Kef Coda 70

OK, I'm sorry for the really bad pun in this review's title, but the fact is, these are the rear speakers in my Home Cinema (HC) 5.1 surround sound system.

So far, I had my Denon AV1803 AV amp, my AE EVO 3 fronts, and my Tannoy centre speakers (all reviewed by myself in Ciao), but it was the most difficult choice to find a sufficiently small and compact rear speaker that packed a big enough punch.

I have a confession ...
...I was planning on getting the new Nxt series flat loudspeakers for the rears, as she really wasn’t keen on having big boxes mounted on the back wall of the living room. Of course, what I *didn't* tell her, was that it would have cost 300-400 quid to get a decent set of these new flat speakers (at the time)......

So, after a pretend week or two of searching the shops and the net, and having *failed* to find the Nxt's in a low cost version, ... more

OK, I'm sorry for the really bad pun in this review's title, but the fact is, these are the rear speakers in my Home Cinema (HC) 5.1 surround sound system.

So far, I had my Denon AV1803 AV amp, my AE EVO 3 fronts, and my Tannoy centre speakers (all reviewed by myself in Ciao), but it was the most difficult choice to find a sufficiently small and compact rear speaker that packed a big enough punch.

I have a confession to make at this point : I told my wife I was planning on getting the new Nxt series flat loudspeakers for the rears, as she really wasn’t keen on having big boxes mounted on the back wall of the living room. Of course, what I *didn't* tell her, was that it would have cost 300-400 quid to get a decent set of these new flat speakers (at the time)......

So, after a pretend week or two of searching the shops and the net, and having *failed* to find the Nxt's in a low cost version, I sort of fibbed a bit, and said I would make sure the rear speakers were "inconspicuous".

Then the real fun started - actually finding a small compact speaker that fitted my sonic requirements. Back we go to the HiFi shops in Brum and Shrewsbury, listening to probably a wider range of speakers than I have had to audition previously.... This is a BIG market area with a huge range of choice.

Two main features were on my list : small and punchy (OK, 3 : they also had to be cheap as possible). Others in the range included offerings from Mordaunt Short, Mission, good old Wharfedale Diamonds, but I also felt that I had to be fair and have a listen at some of the slightly more pricey Tannoys, B7Ws, the new small Quads etc.

Well, it took me a lot longer than I anticipated, but in the end, the low price of the Coda's combined with their tiny size and real kick ass punch (for the Home Cinema only you understand, these were not going to be "music" speakers) won the day.

My wife was NOT pleased. Even at a diminutive 305mmH x 180mmW x 275mmD it took a lot of persuading to get her to agree to keeping them ... Now of course, they've been up on their wall brackets for ages, and she never notices them, nor do any of the family. No-one bangs their head on them (her first fear), no-one takes the mickey (her second fear), but she does appreciate the surround sound that they produce, even to the point of often turning her head around to see what that noise behind her was :-)

With a truly amazing 45hz to 27khz (3db) frequency response, and a high sensitivity of 91db/W, delivered by a very handsome 130mm main cone and 25mm aluminium dome tweeter, Im really glad I took the time to decide properly. These speakers are very "fast" sounding, ultra clean, with no lumps or bumps in the response, and a bass response that non of us was really prepared for. An obvious 5 star all rounder !

Now we all enjoy the bullets whizzing from front left to rear right in "Saving Private Ryan", subtle surround effects in "Close Encounters", and the most best demo of all, the Pod Race in Star Wars Ep II - this has to be the ultimate surround scene to amaze your friends - and of course, everyone who listens is gobsmacked.

Now, everyone leaves knowing exactly which speakers I use, it has that sort of impact. In fact, I have recently installed a similar surround system for one of my brothers, so impressed was he ! (and he's the cynical one :-)

Colours available : Maple, Black Ash and Dark Apple (I chose black of course).
Weight : about 6KG (so I had to upgrade my wall brackets !)

I paid about £130 a few months ago, last item to be added to my surround system. 

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