Kef reference 3.2 what power amp

[Higibuilder]

After a power amp for my referance 3.2 's

Have around £300 - £400 is to spend on the second hand market .
Currently running them
Off my yamaha AX1 in my av system with a Sonos connect and my audio analogue Paganini CD player .. Cable is qed genesis . What are my best options please my audio experts

 

[Member 116841]

The budget might be a bit limiting, but I'm sure you'll be able to pick up something from Audiolab or Quad which should do a good job. Without looking around to see what's available, it's hard to recommend specifics. If you see anything, post it up and I'll see if I can help.

 

[Higibuilder]

The budget might be a bit limiting, but I'm sure you'll be able to pick up something from Audiolab or Quad which should do a good job. Without looking around to see what's available, it's hard to recommend specifics. If you see anything, post it up and I'll see if I can help.

Thanks .. Just need to know what to look for really .. Do I go class A or just more power etc what sort of output am i looking for to gain over my ax1 as it has a fair bit of power already

Thanks

 

[Member 116841]

The main thing is a stable amplifier that is good with a 4ohm load. Generally speaking, the more power the better for Reference, but low powered, high quality amps will drive them fine.

 

[Higibuilder]

Ok thanks .. So basically a really high powered quality amp that's cheap .. Think I may have my work cutout . Will start searching .

 

[BlueWizard]

You might also consider Rotel Amps, either integrated or Pre-Amp/Power_Amp combinations.

Certainly the suggested Quad and AudioLab would be good.

Also, various Arcam amps.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[jazzfan]

Hi,i have à Musical Fidelity KW550 integrated amp in my referentie 3.2 and THE sound blow me away .I connect with à Morrow interlink Ma3 and iT was à huge differente also.To let THE kef,s singing You must have à powerfull amp !Please let is now your experiences.

 

[Higibuilder]

Ok
Few changes to the system including a 5 Chanel roksan av5 power amp that I'm feeding the kef 2 Channels each a side it's ok but still need more power . What should I be looking for . Will an older used amp be ok and what's the best watt per pound .

 

[stephenbarnes]

If you're lacking in power - that Roskan is 120W per channel - then you need to double up the power. 3.2 max power handling is 300W.

Peak SPL Calculator

120W should be plenty. What makes you think you're lacking in power? Or perhaps PSU not capable? You said you have been using 4 channels to bi-amp the Kef's that should be more than enough.

With your amp you should get 105dB or thereabouts

You could try using bass management, say small 40hz or small 60hz, that will free up some power.

Affordable 200W amplifiers are Rotel but I found them a bit clouded. Audiolab are brighter and good match for the Kef's.

My other speakers (Celestion A3) are also 4 ohm, so both Kef and Celestion need a amp with a decent power supply.

I'm using a Outlaw ICBM1 between pre and power and that helps, and easier to integrate subwoofer. Perhaps try and find one of these? For whatever reason you think you need more power, you could try the speakers on small 120hz, and therefore free up power and determine if it sounds better, or high passing makes no difference, then work out if amp is up to the job, or not.

Oh have you tried the Kef Room compensation device? (inside the speaker terminals) That won't free up power, however if it's too bassy you can adjust it.

 

[Higibuilder]

Thanks for the info Steven .
Just been reading up on these kefs and how they perform better with big power or so it seems ESP with brystom amps . My problem is I really have to turn the amp up to gain the sound . Low volume the speakers seen very week and I'm not sure if it the amp or the anthem 300 . Will try the bass management as I do have the rel stadium to add some slam . Wish you loved closer as I'm sure you could set it up perfectly in minutes . Really need someone to go through all the anthem settings and sort speaker placement etc . Also Stephen what this Quad 909 I keep hearing about apparently it's blow to dump huge power .
Thanks for all your advice I'm a novice to say the least .

 

[Jima4a]

My experience with Kef (e.g. 103/4, XQ40, 205/2) is they excel at great sound at lower volumes as opposed to say Paradigm Studio 100s which need to cranked to fully come alive. Something does not seem right.

 

[Higibuilder]

Yep they only sing when cranked up . The shanling CD player has it's own independent volume and that's always set to 75 . Do you think that may be a factor only was told not to have it out putting full. ?

 

[Higibuilder]

Would this be better Stephen Parasound 1205a power looks better and maybe still feed the kefs with 2 Chanel's a side

 

[Jima4a]

Okay, so I looked into the 3.2 and it was a successor to the 105/2 which I did hear with two different set of electronics in the same room at different times. The first was with an all Krell front end (100 wpc class A monster) and the second time it used a Lexicon processor with Adcom 200w monoblocks. The first time chills, the second time not. That was my first real experience showing me electronics do matter.

 

[Higibuilder]

Thanks Jima
Yet keep reading that they suck up huge amounts of power . Can't afford krell , would be nice though . Have been offered a Parasound 1205a that would supposedly give me 400watts to each kef as apposed to my roksan at only 240 . Just need to find out if these figures are correct as it must surely be better for them