I am still pretty familiar with the old Kef 104aB as I had a pair for quite a number of years. Very nice speaker.

The Kef 104/2 is something of a classic and from your description, I gather they work quite well. I gather many owners still love them. They have a much more even off axis dispersion than the older Kef 104 or 104aB and are capable of much more powerful response in the bass. I think some of your pop recordings sound bad because the speaker is so accurate. That's why it does so well on jazz and classical recordings.