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845/211 tube amplifiers with kef reference 5?

Hi, am seeking for advise from those who have the kef reference 5 or have 845 or 211 tube amplifiers.

I personally own a pair of kef reference 5, driving them with primaluna dialogue HP integrated tube amplifiers with EL34 tubes at 70 watts. Am liking the sound but cant help but wonder if playing with the bigger tubes like 845 or 211 will give it even more tube magic, sweetness/softness, musicality and wider soundstage.

However, those amps typically are lower powered around 20-30watts, and would like to ask for advice of those are suitable to power a kef reference 5 which is 90db at 8 ohms and minimal impedance of 3.2ohms? Recommended power is 50w to 400w but i know tube watts can be more powerful than solid state. 

For those of you who have matched a system like that or heard set ups of these forms of amplifiers with the kef ref 5, or have similar experiences, would like to seek some advice/get some experience from you

Thank you!
Regards
Ben
thegreenman

Showing 8 responses by thegreenman

thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Hi Atmasphere,

Thanks so much for your input! really appreciate them! sorry may be slightly laggy at some times as some days are really bogged down by work.

All the best and stay safe! :)
thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Hi Verdantaudio

Thanks for your opinion! Haha luckily usually I listen at around 85db, so I shouldnt push past 100db I hope! (bar the occasional drum note :p)

I will keep updated if I do upgrade my amplifiers to another tube amp :)

Enjoy the music :)
thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Hi Jasonbourne52

Thanks for your input. Not sure if you heard that combo before of crown + kef ref 5....
Either way am asking for the 211/845 tube amps for the kefs. Tubes are the way to go for me at least!

Thanks
thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Hi Spencer

Thanks for your reply! Yes indeed thats a genre of amplifiers that I have not explored yet! Have heard tt BAT amps are pretty good! The 6c33 are high current tubes....may sound different from the normal EL34 that I am used to. With high current 50-55w they might be able to drive my speakers without any issues.

The other ones i am considering are the cary 211 FE monoblocks, but those are more pricy. And another 845 tube amp driven by 300b which sounds truly interesting...but those are made in japan hence i wont be able to test them out/demo them myself...which is unfortunate.

Regards
Ben
thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Dear All,

Thank you so much for your replies. Sorry for the delay as I was heavily bogged down by work. Am grateful to each and every of your replies.

Especially to atmasphere, thanks so much for sharing your views from a tube amplifier designer/manufacturer point of view on SET. I never knew that SETs are not meant to be pushed past their 20-25% mark. Still trying to process and understand some of your more technical comments but am very grateful for your sharing.

Am curious, how about push-pull 845 amplifiers in monoblock configuration? Eg 50w class A, each channel driven by 2 845 or 211 tubes? Would those be sufficient to drive the kef reference 5? 

Thanks
thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Hi Verdantaudio,

Thanks for your replies as well! I did consider bi-amping but was worried about the matching of the sound. Heard a steve guttenberg video where he was trying to match a tube for high/mid and solid state class A for bass, and sounded bad. Haha hence I am holding that off for now though I agree technically its a feasible option! :)

Heard mcintosh mc901 demos though and agree those sound wonderful! But definitely out of my price range :pp

Cheers
Ben
thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Hi Sbank

Thanks for your suggestion! Will keep a lookout for dehavillaudio! Now they dont have 845 tube amps but I will keep a lookout for those! :)

Thanks!
thegreenman OP
44 posts
 
Hi Rauliruegas

Thanks for your opinion! Haha somehow or other have heard many solid state systems, and ultimately I think it depends on what you are looking for/chasing in your system. To me, I think I am truly in love with tube sound, and ultimately am chasing after that as my end goal! Good tube sound just makes you want to close your eyes, savour the sound and smile :)

Stay safe and enjoy your music! :)


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