Integrated power for KEF R3 Meta

@caslon 

70W will not drive them properly. I have a pair of Ref 1 Metas powered by a pair of McIntosh MC 611s. I made an $8500 mistake trying to power the KEFs with a Luxman 590AXII. The bass output was nonexistent. With the higher power amps, I could convince you I am running a sub. You will need at least 200W with high current delivery. With any power under that, you will not realize the bass output they can deliver. 

@chenry 

My apologies; I interpreted as the KEF Reference series. My opinion was directed solely to the Reference series. The more power KEFs get, the better they sound. 

@chenry 

A 2W flea-powered amp will drive the KEFs but not drive them adequately. KEF specifies 15-180W to drive. So....my McIntosh 600W amps can not drive them? My point is that the wattage ratings are basically a marketing ploy to reach the most potential customers who own lower-powered amps. Do KEF engineers actually believe that a 15W amp will properly drive a 4-ohm load and 86dB sensitivity? 

Secondly, you stated that the OP will be fine with his 70W amp. Do you own any of the new Metas? My advice to the OP is from experience and backed by a dealer. The Metas are power pigs and require tremendous power/current to make them sing. I'm not trying to pick a fight but be cautious. Offering such advice may be harmful/costly to the OP if they decide to spend this much money on a set of speakers and be disappointed. If you read my post, you will see that I made a stupid mistake!

I was so disappointed with the sound of my system that I brought my Luxman 590AXII to a local dealer because I thought the amp was broken. It was confirmed as perfectly functioning as we played it through the baby REF 1s. The presentation, especially the bass, was nonexistent. We then moved up to the Luxman 509X. Not much improvement. Finally, we powered the KEFs with the Luxman M10X. It was a WTF moment! The dealer smiled and stated, "These little guys need power."

@audioman58 

+1

But I'm not a fan of Hegel, but I am a huge fan of Anthony! 🤣

@audioman58 

I agree; we all can't like everything! However, regardless of construction, KEF has some of the most innovative engineering in the audio industry, which warrants some slack. They are definitely not my endgame speaker, but I'm happy with what they do and how they make me feel regarding musical enjoyment.