Integrated for LS50 Meta;

[Joe1948]

I enjoyed Amir’s review of the KEF LS50 Meta & plan on purchasing a pair. I am wondering what integrated amp at less than $1,500 would be adequate to power them cleanly? I would appreciate recommendations.

Thanks,

Joe in Tampa

 

[steve59]

A used hegel h190 has a pretty good dac, not sure if it does mqa, but I really liked it. I have a barely used Anthem 225 I i'll let you have for $750 if you're local. It's solid and competes. It listed for $2k new, dealer gave me 20% discount bnib around

 

[Joe1948]

Thanks, I’m just shopping now.

 

[NTK]

Welcome to ASR!

What are the features you need in your integrated amplifier, such as sources and signal types (e.g. usb, optical digital, coax digital, hdmi, wireless, analog, etc.)? Integrated amps at your price range is kind of in a no man's land in between the higher-end and the lower level ones. You'll probably get better flexibility if you are willing to go with separates.

 

[Joe1948]

I have a Denon DRA 800h 2 channel A/V amp i intend to use as a pre-amp; so I am just looking for sufficient clean power down to 4 ohms for the KEFs. I was considering several NADs.

 

[NTK]

If you are only looking for a 2-ch power amplifier, Buckeye amps are hard to beat.

Buckeye Amps: New US based Hypex multichannel amplifier builder, line-up announcement!

Hypex NC502MP specs: - 450w @ 2ohm (per channel, peak) - 500w @ 4ohm (per channel, peak) - 350w @ 8ohm (per channel, peak) Hypex NC252MP specs: - 180w @ 2ohm (per channel, peak) - 250w @ 4ohm (per channel, peak) - 150w @ 8ohm (per channel, peak) PRICING: XL 8ch Aluminum Case (17"x13"x6")...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[steve59]

Features and power requirements first then shop for something that catches your eye at your price point then come here and present it to the experts.

 

[VMAT4]

For $1500 you could just about do a miniDSP Flex Balanced with Dirac and a Buckeye power amp.

 

[DJNX]

You need to provide:

Average listening level in dBSPL
Listening distance from speakers

Otherwise you won't know how much power you need.

 

[NTK]

You need to provide:

Average listening level in dBSPL
Listening distance from speakers

Otherwise you won't know how much power you need.

The LS50 Meta can only take in so much ...

 

[Timcognito]

Minidsp SHD Review Updated (DSP, DAC & Streamer)

This is an update to the review of minidsp SHD that I did a couple of years ago. My tests have evolved since then and company has stated that they fixed a few issues I found in that test. The SHD costs US $1,195 and includes a USB DAC, streaming engine (based on Volumio) and of course, DSP...

www.audiosciencereview.com

SoundStage! Hi-Fi | SoundStageHiFi.com - miniDSP SHD Power Integrated Amplifier-DAC

www.soundstagehifi.com

 

[MAB]

I love the MiniDSP Flex idea. You will have full DSP preamp, with crossover if you need that. One potential drawback, you said you are looking for integrated amp, does this mean you want to hook up additional analog sources? If so, the Flex only accepts digital inputs. The SHD has analog inputs, I have one and like it but it is more expensive than the Flex.

 

[Joe1948]

My bedroom is approx 16 ft x 16 ft with 8 ft ceilings; my listening position is about 11 feet from the speakers. I rarely listen at levels exceeding 80 db.
I am currently using a Denon DRA-800H stereo receiver which delivers 100 watts into 8 ohms, but is not rated for 4 ohm. I will probably use the Denon
as a pre-amp, but I would like a dedicated amplifier rated for clean power at 4 ohms to power the KEF LS-50 Metas. I am considering the NAD C-268 power
amplifier which is rated at 80w into 8 or 4 ohms.

Any recommendations are welcome,

Joe

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[phoenixdogfan]

A few years back, people were pairing OG LS 50s with the Parasound Halo Integrated (HINT). It made Stereophile's Class A recommendations. It had 170 WPC Class AB stereo power amps, Phonostage, DAC, Preamp, headphone amp, Hi/Low pass for a sub, and bypass for home theater receiver, and sold for around $2500 new. Probably could pick one up used on US Audio Mart for the price you want to pay. Can't recall if it had a streamer.

Doubt that it would have Sinad numbers comparable for individual contemporary DACS and Amps, but it certainly won't be any worse than a lot of stuff pimped as "state of the art" like Hegel.

 

[steve59]

I owned the parasound halo A21 and replaced it with a similarly rated hegel. the step up in audible quality is obvious. If you want an amp with a thick exaggerated upper bass/ low midrange. and lacking the last word in resolution get the parasound. My speakers at the time were revel salons and even the most affordable hegel brought those speakers to life. I sold the A21 asap. ymmv

 

[killdozzer]

I call bollocks on most of these "brand-pairings". Go with clean power. Don't go under 2x50 into 8. I'd recommend at least a clean 80. Any brand will do. I would honestly avoid HEGEL. I don't believe in accidents. That company has one dud in the market and shows no intention of pulling it. I wouldn't like to be the one to uncover all other duds.

Since you have a preamp, I'd look for some of those clean Toppings or SMSL or any of the Purifi, Eigentakt, Hypex nCore and so on.

 

[telemike]

Rotel A12 or 14

 

[steve59]

I call bollocks on most of these "brand-pairings". Go with clean power. Don't go under 2x50 into 8. I'd recommend at least a clean 80. Any brand will do. I would honestly avoid HEGEL. I don't believe in accidents. That company has one dud in the market and shows no intention of pulling it. I wouldn't like to be the one to uncover all other duds.

Since you have a preamp, I'd look for some of those clean Toppings or SMSL or any of the Purifi, Eigentakt, Hypex nCore and so on.

This answer is fair for casual listening, ht, gaming and background music. I can also go as far as saying when I compared amps at specific price points they all sounded identical to me. If somebody calls bs on something does that make it true or have they not experienced it yet? I haven't tried the entry level hegel kit although I fojund the rost to sound as clean as the h190 and 390. I'v listened to the Anthem STR integrated followed by the STR separates and the audible differences weren't small. Do different sounding amps depend on the speakers they're connected to. of coarse! loudspeakers aren't a 4 ohm resistor so will put continuously changing loads on the driving amp. simple solution is get the most powerful kit you can afford then right? We all don't agree on the ideal sound either so borrow a couple competing pieces and play them back to back. If you're near chicago I have a couple you can try.

 

[killdozzer]

This answer is fair for casual listening, ht, gaming and background music. I can also go as far as saying when I compared amps at specific price points they all sounded identical to me. If somebody calls bs on something does that make it true or have they not experienced it yet? I haven't tried the entry level hegel kit although I fojund the rost to sound as clean as the h190 and 390. I'v listened to the Anthem STR integrated followed by the STR separates and the audible differences weren't small. Do different sounding amps depend on the speakers they're connected to. of coarse! loudspeakers aren't a 4 ohm resistor so will put continuously changing loads on the driving amp. simple solution is get the most powerful kit you can afford then right? We all don't agree on the ideal sound either so borrow a couple competing pieces and play them back to back. If you're near chicago I have a couple you can try.

This answer is fair for brand-fan boys. If a company puts out a poorly performing unit, I'd be cautious of that company. That's a healthy advice. Much healthier than; well, I didn't have problems with mine, so why wouldn't you try your luck at the lottery?

I'm happy for you, you got off easy, with no problems. And still, a fair advice to others would be; go with well built, clean, reliable. Don't dive into "if it's for background then it's OK" type of talk. An amp with clean power is the best thing you can hope for. One of those: a > a amps. When you tune sound, you don't do it by brand matching. While we're at it, what exactly should I experience to give credence to brand matching? I hope you're joking when you say you listened to an Anthem. As far as I know it's a good reliable company and you shouldn't hear an integrated by Anthem unless you're using some specific set up.

Playing pieces of gear back to back is really not the way to go. And the fact that the load is changing in no way translates to opting for a poorly performing amp (the one you would hear). It's a needless rabbit hole. You get clean power and you let source+speakers+room do the playing. And if you're not happy, you treat the room, not the brand of your amp.

 

[killdozzer]

@Joe1948 Here's a quote from the review:

Combined with low sensitivity, you need to have a beefy amplifier to drive them.

I know, it lacks context, but you can read the entire review here:

KEF LS50 Meta Review (Speaker)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the KEF LS50 Meta bookshelf coaxial speaker. It was kindly purchased new by a member and drop shipped to me and costs US $1,500 for a pair. The LS50 Meta comes in different colors and I must say, it looks stunning in white: You could sell it as...

www.audiosciencereview.com

These speakers are not in fact 85dB as they are being advertised. It goes lower and partly it's in the bass area so the advice to get substantial power is a good advice.