Do I need a pre-amp for R3

[JeremyFife]

According to WHAT HI*FI:
The KEF’s sensitivity is rated at an average 87dB and nominal impedance is claimed to be 8 ohms, though a minimum value of 3.2 ohms suggest that an amplifier with a bit of grunt would be good. We use our reference £15,000 Gamut D3i-D200i pre/power combination for much of this test – its output of 220W per channel makes the KEFs sing. The Rega Elex-R (£950, 72W per channel) is something more likely to partner the R3s and does well too.

According to me:
Usually the budget between amp and speakers are 50-50.

or ... be aware that this will actually blow your head off in nearfield

Try a Power / SPL calculator like this: https://www.crownaudio.com/en/tools/calculators#amp_power_required
Listening at 1.5m with a bit of headroom (6dB) and cranking the volume up to an uncomfortable (for me) 90 dBSPL needs 18W of power ...

Make sure any amp you do get has decent measurements (don't know the two above) otherwise you'll get amplified distortion! And you'll be broke. And it will not sound any better than the amps recommended here!
That budget recommendation was old in the 80's too ... electronics are cheap now, good speakers are not

 

[JktHifi]

or ... be aware that this will actually blow your head off in nearfield

Try a Power / SPL calculator like this: https://www.crownaudio.com/en/tools/calculators#amp_power_required
Listening at 1.5m with a bit of headroom (6dB) and cranking the volume up to an uncomfortable (for me) 90 dBSPL needs 18W of power ...

Make sure any amp you do get has decent measurements (don't know the two above) otherwise you'll get amplified distortion! And you'll be broke. And it will not sound any better than the amps recommended here!
That budget recommendation was old in the 80's too ... electronics are cheap now, good speakers are not

Thank your for the calculator but I don't think the amp become cheaper. Other than amp probably become cheaper such as DVD become Blu-ray, PS4 become PS5, Plasma TV become LED TV, etc but amps are nothing change.

 

[Dennip]

Thanks for the great adivce guys. I'll let you know what i end up deciding!

My only concern with the smaller units (e.g. Loxjie A30) is if they have the grunt to drive these speakers fully. although seems like the concensus here is that they will do okay for a desk setup.

 

[Triliza]

Thanks for the great adivce guys. I'll let you know what i end up deciding!

My only concern with the smaller units (e.g. Loxjie A30) is if they have the grunt to drive these speakers fully. although seems like the concensus here is that they will do okay for a desk setup.

I think any of the suggested amps will be able to provide enough power for desktop use. The only thing to consider is if after a time for whatever reasons you decide to use the R3 for a far-field setup, you have enough power to do so. The Audiophonic amp I mentioned earlier has 250W at 4Ω, which you definitely don't need for desktop use.

 

[Overseas]

Thanks for the great adivce guys. I'll let you know what i end up deciding!

My only concern with the smaller units (e.g. Loxjie A30) is if they have the grunt to drive these speakers fully. although seems like the concensus here is that they will do okay for a desk setup.

Tested Loxjie A30/ Aiyima A07/ Yamaha RN803D/ Rotel A11 Tribute/ Yamaha AS1100 with Focal Aria 906 shelf speakers. They all work. But for ex. A07 is no match for AS1100, in sound. I know I will take some heat here, it is just my subjective listening testing. For casual nearfield, A30 is ok. If you want the best sound from your speakers, you will have to go up the game and test.

Try various amps for yourself.

 

[Overseas]

Power in watts is not the issue. With 10 watts and speakers over 90 dB sensitivity, it will rock.

 

[Joe Smith]

Well, yeah, I would hope the AS1100 kicks the A07 to the curb - as it's about 25x the price! But a nice investment amp for sure.

 

[Steven Holt]

For Heaven's sakes man just buy the LA90 and be done with it.

 

[Dennip]

Hi Guys, to throw a few curveballs in the works.

I quite like the NAD D 3020 V2

There is a bundle near me - NAD D 3020 + KEF LS50 Meta - for £1300, this seems like it is a good price. Would you rate the LS50 Meta higher than the KEF R3?

I can still get the R3 for £750 + NAD for £400 so that package would be a bit cheaper, but i dont know which speaker is better. I'm thinking R3 wins this battle?

Additionally, what would people say about the Marantz PM6007 vs the NAD D 3020? I like the nad because it has usb input and bluetooth is a nice bonus, but I have seen a few murmurs online about it struggling to drive low ohm speakers.

 

[Snix]

As others mentioned, never trust windows (or any program controlled) volume really.
The risk of blowing things up (including your eardrums) doesn't worth it.

I own a pair of original R3 (non meta, the updated version) and I love them.
Though I consider them to be on the bigger side of "bookshelf" speakers

From catalogue;

Weight* 13.5 kg (29.8 lbs.)
Dimension (H x W x D)
with terminal*
422.2 x 199.6 x 335.5 mm
(16.6 x 7.9 x 13.2 in.)
* Measurement per unit

That's 60 lbs a pair, sitting on your table...