Good Speakers for an ampless system?


About 6 years ago I had the good fortune of getting to borrow a pair of KEF 104/2 speakers from a friend of mine. I own a Denon AVR-4802 receiver and this combination made my heart soar when I listened to music. I also own a B&W CDN CNT center channel speaker, an M&K V76 subwoofer, and a pair of decent rear speakers for my video surround system which to me sounded great. The problem is, when I moved to Hawaii 3 years ago I had to return the KEFs to my friend and am now trying to find a suitable replacement for them at a reasonable cost(under $2000). The nice thing about those KEFs is that they sounded absolutely fantastic with just the Denon receiver and no amp. I wouldn't be able to convince my wife that spending another couple grand for an amplifier to drive more "power hungry" speakers. I think that I should be able to get a better speaker for the money if I am able to find a well cared for used pair. It has been very difficult finding a good pair of speakers for sale here in Hawaii, which would be ideal since shipping alone for a pair of 75 lb. speakers runs in the $500 to $600 range. The speakers that I have found thus far here are some Nelson Reed 8-04/Bs with recent replacement of all 4 drivers with factory OEM parts, a pair of JM Lab Cobalt 826s, a pair of Klipsch Epics, a pair of Thiel 1.5s. I have also seen a pair of Aerial Acoustics 7Bs but they may no longer be available.

I'm definitely a neophyte when it comes to stereo equipment, but from the research I've done it sounds like the Thiel's would not be a good choice even though they have a rep for being a great speaker because they need a good amplifier to sound good. The thing is, if I purchase a pair of KEF 104/2s from the mainland which I know I like, I will end up paying at least $1200 for them including shipping. Can anybody give me an idea if any of the above speakers would be a good choice with my system? What speaker brands out there would be comparable to KEF when it comes to sounding good with an "ampless" system like mine.

Thanks.
thebclshow
Think of your receiver as a combination power amplifier, integrated amplifier, and radio tuner. So, your Denon receiver is an amplifier, 6 or 7 of them to be precise. I think you meant to say amplifier separates.

The website Accessories4less , carries B stock, KEF speakers (cosmetic imperfections). They currently have KEF Uni-Q floorstanders on sale in the $650 to $900 range. Using their shipping calculator and the zip code for Honolulu shows a Fed Ex 3 day delivery in the $200 range.

Regards, Rich
Check out Blueprint AV (on Oahu). They focus on custom installs but the last time I was there they had a showroom and I believe they have KEF as a product line. Koa (the owner) is a great guy and very helpful. Good luck!
Any loudspeker could be used in a ampless system you wont get any sound out of the loudspeakers;) But all designs could be used in such a system if it can be called a system without a amplifier?