kef 103.3 speakers, what amplifier??Help!!!

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kef 103.3 speakers, what amplifier??Help!!!
Hello.,I recently bought a pair of kef 103/3 speakers inc kube box [there from the 1980s] and after a bit of soldering to the kube box and a loose connection to one of the speakers they sound good!!The problem i have is my old denon pma 250 amp gets red hot and smells of burning after an hour or so of listening to my music ,Speakers are rated 100 to 200 watts 4 ohms.So i am looking into buying a new/used [£200] amplifier that can run them with ease......Could any one recomend an amplifier,as i have not got a clue and reluctent to waste money on the wrong amp...Any Advice appreciated........

 

[Al ears]

kef 103.3 speakers, what amplifier??Help!!!

Hello.,I recently bought a pair of kef 103/3 speakers inc kube box [there from the 1980s] and after a bit of soldering to the kube box and a loose connection to one of the speakers they sound good!!The problem i have is my old denon pma 250 amp gets red hot and smells of burning after an hour or so of listening to my music ,Speakers are rated 100 to 200 watts 4 ohms.So i am looking into buying a new/used [£200] amplifier that can run them with ease......Could any one recomend an amplifier,as i have not got a clue and reluctent to waste money on the wrong amp...Any Advice appreciated........

Not with that sort of budget I am afraid. You're going to need something with a fair bit of power.

 

[davedotco]

£200 will not buy you a new amplifier that will come anywhere close to driving those speakers.

You will have to look at the used market. Ideally you need something pretty powerfull that is happy driving into 4 ohms, not easy to find.

Depending on your setup, you may be able to use just a power amp, something like this...

https://www.studiospares.com/Studio-Gear/Power-Amplifiers/Crown-XLS-1002-Drivecore-Power-Amp_243100.htm?ne=AQAAAAMAAAAEBUNyb3du

Bit over budget but I can think of nothing cheaper that I would be comfortable with for hi-fi.

 

[Al ears]

£200 will not buy you a new amplifier that will come anywhere close to driving those speakers.

You will have to look at the used market. Ideally you need something pretty powerfull that is happy driving into 4 ohms, not easy to find.

Depending on your setup, you may be able to use just a power amp, something like this...

https://www.studiospares.com/Studio-Gear/Power-Amplifiers/Crown-XLS-1002-Drivecore-Power-Amp_243100.htm?ne=AQAAAAMAAAAEBUNyb3du

Bit over budget but I can think of nothing cheaper that I would be comfortable with for hi-fi.

Yep, what dave says. 🙂

Not at all surprised your Denon gets a little hot and bothered.

 

[hybridauth_Google_110557244515394576213]

Well,not what i wanted to hear! but thanks very much all the same,only paid £50 for the speakers and they were/are to be used in my log cabin at the bottom of the garden,hence why i dident wish to spend much....back to the drawing board or up the budget*sad*

 

[davedotco]

Quite good speakers in their day, but pretty hard to drive, low sensitivity, low impedance and the Kube just makes things even harder.

As always it rather depends on what you are trying to achieve, try the Denon without the Kube, might make things a little bit easier.

 

[Electro]

I would suggest this Poppulse T180 stereo class T integrated to drive your Kef's.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301906108229?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2661&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Brand new £299 and a very powerful beast it is too, it will drive 4 ohm loads easily and is extremely well built and sounds like an amplifier that costs a lot more.

I used to own it's smaller brother the T150 so I have personal experience of how good they are, I sold it to a friend and he also loves it, it fact he far prefers it to his old Cyrus pre/ power amp combo!

It is very good for your electricity bill too at 90% efficiency *smile*

Specifications:

Power output per channel:

Maximum figures:

Stereo 2 x 120W/8Ω (0.1% THD + N)

Stereo 2 x 180W/4Ω (0.1% THD + N)

Power "Audiophile":

Stereo 2x90W/8Ω (0.015% THD + N)

Stereo 2x140W/4Ω (0.015% THD + N)

Total harmonic distortion: 0.05% (1 KHz)

Frequency response: 15-80 KHz (-1db)

Signal noise ratio: 92dB

Sensitivity line input: 280mV

Efficiency: Up to 90%

Power supply: AC 230V (±10%) 50/60 Hz

Size: 320W x 301D x 84H mm (actual measurement of our demo unit)

Weight: 8kg

 

[hybridauth_Google_110557244515394576213]

Thanks for the recomendations the Populse,Could not find any reviwes for it in English would i need a pre amp to use it?

 

[Electro]

Thanks for the recomendations the Populse,Could not find any reviwes for it in English would i need a pre amp to use it?

No pre amp is needed it is an integrated amp with a volume control and source selector, althought it can be changed into a stand alone power amp if you wanted to use an external pre amp or a dac with a variable output used as a pre amp.

It also has a choice of single ended and balanced inputs, it is also fully balanced.

http://www.stereotimes.com/post/pop-pulse-tamp180-integrated-amplifier

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.audiophonics.fr/poppulse-t180-tamp-amplificateur-2xtripath-ta2022-2x120w-p-7981.html&prev=search

The smaller T 150 that I had is over five years old now and still in daily use.

 

[hybridauth_Google_110557244515394576213]

Thanks for all your help/advice on what amplifier to buy, but desided to take a gamble [ £100] and bought a s/hand Audiolab 8000a mk1 which drives my kef 103.3s 100% better than my denon pma250 amp base sounds puncher/deeper overal louder and more dynamic and no more burning smell.*acute*

My question is how do i connet Kube box to this amp? i have tryed power amp in/pre amp out sockets on the back of amp...??? On my denon i used tape loop then pressed tape button on front fasia of amp, easy!!

Also there are 3 set of phono plugs for my Dual 505 turntable to plug into? ive used no2

is that correct?

1 ...Phono mc....Sounds very loud and bassy

2 phono in mm....sounds very clear but you have to crank the volume up on this setting

3 phono load......???

Would be very grateful for any advice given