Greetings fellow Audio-philes.

[Babur72]

As a a brand new member of this community allow me to send a "Hey up" to all my fellow Audio-Philes.My name's Babur(my friends call me Bob/Bobby.I'm easy with either).I was an avid reader of WHS&V. magazine during my college days but,after nearly a decade of distractions(travel,study,lovely lass',work,house move,work,travel,illness,work,travel,work & more travel),i was only lately re-united with my former friend(WHS&V. Aug. '07's edition) on my outbound flight to the Middle-East.

My taste in music(Which includes: Blues,Bhangra,Classical,some Folk,Indie-Rock,Qawwali/Indian classical,Punk/Post-Punk,Reggae,Ska,Soul & World Music) & movies is eclectic - To say the least! Currently my collection is comprised of Blue-Ray DVD,DVD,DVD-A,SACD & CD formats.

Recently moved to a larger house,here in Surrey(No,it's not as dull as people say it is...It ain't far off mind)! I can now,finally,start my quest for audio-visual nirvana & kit it out with some serious,s***t-hot Hi-Fi/Home Theatre hardware.Paying particular emphasis on the authenticity of my eventual system's audio performance.My first priorities being the receiver/pre-amp/amp. combo. with,initially at least,a 2/3.1(front L/R,cntr. & sub.) speaker set-up.Which i'll expand in stages to an eventual 5.1 configuration in due course.

I've arranged demo.'s with KEF's XQ's & Reference II series.Being particularly smitten with the 205/2,202/2c & 201/2 with either the 208 or 209 sub.'s in American Walnut.And later,in the new-year,i hope to audition B&W's 803's & 805's with the ASW825 or 865 sub.'s.The slight drawback with the B&W's being their finishes not quite complementing my room's antique brown leather,Oak & Walnut furnishings as well as the KEF's.Has anyone else owned or heard either of the KEF reference/KEF reference II's,B&W 800 series speakers - or all of them - in full song?And,if so,how do the earlier KEF ref. & KEF ref. II ranges compare?

I'm in 2 minds whether or not i should go down the dedicated Hi-Fi seperates route,to get the most out of these high-end floor-standers & stand-mounters.Or can current quality A/V receivers cope adequately with the demands of these speakers & still complement the subtleties of their individual characteristics?

The receivers i was previously considering were the photogenic Denon AVR3808,AVR4308,Onkyo TX-SR875E or TX-SR905E(less so).However,a knowledgeable young man named David(at Creative Audio in Shropshire)advises me that,as most of the speakers i've shortlisted have a min. nominal impedence of less than 4 Ohms,the Denon's would prove incompatible.Showing signs of instability at around 4 Ohms.

So,i turn to you my learned friends.What pairing/s should send me into orbit?

Thanks for your patience.And i look forward to your response/s.

BABUR.

 

[Anonymous]

Greetings!!

Get ready to hear some advices you didn't hope to.

What kind of money you are sparing for it? And what's the room size/layout?

 

[Babur72]

Hi Ranjeet,

Thnaks for replying.In regard to your question,the room intended for my A/V set-up is rectangular in shape & measures 19ft(5.8m) by 14ft(4.27m).At one end of which is a large three-section bay window-extending into the front garden by 2.5ft(0.76m). As the building's fairly old it's walls were solidy built & ceilings are a little higher(at 9.5ft/2.9m) than your average modern-day semi(they certainly don't make 'em like they used to)! And gives the room a spacious feel,with pretty good acoustics.

I intend to place my display,A/V stand etc. 2.5ft to 3ft(0.76 to 0.9m) away from the window/walls & my front L/R speakers a few feet either side.Approx. 4 to 4.25m(13.2ft to 13.9ft) from my intended seating position,directly opposite.

As i have a 3 piece suite in this particular room,i also need to ensure that those seated along the room's length won't suffer a marked deterioration in their viewing/listening pleasure.

As for your other question(and without meaning to sound full of myself),i admit that i'm fortunate enough not having to tie myself to a specific budget - though,i do have a vague-ish price ceiling.This doesn't mean i'm oblivious about getting value for my money.

Recently bumped into one of Kef's Rep.'s.Who seemed willing to answer my questions & gave me some sound advice to consider - such as teaming their high-end floorstanders with a seperate multi-channel power-amp. & processor.

His reccomended partening with the KEF reference series 205/II floorstander,201/II standmount,202c/II Centre & 208/II Sub. would be with Arcam's FMJ P7 multi-channel power amp. & the AV8 or AV9 processors.

The Arcam's are undoubtedly excellent performers - with the kind of sonic neutrality i aspire to.They do however come up short on certain features even in comparison to some high-end integrated A/V receivers.Such as:Only 1 HDMI(1.3a) output;No video-upscaling from Std. Def. video sources;No Room-EQ(though,i could probably get by without it).

Any other suggestions regarding suitable receivers or multi-channel-amp./processor combinations? Have you ever heard the KEF reference series in full song? What do you reckon?

What did you mean exactly by 'Get ready for some advice you didn't expect to hear!'?

Well,i hope you able to help.

BABUR.