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What are the best amp options to drive KEF R3?

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Joe Smith

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I dont plan to invest in dac, what purpose dac have what benefit it will provide to me in my car i have p99rs pioneer
Stage 4 Reference Series CD Receiver

24-Bit AKM DACs
• Off ers S/N ratio as high as 120 dB and high durability to jitter.
• Used for high, mid, low and SW channel (1 each).
• Give superior dynamic range and quietness.

it have several dacs,
do i find quality difference when i compared to my other car Sony player which cost 100$
for p99rs i spend 1500$ as a brand new,
so i see 000 difference thats a gimmick,


I have bought kef R3 today so they are payed they will be shipped from Uk to me, brand new 5 year warranty so fresh. with grills etcs..
If you don't want to pay for an integrated amp that has a DAC inside, and are willing to add one more box, you can get improved sampling rate coming out of a source device via USB, optical or coax, depending on the DAC. Plenty of choices under $150 that will do the job perfectly well. That frees you up from needing an integrated that has the DAC inside.

You say convenience is important to you - if I were you, I would think re what inputs you need in an amp that can drive the speakers effectively vs power/volume considerations alone... You don't want to wind up with a lot of volume but continuing frustration in getting source sound into it...via RCA line, Bluetooth, mini, whatever...
 
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D

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Giving them your money is your choice ;)
i will be selling my naim muso 2 real soon, so i also receive some of my money back! :)


If you don't want to pay for an integrated amp that has a DAC inside, and are willing to add one more box, you can get improved sampling rate coming out of a source device via USB, optical or coax, depending on the DAC. Plenty of choices under $150 that will do the job perfectly well. That frees you up from needing an integrated that has the DAC inside.

You say convenience is important to you - if I were you, I would think re what inputs you need in an amp that can drive the speakers effectively vs power/volume considerations alone... You don't want to wind up with a lot of volume but continuing frustration in getting source sound into it...via RCA line, Bluetooth, mini, whatever...


How much sound quality will be improved with dedicated dac,
i was thinking most integrated amps have dacs inside or they dont i am totally confused, so i need all in one package
high end ultra reliable , ultra easy to resale etcs...
blue tooth is not good source and option for some of the flacs i listen or dsd or my mp3s i use it from my phone or wifi to stream but i never use blue tooth on my computer.
 

HarmonicTHD

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I dont plan to invest in dac, what purpose dac have what benefit it will provide to me in my car i have p99rs pioneer
Stage 4 Reference Series CD Receiver

24-Bit AKM DACs
• Off ers S/N ratio as high as 120 dB and high durability to jitter.
• Used for high, mid, low and SW channel (1 each).
• Give superior dynamic range and quietness.

it have several dacs,
do i find quality difference when i compared to my other car Sony player which cost 100$
for p99rs i spend 1500$ as a brand new,
so i see 000 difference thats a gimmick,


I have bought kef R3 today so they are payed they will be shipped from Uk to me, brand new 5 year warranty so fresh. with grills etcs..


Any opinions on rotel amplifiers are they any good and other brands i mentioned,like raga amps, roksan amps,nad ,harman kardon,morantz , creek 50a version amp, arcam as well, cyrus..
I didn’t say you need a DAC. That’s for you to decide.

I just wanted to be clear to what source you hook up your amp to so we can consider this in the recommendations for an amp.
 
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HarmonicTHD

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If you don't want to pay for an integrated amp that has a DAC inside, and are willing to add one more box, you can get improved sampling rate coming out of a source device via USB, optical or coax, depending on the DAC. Plenty of choices under $150 that will do the job perfectly well. That frees you up from needing an integrated that has the DAC inside.

You say convenience is important to you - if I were you, I would think re what inputs you need in an amp that can drive the speakers effectively vs power/volume considerations alone... You don't want to wind up with a lot of volume but continuing frustration in getting source sound into it...via RCA line, Bluetooth, mini, whatever...
Ah no. An integrated amp does not necessarily has a built in DAC. Good that you mention it. Integrated amps traditionally mean pre and power amp integrated, so you can hook up line level sources (1 to 2V out) eg DAC, PC etc.
 
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RB-1552 MkII rotel that unit is inside my budget as used, is it any good?​



Its called stereo amplifier is this all the thing i need or i need to buy more boxes no clue whats difference between stereo and integrated amp?
i am not sure how quality is this made by rotel in china i dont like china , my speakers are made in china.

i have found other older rotel models all made in china which is bad and prices are around at least 1000euro or more... quite a robbery for old amps some of them more than 10 years old.
 

HarmonicTHD

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RB-1552 MkII rotel that unit is inside my budget as used, is it any good?​



Its called stereo amplifier is this all the thing i need or i need to buy more boxes no clue whats difference between stereo and integrated amp?
i am not sure how quality is this made by rotel in china i dont like china , my speakers are made in china.

i have found other older rotel models all made in china which is bad and prices are around at least 1000euro or more... quite a robbery for old amps some of them more than 10 years old.
The specs according to the manufacturer are not really good (TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION (THD)
(20Hz–20kHz) <0.03%). Factor of ten off from what you can get from the amps recommended here. Even the Emotiva someone recommended earlier seems better at only 470USD and new.

Also this is a power amp only. No volume control, so your PC needs to control the volume, if this is ok with you. Assuming your PC can put out 1.5Vrms to drive it.
 
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The specs according to the manufacturer are not really good (TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION (THD)
(20Hz–20kHz) <0.03%). Factor of ten off from what you can get from the amps recommended here.

Also this is a power amp only. No volume control. Assuming your PC can put out 1.5Vrms to drive it.
Thanks this doesnt work for me then......
So i am kinda screwed with my little money,

If i go to 1500/1500usd/ euro mark, whats the best used unit i can buy which holds value and i can sale easy like a apple pie?
Or i need to increase my amp budget to 2000 euro/usd?
Again quality,ultra reliability amazing resale value , like my LEXUS.
is there any MARK LEVINSON, what do you think of it ?
I have mark levinson in my lexus
it uses multi channel class d amp to drive 17 speakers.
 

HarmonicTHD

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Thanks this doesnt work for me then......
So i am kinda screwed with my little money,

If i go to 1500/1500usd/ euro mark, whats the best used unit i can buy which holds value and i can sale easy like a apple pie?
Or i need to increase my amp budget to 2000 euro/usd?
Again quality,ultra reliability amazing resale value , like my LEXUS.
is there any MARK LEVINSON, what do you think of it ?
I have mark levinson in my lexus
it uses multi channel class d amp to drive 17 speakers.
At 1500EUR go for the Denon X3700 which you so forcefully reject. They are reliable. They sell easily too. Got all the interfaces you ever want, built in streamer, built in DAC, built in DSP(RoomEQ), option to hook up sub later to support the R3s and more … those units are built by the millions and you can’t beat the bang for the buck with those AVRs. And at ca 90dB SINAD (ca 0.003%) have ca ten times less distortion than all the so called high end amps you listed so far (eg Rotel, Harman)
 

MaxBuck

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I think the Hypex based power amplifiers from Boxem and Apollon offer the likeliest solution for a European customer. Add an affordable, high quality DAC like the Schiit Modius and you're good to go to play streaming audio from your PC. No Chinese purchase required, and everything probably under 1.5k euros.
 
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At 1500EUR go for the Denon X3700 which you so forcefully reject. They are reliable. They sell easily too. Got all the interfaces you ever want, built in streamer, built in DAC, built in DSP(RoomEQ), option to hook up sub later to support the R3s and more … those units are built by the millions and you can’t beat the bang for the buck with those AVRs. And at ca 90dB SINAD (ca 0.003%) have ca ten times less distortion than all the so called high end amps you listed so far (eg Rotel, Harman)
Can they beat Accuphase? when its time to sale the denon who will buy it no one?
after 5-10 years for example
 
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Joe Smith

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You seem more interested in the reselling than the keeping...just sayin'...

If you want and can afford Accuphase, fine, go for it... Used? Just make sure your seller will stand behind it if problems.

Your budget and your absolute TOTL desires are a bit at odds, I think people here are mostly trying to be helpful with options that fit within your budget.
 
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You seem more interested in the reselling than the keeping...just sayin'...

If you want and can afford Accuphase, fine, go for it... Used? Just make sure your seller will stand behind it if problems.

Your budget and your absolute TOTL desires are a bit at odds, I think people here are mostly trying to be helpful with options that fit within your budget.
I want to be able to sale the unit after 1-2-3-4-5 or more years with minimum amount of lost money,
i can increase my budget if needed in order to complete the mission.
is denon that kinda of unit can i sale it after 5 years at good price or for pennies? I dont know what will happen in europe we have war and not certain times, i need to be preparated.
 
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Accuphase E-207 Integrated STereo Amplifier​


i have found this unit, which i am not sure if it covers my needs,

i am not sure how old is this since i cant find
here are the specs, please tell me is it worse than denon and newer amps
1662073449407.png
 

HarmonicTHD

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Accuphase E-207 Integrated STereo Amplifier​


i have found this unit, which i am not sure if it covers my needs,

i am not sure how old is this since i cant find
here are the specs, please tell me is it worse than denon and newer amps
View attachment 228093
I think this one you can answer now by yourself after all what you learned ;-). Try it :). Hint: look at the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD).

Explanation. THD plus N (Noise) is equivalent to SINAD.
 
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I have old vintage headunit from my 5.1 theater,
my speakers my head unit model is
jvc rx-e100sl if i can drive my speakers, i will not buy amp??

70 W per channel, min. RMS, driven into 8 ,
40 Hz to 20 kHz with no more than 0.8% total
harmonic distortion according to the manual.

my jvc is from 90s
rca victory . JAPAN! high end quality!
i am not good at math so i dont know, if denon is better than acuuphase. I bet since Denon is 50 years newer than accuphase will be better.
Simply a bet.


I Have found used denon in germany for 1000 euro no accessories no warranty, i dont like the deal. Is there a big difference between denon x3700h and x3700?
 

ferrellms

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What are the best amp options to drive KEF R3? i listen loud to music, and i dont want distortion etcs... i want high quality reliable brand//s products with long lasting good resale value because when time arrives i will upgrade to something better my current budget is around 1000 euro for amp it can be new or used,
i can extend my budget as long as item is really with groundbreaking technology and worth every penny.
If unit can stream it will be great if not not a big deal,
i put quality over everything else.
Please advice on some good quality stuff without top favourites inside chinese chasis, they have 000 resale value.Not sure what power amp i should get , to drive speakers as loud as possible, i am aware that this can leads to their premature wear/and brake them damage them.
Any modern amp with 200 WPC or more should do the trick. Easy huh?
 

dorakeg

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Any modern amp with 200 WPC or more should do the trick. Easy huh?

it won't be easy to find 200WPC that's within his budget. Although there are plenty of 100+w ones, 200wpc amps are still quite costly.
 
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HybridDigital DAC Amplifier​

NAD389 with bluos module

HybridDigital DAC Amplifier​

will this fit my requierments , not yet available in europe...
it won't be easy to find 200WPC that's within his budget. Although there are plenty of 100+w ones, 200wpc amps are still quite costly.

how much more costly?
 

NiagaraPete

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HybridDigital DAC Amplifier​


HybridDigital DAC Amplifier​

will this fit my requierments , not yet available in europe...


how much more costly?
If you had looked at Genelec you wouldn’t be shopping for amps. Just saying.
 
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