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What are the best amp options to drive KEF R3?

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Chrispy

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Sub is brand jvc,
it was part of home cinema 5.1 system,which i still own.
I'd not bother with those, they're not likely of very good quality let alone capable of significant extension/spl, they're possibly less capable than the R3....
 
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I'd not bother with those, they're not likely of very good quality let alone capable of significant extension/spl, they're possibly less capable than the R3....
Yes
but i really dont care much about sub speakers are 3 way and have decent sub already
thats why they are 3 way not 2 way
 

DMill

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i need to have reference quality/ speakers have some bass and i will try their bass first if its not enough i already have 2 spare subs which i can add thats easy.
If you are trying to build a reference recording studio in your home, I’m sure you will need to reconsider the R3s right from the start. Hire a contractor and reconstruct your living space to begin with. That said, you can get mostly there with the R3s and likely a sub or two. Class D amps are great as are many A/B options for those speakers. If SINAD is your thing go with a Purifi or Hypex. If you just need raw power 100w vs 200w is just 3dB. You are starting with a great pair of speakers. I’d not be too focused on the end game right now, but rather just enjoy the journey.
 
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If you are trying to build a reference recording studio in your home, I’m sure you will need to reconsider the R3s right from the start. Hire a contractor and reconstruct your living space to begin with. That said, you can get mostly there with the R3s and likely a sub or two. Class D amps are great as are many A/B options for those speakers. If SINAD is your thing go with a Purifi or Hypex. If you just need raw power 100w vs 200w is just 3dB. You are starting with a great pair of speakers. I’d not be too focused on the end game right now, but rather just enjoy the journey.
I will see how they sound, if i dont like them i will go to the next stage,
r3s are new and i never heard them before,
if i decide to go to the route with nad c298 what are my option as a pre amplifier are there pre amplifier with streaming option or something decent.
In my country i cant find anything decent, i need to get it from there in order for the accountant.
 

Chrispy

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Yes
but i really dont care much about sub speakers are 3 way and have decent sub already
thats why they are 3 way not 2 way
Three ways don't necessarily have better bass than a 2-way, that's more often about the midrange capabilities. Your R3s have woofers, not subwoofers.
 
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i will be able to hear them in 2weeks time at least when they arrive.
 

NiagaraPete

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If you are trying to build a reference recording studio in your home, I’m sure you will need to reconsider the R3s right from the start. Hire a contractor and reconstruct your living space to begin with. That said, you can get mostly there with the R3s and likely a sub or two. Class D amps are great as are many A/B options for those speakers. If SINAD is your thing go with a Purifi or Hypex. If you just need raw power 100w vs 200w is just 3dB. You are starting with a great pair of speakers. I’d not be too focused on the end game right now, but rather just enjoy the journey.
He’s not.
 

Rufus T. Firefly

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I would look at a used Adcom GFA 555. Nelson Pass designed and 200 WPC. You may need to get it recapped at some point but at $500 +/- you have that in savings and it will last for another 30 years. You would most likely be able to sell it for as much (or more if updated) as you paid for it.

Plenty for sale on Ebay.
 

KuroMuro

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Hello everyone,

I don't want to make another thread for this question, so I thought about asking it here. ;)

At the moment I'm enjoying my newly bought R3's and they sound amazing (a big improvement over the 706S2). But now I'm looking at upgrading my integrated amplifier for one with more power or tuning features. My current amplifier is a Advanced Acoustic X-i105. Which has 105W per channel which should be okay but they don't have anything like Dirac, RoomPerfect etc... so there isn't a lot of possible when it comes to tuning the sound for my room (4x4m atm...). I'm always listening at normal levels and never play louder than +/-50db (peaks measured in app). I'm mostly listening my music on my turntable.. almost never though a digital source if that's important to note.

So, my question is... would a amp with more power like a NAD C399 have a improvement for my current situation or would a amp with less power like a Lyngdorf TDAI 1120 with RoomPerfect be a bigger improvement over one with more power (D-class, 180W in 8/6 ohm as with the C399)?

Or are other amps a better recommendation?

My current budget in €2500... so a lot of choice but I'm somewhat clueless when it comes to amplifiers.
 

HarmonicTHD

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Hello everyone,

I don't want to make another thread for this question, so I thought about asking it here. ;)

At the moment I'm enjoying my newly bought R3's and they sound amazing (a big improvement over the 706S2). But now I'm looking at upgrading my integrated amplifier for one with more power or tuning features. My current amplifier is a Advanced Acoustic X-i105. Which has 105W per channel which should be okay but they don't have anything like Dirac, RoomPerfect etc... so there isn't a lot of possible when it comes to tuning the sound for my room (4x4m atm...). I'm always listening at normal levels and never play louder than +/-50db (peaks measured in app). I'm mostly listening my music on my turntable.. almost never though a digital source if that's important to note.

So, my question is... would a amp with more power like a NAD C399 have a improvement for my current situation or would a amp with less power like a Lyngdorf TDAI 1120 with RoomPerfect be a bigger improvement over one with more power (D-class, 180W in 8/6 ohm as with the C399)?

Or are other amps a better recommendation?

My current budget in €2500... so a lot of choice but I'm somewhat clueless when it comes to amplifiers.
The biggest improvement for 2500 would be
a) selling your R3 and take all the money and spent it on a R7 or R11 or …

b) if you can’t place bigger speakers invest in RoomEQ (that can already be achieved for 100USD for the UMIK1 mic and doing all the eqing in software (free) on a streamer eg PC, RaspPi or whatever you have.
Alternatively there are miniDSPs etc. for maximum around 600 bucks. So no 2500 needed either.

c) a new amp by itself will have by order the least effect, but generally more clean (high SINAD) helps but although the R3s have a few dips in impedance, they are not that difficult to drive. So the usual suspects from Audiophonics, Boxem or Buckeye all Purify based come to mind.

d) AVRs have everything of the above in one box and for 2500 you already get some powerful enough to drive the R3s (eg Denons or the newer Marantz).
 
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KuroMuro

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Thanks for the reply. I went to a hifi dealer earlier this week and his reply was that Dirac would be the biggest improvement to my setup. I don't experienced this but I'm curious in how much this improvement will be. Which brand and model should I look for when I would go for a AVR?

Oh and as mentioned I don't do digital or have any plans to connect a pc or RaspberryPi to my setup. I'm mostly listening though my turntable ;).
 

KuroMuro

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No, I don't need one, stereo is more than enough for my listening preferences. I listen with only 2 speakers and a sub (SVS 3000 Micro). So the whole feature set of Dolby Atmos etc... is something I would never use.
 

dlaloum

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Thanks for the reply. I went to a hifi dealer earlier this week and his reply was that Dirac would be the biggest improvement to my setup. I don't experienced this but I'm curious in how much this improvement will be. Which brand and model should I look for when I would go for a AVR?

Oh and as mentioned I don't do digital or have any plans to connect a pc or RaspberryPi to my setup. I'm mostly listening though my turntable ;).
As you are TT based - your setup will require an ADC somewhere in the chain to digitise the signal - AVR's are the most economical way of doing this, but they are not the only option.

You could go for Dirac software on a PC, and fit it with an appropriate ADC/DAC - you could even use that system as your phono pre-amp... (such as RME's ADI-2/4 pro product)

The most economical option would be something like an Onkyo RZ50 AVR, which has Dirac onboard, and includes both ADC and DAC ...

The biggest impact on your systems sound quality, is always going to be the speakers and the room (and the interaction between them) - the electronics that feed into that have a marginal impact by comparison.

The reason that Dirac can make a substantial difference, is that it tunes the speakers and the room - the areas that are most subject to improvement!
 

bodhi

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No, I don't need one, stereo is more than enough for my listening preferences. I listen with only 2 speakers and a sub (SVS 3000 Micro). So the whole feature set of Dolby Atmos etc... is something I would never use.

The features won't do any harm even if you don't use them. AVR with good room correction, Dirac or Audyssey XT32 are available in mid-priced models, will be the easiest way to handle any room issues in lower frequencies. AVR will sound the same as stereo receiver but fixing the usual bass problems with room correction will most likely be a big improvement. More audible than going with larger speakers and way more audible than getting an amplifier with a bit higher SINAD.

As mentioned before you can get good results with minidsp and rew by just by applying automatically generated filterset based on house curve.
 

HarmonicTHD

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Thanks for the reply. I went to a hifi dealer earlier this week and his reply was that Dirac would be the biggest improvement to my setup. I don't experienced this but I'm curious in how much this improvement will be. Which brand and model should I look for when I would go for a AVR?

Oh and as mentioned I don't do digital or have any plans to connect a pc or RaspberryPi to my setup. I'm mostly listening though my turntable ;).
Good. Dirac is available for example already in the miniDSPs which start around ca 150 and go to ca 600 or something. Plus you need the UMIK1 measurement mic for ca 100.

Alternatively Dirac is available in a number of AVRs (onkyo, Yamaha) and is announced for Denon and Marantz later this year
 

Danaxus

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Hello everyone,

I don't want to make another thread for this question, so I thought about asking it here. ;)

At the moment I'm enjoying my newly bought R3's and they sound amazing (a big improvement over the 706S2). But now I'm looking at upgrading my integrated amplifier for one with more power or tuning features. My current amplifier is a Advanced Acoustic X-i105. Which has 105W per channel which should be okay but they don't have anything like Dirac, RoomPerfect etc... so there isn't a lot of possible when it comes to tuning the sound for my room (4x4m atm...). I'm always listening at normal levels and never play louder than +/-50db (peaks measured in app). I'm mostly listening my music on my turntable.. almost never though a digital source if that's important to note.

So, my question is... would a amp with more power like a NAD C399 have a improvement for my current situation or would a amp with less power like a Lyngdorf TDAI 1120 with RoomPerfect be a bigger improvement over one with more power (D-class, 180W in 8/6 ohm as with the C399)?

Or are other amps a better recommendation?

My current budget in €2500... so a lot of choice but I'm somewhat clueless when it comes to amplifiers.
If you want simplicity, I'd go with the NAD C399 based on what you've said. It's got plenty of power, little to no noise, and Dirac.

Butttttt, if you want something arguably better and for a lot less money, then I'd get a minidsp (gives you PEQ and Dirac), as well as a Topping LA90 for the cleanest, no-noise amp you could ever wish for (surprisingly, it's class A/B, not D!)

....Then I'd spend all that money I saved on room treatment, or a 2nd sub ;-)
 
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