What Amp for Kef iQ5?

Timmie

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From all I’ve read about the iQ5s these sound like the perfect speakers for me, I will demo comparable speakers at the time, but I hope these are the ones I like!

So which Amp? Again, just from reading, the CA Azur 640a v2 (£300) sounds good. However Sevenoaks, where I’ll be demoing and buying the Kefs, don’t do CA.

They do Marantz PM4001 and 7001, and Rotel RA02. Which would sound most like the CA 640a? And what should I be listening for with the Marantz and Rotel?
 
I was just going to start a similar thread!

I'm looking at getting a pair too and possibly adding to it later to get a proper surround set up so I really need an AV amp and ipod compatibility would be a bonus but not essential. Having said that, I'd prefer it to be better at music, not film/

I'm running a Denon 2805 with the KEF 5005 surround package in another room which is quite impressive so wondering to wait until I try it with that first?

Any help guys?
 
I tested the IQ5s and some Monitor Audio RS5s (very new speakers at a similar price to the KEFs) with a Yamaha 757 amp that has a list price of £395 and is a good versatile home cinema amp.

I had also heard good things about the KEFs and so was expecting them to sound better than the MAs even though the MAs were £50 more expensive. I couldnt have been more wrong, I was bitterly disappointed by the KEFs and thought they had a very shallow, vacant sound, really lacking in depth.

The MAs on the other hand were awesome, and not only that they have a much much higher quality finish and look gorgeous with neat little touches like floor spikes that are removeable to reveal rubber pads for wooden floors.

As everyone here likes saying, taste varies but I would recommend trying the MAs too. As for the Amp well im happy with the Yamaha which I got for £350, but there are compareable Denons for that price.

I would say, however, that Denon went down the mass market line many years ago, and Yamaha do a much better job of it. Im no longer very impressed by low to mid range Denon equipment.

So if you're looking for similar priced kit to run those speakers I recommend the Yamaha but as with anything remotely popular there will be people on these forums who will swear til they're blue in the face that you shouldnt get it.

But any amp with those features at that price, that looks so nice and comes with a 2 year warranty as standard gets my vote!

p.s. Not sure if you want a stereo or home cinema amp though.
 
judging by the amps the OP lists he is looking just for stereo amps....

you might wanna add the cheapest current Arcam model, that will work nicely with KEF speakers.....its approx £400 if memory serves correct.....and 7oaks do sell it, in fact if you picking up both the speakers and the amp you'll probably get a deal if you umm and ahh a little.....altho if you end up using the demo facilities, be nice and remember they gave you a service you wouldnt get online ;-)

however as mentioned above, do check out the competition for the same price range in speakers too.....with 7oaks this mostly means Monitor audio and B&W.....the similar priced MA's will as mentioned give KEF a run for their money quite easily and to a lot of peoples mind beat them happily....however as others have mentioned on here the KEFS won out in various areas too......so best thing is to book a demo room for a few hours and listen listen listen......then borrow a demo pair for a credit card swipe of the ones you prefered most, make sure they work ok in your home, then go back and buy ;-)
 
Timmie said:
From all I’ve read about the iQ5s these sound like the perfect speakers for me, I will demo comparable speakers at the time, but I hope these are the ones I like!

So which Amp? Again, just from reading, the CA Azur 640a v2 (£300) sounds good. However Sevenoaks, where I’ll be demoing and buying the Kefs, don’t do CA.

They do Marantz PM4001 and 7001, and Rotel RA02. Which would sound most like the CA 640a? And what should I be listening for with the Marantz and Rotel?
I currently own the Rotel RA-02 and it is an excellent amp. I have it paired with Quad 21ls but i have also tried it with Kef Q35s (6yrs old) and they sounded great - treble was almost on a par with the Quads! So i'd imagine the Rotel would work very well with the newer Kef models.

Also i tested the Rotel against similar priced arcam and i prefered the Rotel for both sound and build - i found the fascia buttons on the arcam to be a bit flimsy and slightly lacking in quality.

Have you also considered the Rotel RA-03 - upgrade to the 02 - bit more money but supposedly worth it if u listen to the reviews?
 
Thanks guys, I think I'm ready now for when they eventually get the iQ5s in stock :thumbsup:

I'm interested in the MAs but I have installation constraints that drive me towards the iQs. One of the speakers can be placed freely but the other will be next to a TV so it must be mag shielded (the other side of the speaker is open so I hope the sound will not be compromised too much). I don't think the big MAs are mag shielded? I will try the MA Radius R270 but I'm not expecting too much :rolleyes:

So demo will be iQ5s, Radius R270 and RS5s (to see what I'm missing) together with Arcam A65, Rotel RA-02 and maybe RA-03 and I'll ask 7oaks to recommend another slim mag shielded speaker.

If I demo with 7oaks I will buy there - I like to play fair :)

Thanks again :clap:
 
A word of caution, Kefs take an age to run in. I reckon my Q5s took 50 hours plus before they were properly singing. Until then the treble was harsh and the bass overly tight and compressed. If they haven't got a pair on dem already, I'd give it a while.
 
russ.will said:
If they haven't got a pair on dem already, I'd give it a while.

noooooo, I can't wait :rotfl:

They sold their demo pair and no sign of new stock and I have a big gap in my living room :(

Thanks for the heads up though :)
 
I have been in a similar boat of late.

But the higher sized/priced MA RS6 and Kef IQ7.

My sig says the result. This says the review of my experience:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285003&highlight=RS6

This was against the B&W 603 as SSAV don't stock the IQ7.

I home demo'd the RS6 and the IQ7 I found the RS6 lacking in soundstage and focus, everything else was perfect, pity as i liked them a lot.
 
I ownded a pair of kefIQ5's for about 1 month, and decided to take them back. Nice looking and all, but I was not happy with the sound, far to laid back, perhaps good for classical, but any other music just seemed to be lacking. I had it running with a NAD 352, which I have also returned, I am starting fresh, and have decided on the rotel ra03 and the boston VR2. I realise boston is not big in the UK as it is an american speaker, but wow, what a speaker and what sound it produces. Awesome stuff.
 

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