Amp for kef reference 1
If you want opinions that have value, pick three amps/preamps/Integrated amps that are in your budget and you are leaning towards. Perhaps then you will get practical answers and opinions. My recommendation is an SST.audio amp/preamp combo. I own an SST preamp and amp and they are the best sounding combo I have owned. |
cshadow These are 80-85db efficient, so a good 120- to 300w @ 8ohms will do, and they are a quite easy load around 4ohms with very low -phase angle. https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/images/stories/loudspeakermeasurements/kef_reference_1/impedance.g... https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/images/stories/loudspeakermeasurements/kef_reference_1/electrical_... They are flagship model and deserve a flagship amp, if I owned them and had the funds I look at a high class-A bias class-A/B amp to get the sweetness, these Class-A/B Gryphon Diablo’s would be nice the 120 or if you have the extra the 300 https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/integrated-amplifiers/diablo-120/ https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/integrated-amplifiers/gryphon-diablo-300-integrated-amplifier/ BTW MF amps to me have always been a bit too surgical sounding, and they have lot of gain usually which brings up the noise floor, Antony Michaelson seems to love gain, not a good match for these Kefs, to be a relaxing listen. Cheers George |
Our local KEF dealer (Quest for Sound In Bensalem, PA) has them in a room where they are paired with the current Pariasound Halo integrated amplifier as well as the Rogue Pharaoh integrated. I think they sound terrific with both. I also love the Reference One speakers! Sounded good on the previous generation Parasound integrated as well |
The Hegel 390 (not 360) would be a top choice to keep things simple. I have heard the Hegel 360 with KEF Blades (similar to the Reference line) and it was surprisingly good given that the Blade is a fairly big speaker. The Hegel 390, which I have not heard, is supposed to have a better DAC and other improvements on the 360. However, the 360 can be bought used for your $2.5k price. The Mark Levinson 585 is amazing. It costs $12K but can be found used for $6K (even dealer demos). Best integrated I have heard, even preferred it to the Luxman 509x integrated. It would sound great with the KEF Reference 1. I heard that integrated with the Magico A3. The new ML 5000 series is supposedly a little lower in sound quality to the 585 (dealer feedback from dealer who does not sell ML). I am going to buy some new gear for my KEF LS50’s. I should say old gear because I at one time had Benchmark AHB2 + DAC3 HGC on the KEF LS50’s but sold them. I want to buy the AHB2 and the new LA4 preamp again because I enjoyed that clear, silent background from the Benchmarks. Not sure if you would like that but if you did go that route I would get 2 AHB2 and run them as monoblocks. They do have a 30 day home trial. https://www.stereophile.com/content/recommended-components-2020-edition-power-amps https://benchmarkmedia.com/products/benchmark-ahb2-power-amplifier I have also considered going out and listening to the following to pair with the KEF LS50’s. - Bryston 4B3 - CODA #8 - Hegel 390 However, the AHB2 is the bird in the hand so to speak and I likely won’t bother getting my butt out the door to go demo them. BTW - I am currently using a Peachtree Nova 150 with my KEF LS50’s. It is rather good, not the best you can get but if saving $$$ is the #1 factor, a very good choice. For the KEF Ref 1 I would consider the NOVA 300 or the new NOVA 500 with the improved DAC. |
I'm using an Ayre VX-5 Twenty to drive my Reference 1s, and it seems to be a good pairing. I had thought them best suited to jazz and baroque, but adding a pair of bass-managed Velodyne HGS-15s crossed at 80 Hz produced the big sound for large orchestrations. The efficacy of pairing the speakers with the subs surprised me, almost magic. I use an Ayre A7e integrated with my LS50s. I think that pairing sounds great. Jazz, from brushwork to plucked bass, is portrayed particularly well. |
