KEF R300 Amp for 2.0?

seho

Novice Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Age
39
Location
Czech Republic
Dear community,

It might resemble a rabbit hole that i am trying to get out from and would appreciate the view of experienced people here.
Situation, after moving to the new place: I needed to detach my 5.1 system (B&W 683, 685, HTM62, ASW610) into two-room System 3.1 and 2.0 (potentially 2.1 later). B&W 683, HTM62 and ASW610 sound Fine and the setup is used for lobbies and music.

The other library room (20sqm) with B&W685s1 did not sound exciting at all to my ears so I decided to sell it along with the amp powering it (pioneer sx-s30).

Currently building the library 2.0 system again. Unfortunately the B&W685s2 I did not like, certainly not for the price and after research have pulled the trigger at KEF R300 (selection among KEF R300, KEF LS50, KEF Q350, Elac Uni-Fi B5). KEF R300 seem to be of superb quality, warm sound and 3-Way, though discontinued bookshelf speaker; the discount was too sweet to pass it on (680eur for a pair). After realizing that the speakers are power-hungry, I am sending back my pioneer sx-s30 (80wpc but weird spec 4ohm, 1 channel driven :)) and am looking to find suitable amp for it. I am mostly using the set-up to stream music from spotify-like services.

And here is the main question I am struggling to understand. I have few options:

1. pull the cables over 10m from my mobile living room to the library and use it as a zone 2 set-up (there I use Denon X2500). I don’t like this cabling too much. esthetically and practically not ok.

2. buy separate stereo streaming network receiver (nice as all-in-one device): here looking at an older Yamaha R-N602 (80wpc), newer Marantz NR1200 (75wpc) and competing Denon DRA 800H (100wpc). I like Marantz due to its slim design, it’s just 100eur more expensive and less powerful than Marantz.

3. buy separate receiver and streaming device - here NAD C338, NAD C328, NAD D3020 Rotel A11, Audiolab M1 + some inexpensive streaming device.

There seem to be two different fractions - those suggesting that KEF R300 are Power hungry and recommend amps with 75wpc and above (my option 2). And others suggesting some dedicated amps (my option 3) but I am not sure that the watt per channel (40-60wpc) in these NADs, Rotels, CA’s and Naim’s with 50-ish WPC would be enough for the KEF R300.

What is the opinion here? Option 2or 3?What amp would you recommend? Are there any other options? What receiver would suit best the KEF-R300 character?

Thanks to all for opinions and experiences!
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom