as front and rear satellites as well as the centre channel, plus the discreet T-2 subwoofer, the T105 system is powerful enough to fill most normal rooms with a compellingly detailed 3D sound image.
As easy to set up as they are on the eye, they make the perfect entry level surround sound system for the latest generation of flat screen TVs. A special wall mount bracket (included) has been designed for ease of installation without adding any more depth to the speaker itself.
T101 Satellite Speakers
• Ultra-slim bass driver offering clean, forceful response that brings the action vividly to life
• New large vented tweeter provides warm, natural sound that’s so real you feel you’re there
• Can be mounted on the wall or on the T Series floor stand (sold separately)
• Floorstands utilize Selecta-Mount technology which include extra crossover components to adjust each speakers sound balance for free space vs. wall mount
• Two-way closed box
• 4.5″ dual layer MF, 1″ aluminum HF
• Frequency response 80Hz – 30kHz
• Magnetic shielding: yes
• Amp requirements: 10-100w
• Weight: 2.2lbs
• Dimensions: 13″ x 5.5″ x 1.4″
• Finish: High gloss black
T-2 Subwoofer
• Closed box powered subwoofer• Driver Units: 1 x 10″ LF
• Frequency response: 30Hz – 250Hz
• Maximum output: 110db
• Magnetic shielding: yes
• Amplifier: 250W Class-D built in
• Weight: 28.6lbs
• Dimensions: 15″ x 14.6″ x 7″
• Finish: Classic black
Speaker stands are an optional extra – $199.00 / pair
