Lots of options for you!
whatever you do, don’t lower the power.
A good amp will hammer the emo amp to shards!
Better headroom, better parts.
check audiogon for a great amp, lots in here!
McCormack
pass
bryston
if I were you, I would miss a few meals for the 300W Bryston!
Huge difference. Quieter between passages, better parts, warranty,
I own the xpa-1’s they have been boxed up for years now, they r ok, but the high gain, gives tweeter hiss.
Try the Bryston, she is an amazing amp, and service!n warranty is TOP! |
Keep the WPC/RMS above 300WPC for best sound.
accept nothing lower!
Or, look for 7b’s used.
bryston is a good choice! |
I’m not sure what the sensitivity (efficiency rating) is for your KEF speakers, but my guess is that the Bryston 3B3 will perform fine and sound great in your system.
I have a 4B2 which is a wonderful amp but I had an in-home demo of a 2.5B3 with my difficult to drive Thiel CS 3.6 loudspeakers and OMG the power was fine with my stubborn speakers. The sound quality compared favorably with my 4B2. A slight lack of detail and me having to strain to integrate harmonies from musicians interacting with each other and background vocalists were better integrated into the overall sound for the 2.5B3.
For low to medium volumes the 3B3 would be great. Now saying all I have the 4B3 would be greater-er! To be honest, I have not yet auditioned the 4B3, but I have such trust in Bryston, that when I get ready I plan to order one sans audition. |
I would lose a few pounds and go with the 4B3 for the reasons that others have already mentioned. |
I am a big fan of the 4B3. It truly is a great amp. But what is the sensitivity of your KEF speakers? |
I moved into a new house which features one large multi use space. Has tall wooden sloped ceilings.
I brought my loved Rega Elex-R and Rega Rs7 floor standing speakers. My source was a SONOS Connect but I upgraded that to the new SONOS Port. The new living space sounded not so great. I swapped the Rega kit for new Spendor D9 speakers, a Pass Labs XP-20 preamp and a Bryston 250 watt 4BSST-2 power amp. I dumped the SONOS Port and added a Linn Majik DSM streamer as my source. I also have a great Rega turntable station.
Playing favorite records at thumping volumes sounds great. Some digital still sounds too cold however. I talked with a bunch of people and the advice I got generally is that the Bryston is not the best match here at the 40-70 dbls I often listen to? If I crank the volume the Bryston totally delivers, big time! On some recordings at lower volumes I am not as happy.
My plan is buy a Pass Labs amp and see how it performs at different volumes with different sources. I am told this will be a better match for me than the Bryston?
Wish I had already done this A/B test and had real findings to report for you. I hope to get this done in the next couple of weeks...
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I use a 3B² with Focal 948's. Wonderful amp. One of the best companies in the market place. you will get the balance of the warranty as well. Buy the 300W if you can.
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Reserve power usually gives better dynamics and punch. I have a 4b3 and a pair of 28b3 monoblocks. The 4b3 would be a great choice for you with power and great sound. This is a very quiet amp, quiet sections of music retain detail with the low noise floor which is so important. I have no regrets with my 4b3. I would not sacrifice the power. |
Thanks for all the input/info so far, it's a great help. Some are asking the sensitivy of the KEF R11's. Here ya go.
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 90dB
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Try an NAD M22 v2. 300wpc and “load invariant”. Yes it’s Hybrid Digital but KR from Stereophile loved it and he’s heard a lot. To me it competes with the 4B3. And it’s in your comfort zone.
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Hello,
I think your Emotiva amp is H-class and the Bryston is A/B or an exceptional D. I tried the Emotiva and went back to the A/B. We had a discussion about power a few days ago. If your speakers are somewhat efficient You would be more than fine with the 200W. I am using a 100W Marsh Sound Design and it blows away the Emotiva you have sonically. Plus if I were to turn it way up I would go deaf with my 100W. There can be an issue if you cannot utilize the power it does not sound as good as a lower wattage amp. If I were pushing Thiel speakers or a low sensitive speaker I would take the higher wattage. You could spend that $1000 on something else like a better DAC or cartridge. I wish you could test both so you could hear the difference. |
I think you should be fine with the 3B3. You say that you generally listen at low (or at least not crazy high) volumes. So you should have enough headroom to handle transients and dynamics. Would the 4B3 be better? Yes. But is it worth financial strain? No. Get your 3B3 and enjoy it. When you are financially ready to move up you can sell the Bryston 3B3 as the used Bryston market is active. |
I would consider a "warmer" sounding amp to match up with the KEF R11. What preamp are you using? |
@dayglow
I am currently using an Emotiva XMC-1 (soon to be upgraded to XMC-2 or a RMC-1L once they get Dirac released for them). I am using a Bryston BDP-2 as a Roon endpoint over AES/EBU and it is my only source component at the moment for 2 ch audio. |
Since you want to upgrade your preamp you could avoid this with an integrated amp as an option? Bryston B135 has plenty of power to drive the R 11. This way you avoid purchasing another Emotiva component. |
Upgrade for the Emotiva is the "trade-up' program and it will only run me $650. I need it for Video.
I actually was thinking about a used B135 cubed for the exact reason of getting the 2ch off of the Emotiva - but I didn't think it would have enough power at 135 watts - i.e. the whole reason for this thread 200 vs 300 watts. But then I see some people running large cabinets like B&W 802/803 D3's with the B135 so.........
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It's amplifier current that determines speaker performamce not just w/ch. From what I have read the B135 is very conservatively rated. |
I have the bryston b2.5 cubed Amp which is the amp version of the b135 int amp and it effortlessly drives my performa3 f206 speakers |
I just want to say thank you to everyone who chipped in with advise on this post. It was extremely helpful, as I have no way to audition the 3B3 or the 4B3.
I have pulled the trigger on the 4B3 and it should arrive with in a week or so. I'll report back soon with my results/thoughts, in case anyone is interested. |
Congratulations. I have Bryston 4BSST and a 30 year old 4B-still in regular use. Provided you like the sound, you've got a lifetime piece of equipment. |
This is exciting! I for one, look forward to your review of the 4Bsst3. |
Update drhelzer?? I am also considering bryston 4b3 to power KEF ref 5. How does it do with KEF?
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Sorry for not responding to this thread. I've been too busy listening... :-)
Let's just start by saying that the emo was around 1k, so it was really a financial burden and big decision for me to spend over 4k on a 2 channel amp. I don't regret it one bit, one of the best audio decisions I have ever made. First thing I noticed before I even played any music was the noise floor was non existent. I could hear noise from my uni-q when my ear was about 12 inches away from the driver when I had the emo hooked up. 4b3 is dead silent. The Bryston is much more dynamic (especially at low volumes), less harsh in the highs, fuller in the mid range, and has more punch in the low end. There is way more headroom on this amp as well. It is exactly what I was looking for. I upgraded the 2 channel first, because that is most important to me. I have a 5 channel emo that runs my center/surrounds/height, so now I'm looking to replace that with a 9B (eventually). |
