best processor/pwr amp for my Kef Ref 203/202c?

New it is £6,900, if you get it for £1400 I will give you double for the cheek of asking ;)

I bought the TDM's because I was going to use them just for movies and no music at all, now I need to have a re think.

To be honest I wouldn't buy Kef unless they were at a price that I couldn't refuse, I would rather have a pair of 1.2 or 2.2 than the newer ones, I don't like too sharp a sound, which I do find them.
 
I dont really think the new refs have a sharp sound,just that need to be partnered with extreme care,they will certainly show any deficiencies in your electonics/cables,as they are doing with mine!Going back to the 207/Chord rig i heard last year:no sharpness at all,just totally natural sound at extremely high volume.The Kef guy played a chamber piece on sacd (lots of deep organ bass) & i kid you not,you would have thought you were sitting in the goddam church! Ther is no way the Model 4s could come anywhere near the openness & majesty of that sound ,but in fairness the 207s are double the price.
 
If your new refs don't have a sharp sound, I would again recommend the Meridian 568.2 to be included on your shortlist. The new v2.5 s/w, that I have in beta, is fabulous and is due to be released imminently (via free s/w download). Its a new machine - should be called the 568.3. As well as offering PLIIx, the increase in detail (which was not in short supply in the first place), especially in the mid to upper ranges is fantastic - the MGM lion roar when I walk away from my TV at the start of a DVD still makes me jump in fright. Sound wise, my initial B2B tests between my 598.2MM and G68 indicate that there is nothing in it. But, if your downstream kit is not overly bright in the first place, it seems to be a matter of personal taste on whether this mid/top end change is due to perceved brightness, which some do not like, or extra detail.

As always, compiling a shortlist from reviews and other peoples experiences is fine, but in the end, an audition is a must, especially at the high end of the market.

-Ian
 
I have listened to the new Kef Ref range extensively and I really feel that they are superb speakers. Running off an MC8 and Chord amps they didnt sound toppy at all. It's all relative I suppose but I would highly recommend them. Ultimately settled on Nautilus speakers predominantly on the strength of the HTM1 as I mostly watch movies.
 
The kefs are quite lively and I wouldn't not have them as they are very good speakers but the 205's that I listend to were £4k and I think I would rather spend money elswhere as for £4k I would want them to be exactly the sound I like.

When I said sharp that was probaly a little harsh (no pun intended) but they are too lively for me, compared with what else you can buy at that price.

The system I was listening to at James' place consisted of (hope he doesn't mind me putting this)

Tag dvd32 transport (and Nu-vista cd player)
Audio Synthesis Dac (from memory)
Bryston sp 1.7 and Proceed AVP
Balanced Audio Technology VK-6200 Power amp (It doesn't get alot better than this) DETAILS
Dunlavy SC-IV main speakers PICTURE HALF WAY DOWN

Not sure what power conditier he is using but it is in the system.

That, is a smooth sound, serious amounts of detail and bass that makes you grin like a nervous child.

Now I would rather spend £4k on the Dunlavys' than £4k on a pair of model 207's.
 
Those speakers look about the size of my room !!!
 
http://www.infidelity.co.uk/saleslistP3.htm
has a proceed avp/amp5/dvd for just £3995, over £10k saving!!
I paid more than this for the avp/amp5 so it looks a real bargain to me, if a bit irritating!
Obviously the caveat remains, listen with your own ears, not mine, before purchasing.
BTW rags, thought you would come in on this thread, but suprised you're not promoting Parasound. Hope all is well with your setup.
Best wishes
Peter
 
The Parasound is going well mate - tbh for movie sound I wouldnt change it - it really is superb. For music it sounds good to me as well but as you know im not much of a stereo buff.

However it sounds like the decision has been made on the Proceed (which I have not heard) as they seem to be good deals going around on them as its officially a dead brand. Out of the entire thread so far to me there is one seriously good bargain out there - the MC8 for £2.7k - if it was the balanced version thats where my money would be going.
 
Yeah James said if you look closely at the Dunlavys' you will see a pair of bo||ox hanging off them, they are stunning :)

I have just set up my MC8 and yeah at £2700 it is a steal!!

www.crtprojectors.co.uk has an MC8B for £3200 including vat and delivery.

Just been having a play with Panarama on the Lex and it makes me feel a little better about loosing Trifield on the 568.2.
Just tried analogue bypass using the DV89 and, oh dear! either the bypass is awful or the dv89 is, digital in is far better, so I need to borrow a decent cd player and try that and decide whether to buy a good transport, dac or player depending on the outcome.

go on rags buy the MC8B, you know you want to ;)

Forgot how good the Lexicon set up is, what a breathe of fresh air.
 
To be honest I didnt feel there was a whole lot in it between the MC8 and the Parasound C2. The C2 was significantly cheaper when new and thats what clinched it for me - the MC8 overall was a touch better but in some respects like rear channel performance the C2 was better.

For me in the under £5k bracket (new) there really is nothing better than the MC8 or C2 (I have now also tried the meridian G series) for movie sound. Differences are subtle though and it really boils down to personal pref.

I wouldnt now change to an MC8 but am considereing an MC12 with EQ as I have been offered a bit of a bargain but that is silly dosh.

By the way if the Sevenoaks deal is for an C2 with an A51 amplifier that is also a very very good deal. You should go and have a listen. That amplifier is a brute. I have listened to Kef Ref 203's through a C2 and Chord amp and the combination works rather well. A dealer friend of mine has always been an avid Lex fan but so he was a bit circumspect about the C2 - he too was astonished when he first heard it saying that it sounded just as good in his dem room.
 
I agree, the C2 is a good bit of kit and not worth swapping over to an MC8B for.

The MC12b Version 4 looks awesome but out of my price range completely and until I get some decent speakers it isn't worth looking at anything else at all. Well maybe a cd player if one crops up at the right price that I like because I know I have to upgrade that at some point.
 
At £10.5k new its outrageous. I can have been offered a new one for £6.7k though which makes it a bit more appealing but still out of reach.
 
Yeah I would still be £3.7k short :(
 
Yeah I think it might be, just had the 568.2 back out and it is very close, there is a little more detail in the Lex which surprised me, although it never sounds harsh.

Even my wife said "what a lovely sound" I just gave her a hug and replied "darling, you don't know how long I have waited to hear you say that"
11 f'ing years and she has at last taken an interest ;)
 
blimey ! I am so not near that stage yet.. took long enough for the missus to leave behind videotape!.

Tags all hooked up now.. ;) very nice...just been playing my mp3s through it.. movies start tonight!
 
I wonder how many dealers bother to run speakers/electronics in properly before they demonstate them? My 203s/202c took around 100hrs use before they really loosened up. Many people probably dem this stuff when its running at nowhere near its true potential. Again,has anybody come into contact with EAD? How about Krell Showcase? ..
 
I listened to the Krell and was pretty impressed with the sound quality, despite never liking the Krell sound of 10 years ago. However I didn't think it quite as involving as the Proceed, (although I wasn't able to listen to them back to back so I may have been mistaken). The cost was also pretty high at c £10k for the pair.
EAD gets consistently good reports in the US, including a number stating it is better on music than the Proceed. CAL and Theta also get great press.

Best of luck
Peter
 
Peter,the Proceed is still looking favorite(definitely looking the best value) but having read all the new posts,i am a little bit more confused now,than when i left for work this morning! Paul Miller recently reviewed EADs 8300 processor & basically described it as ."just about as good as it gets" but he didnt really comment about its musical ability.At £4500 it looks a little pricy though.(would be o.k. in Dollars) How much for a five channel BAT VK-6200 power amp?
 
EAD are exceptional. I listened to their dvd transport and processor with Silverline speakers. There is a shop on the Finchley Rd, London that carries their equipment and can demo. I'll find out the name if you like.
Proceeds also a good choice at a very good price (I would definately recommend them for 2 channel music), but if future upgradeability is a concern, then I would look elsewhere.
Gotta agree with the Dunlavys SVC, my cousin in the US has them, they are huge. Also of note, are VMPS, with ribbon tweeters and fairly priced as well.
I did an awful lot of listening to speakers during a trip to the US and ended up with the system I currently have.

One things for sure though, It's a hell of alot cheaper to be into high end HC over there! :(
 
Jimmy,i would be interested in the name of that shop if you can get it please.I had thought of importing if i go for an american brand.Has anone done this successfully or had any problems,apart from the voltage?Did you buy your kit in the U.S ?. Lexicon is a name that i had in mind,& it keeps cropping up in the thread & if i can get an MC-8 for about £2500 i may go for it. The lack of Pro-logic II is whats really putting me off the Proceed at the moment,i know this seems petty but i do a lot of listening from Sky.
Gizlaroc,have you made up your mind which processor sounds best between the Lexicon/Proceed/Meridian yet? Oh & there is no way my missus would let me put anything in our living room like the Dunlaveys,she even moaned about the Kefs !. What does anyone think of the Parasound C1/A51 ex-dem at Sevenoaks for £4499?
 
Danny

I can see your head is spinning with the options.

Just a quick reminder that if you decide to go for a Tact RCS at some point, it's not compatible with the DD/DTS bitstream from your DVD player, it requires a decoded PCM signal. I'm not aware of any processors other than Meridian and Tact that have decoded PCM digital outputs.

I used to have a Lexicon DC-1 and MC-1 and used an A/D converter to get the signal back to digital (PCM) to feed my external DAC , which would be an option for non-digital-output processors. As I use my Hi-Fi system for the L/R channels I'm much happier now using a Meridian processor, the internal center and surround DACs are fine for DVD playback and I get the benefit of my much superior external DAC for the L/R channels.
 
Gary,have you seen the exorcist? That is my head! Thought i was getting close to it but now seem as perplexed as ever. Other considerations i have is somthing that is relatively easy to set up. Lexicon & Meridian frighten me in that respect,also(can this ever be possible?!) i would like this to be my last stop solution so i have to get it right.I may put the purchase off until i have heard the Tact system at the Hi-Fi show.,
regards Dan
 
I found both the Lexicon and the Meridian fairly straighforward to setup. A word of warning, in the case of the Meridian 568.2, decoded PCM on the digital output is only available by using the 'manual typing' method, if you set it up using a PC the digital outputs are encrypted and cannot be used with a Tact RCS (or any none Meridian equipment).
 
The Lexicon is the easiest processor to set up I have ever come across, the Meridian is excellent too but you do reall need a pc, but once done you will only ever touch source select and volume until you add more kit to it.

I spent 4 hours last night with the MC8 and the meridian 568.2, the MC8 is staying, my one concern was whether it would be bright but it is not at all. The 3 component inputs are so handy to have too, and you can assign one digital in to as many sources as you like which is ideal as I have a zektor switcher and now I can switch 6 component soures using the Lexicon remote, not the most important thing in the world but when they all sound so similar it helps push my decision.

Why don't you call Henry at crtprojectors and ask him about a deal on the MC8B and one of the Cinepro amps, they are in a different league to the Parasound gear, and he has a 3k6se and a 3k6 mkIII on his site at the moment, hook those up balanced and you have some serious kit there for around your budget, and saving about £6000 on new prices which is always nice. ;)
 

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