KEF IQ5se and preout advice please!

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

Been lurking on these forums for a while, but this is my first post & it seemed time to say hi! I'm after a bit of advice on upgrading my ageing setup and the sales bargains around at the moment seem too good to miss. I'm primarily looking at a new 5.1 setup where the front speakers will be shared between AV receiver and integrated amp for film/music respectively.

Currently I have a Marantz CD63 KI signature and Cyrus 5 amp for music running a pair of Mission 773 floorstanders. For movies I have an old sony 5.1 receiver running a basic sony satellite and sub 5.1 system. I have a pretty even weighting between listening to music vs watching films and so am looking to try and maximise my spending by benefitting both systems with a 5.1 setup which performs well for both music and films and allows me to share the front speakers between my Cyrus (which is old but ok) and a new AV receiver.

After auditioning several fronts including the B&W 685s I took the plunge yesterday and picked up a pair of KEF IQ5se's from Richer for £270 (sounded a bargain at this price). My room is limited in space and so slim floorstanders similar to my old 773s seemed a good bet. I also picked up a Sony BDP-S350 blu ray player to kick off the new AV setup for £170 with 5 free discs which I am very impressed with.

So now I have several questions...First, what would be a decent speaker setup to match the KEF fronts? I've seen the matching IQ series center and rear which seems a good bet but can't find a Kube 1 sub available anywhere so will probably need a non-KEF solution for that. Does anyone else have experience pairing a simiar setup? Would Kef eggs work ok as rears and center or be unbalanced?

Secondly, I'm interested in keeping the fronts driven by my Cyrus for music and so have am thinking of running RCA from the AV pre-outs in to the back of my Cyrus for 5.1. Is this the correct solution and are there any disadvantages to doing this quality wise or does the Cyrus literally just become a power amp in the 5.1 scenario? Also, how does volume balancing get handled in the 5.1 setup when the fronts are being powered by the Cyrus? Finally, what might be a good amp that provides a set of preouts and is well matched to the KEFs? I was thinking about the Sony STR-DG820 but could maybe stretch to the Yamaha AX763 if the extra £100 is justified.

Just for the record I do plan to audition both AV amps but would like advice primarily on wether or not a preout setup is compromised in any way. Also, auditioning the KEFs is tricky as stock in the sales seems limited so advice from current owners would be appreciated. My budget is around £200-£300 for the AV amp and £350-£450 to for center, rears and sub. Thanks in advance people!

 

[John Duncan]

Sounds like you've got it pretty much spot on. I would very much recommend a matching full size centre though - eggs might be OK for rears but 70% of the soundtrack comes out of the centre speaker and a little one will sound pathetic compared to your 5s.

As for volume, set your Cyrus to a known volume (say 12 o'clock) and run your AV amp's auto-calibration. Then use that setting on the Cyrus whenever you're watching films.

Lastly, can't speak for subs or the specific AV amps you mention, but am a big fan of Yamaha...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi thanks for that. I'm definately going to look for a matching centre then - I had already suspected this would be a good bet and your comment confirms it. Thanks for the info on the AV setup - do you know if after this point having run the auto calibration the AV amps volume control will then control the volume feed through the pre-outs to the Cyrus? ie. If I want to turn the volume up or down on the AV amp will it all stay balanced so long as the Cyrus is kept at 12 o clock? Sorry if I'm getting confused!

 

[John Duncan]

jnewbold:do you know if after this point having run the auto calibration the AV amps volume control will then control the volume feed through the pre-outs to the Cyrus? ie. If I want to turn the volume up or down on the AV amp will it all stay balanced so long as the Cyrus is kept at 12 o clock? Sorry if I'm getting confused!

Yes, that's absolutely right, the Cyrus works as a fixed-volume power amp and the receiver controls the volume.

 

[beater]

HI jnewbold; I have the kef iQ5se's with the iQ2c and iQ1's as rears and i am very pleased with them, i was running some kef 1005's for the rears but replaced them with the iQ1's so now have them as back surrounds. Also still running my old sub from the 1005's at the moment not sure what new sub to get at the moment.

panasonic 50px70 / panasonic bd30 / panasonic ex87 / onkyo 606 / kef iQ5se's / kef iQ2c / kef iQ1's / kef 1005's / kef psw 1000.2 / atacama nexus 6 speaker stands.

 

[mattjax05]

jnewbold:

Finally, what might be a good amp that provides a set of preouts and is well matched to the KEFs? I was thinking about the Sony STR-DG820 but could maybe stretch to the Yamaha AX763 if the extra £100 is justified.

The Sony 820 does not have multi-channel pre-outs

 

[mattjax05]

jnewbold:

Finally, what might be a good amp that provides a set of preouts and is well matched to the KEFs? I was thinking about the Sony STR-DG820 but could maybe stretch to the Yamaha AX763 if the extra £100 is justified.

The Sony 820 does not have multi-channel pre-outs
.

 

[Anonymous]

Just in case it's useful to anyone else who reads this thread in the future, I think that the Sony suggested won't work in this configuration (where an integrated amp powers the front speakers in 5.1) as it has no pre-outs. Looks like it's the Yamaha for me!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all, thanks for all the replies.

Sorry mattjax, for some reason my post popped up under yours when I refreshed and I hadn't seen your reply. Thanks for pointing out the issue with the Sony pre-outs...I'd just spotted the same thing too.

Beater, cheers for the setup info. Very useful to hear from someone with the same setup. Did you trial any other AVs before getting the 606?

Been desperately phoning round today to try and locate a matching iq series center and rears, but to no avail. Think I may have missed the boat :-( If anyone sees any around, particularly the iq2 center in walnut (I can live with different rears) I would be very grateful for a heads up. Thanks!

 

[mattjax05]

No worries, have you called these people for the center:

http://www.audio-t.co.uk/?section=onlinestore&display=proddetail&pid=188850

 

[mattjax05]

mattjax05:

No worries, have you called these people for the center:

http://www.audio-t.co.uk/?section=onlinestore&display=proddetail&pid=188850

or these: (ex display)

http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk/product/category/homecinemaspeakers/16/clearance/2541/product.aspx

 

[Anonymous]

I called Sevenoaks this morning in manchester and they'd just sold theirs. The one you posted didn't popup before so have just left a voicemail - fingers crossed. Pretty sure Audio T don't have any left. Will keep trying and thanks for the links. I'll let you know if I find one, if I do it'll be a bit of a bargain setup at the current prices!

 

[beater]

Hi jnewbold, Richersounds are showing one in walnut on there websit for £150.

 

[beater]

iQ2c that is.But they also show the iQ1's in walnut for £150 to.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

Ok...I got them! Thanks to Beater for the nudge on the iq2c - managed to pick one up at Richer sounds this morning in Birmingham. Seems everywhere else was pretty much soldout of any in Walnut, although there were a couple of Apple wood ones around if anyone's interested. I even managed to get a bit knocked off of the remaining speakers and sub I found too. Here's what I've finally ended up with, can't wait to get it setup!:

KEF iq5se - £270 richer sounds

KEF iq2c - £130 Richer sounds

KEF iq1 rears - £110 Frank Harvey, Coventry

KEF Kube 1 sub - £185 Frank Harvey

Yamaha APX 763 (after listening to an Onk and ruling out the Sony/Denon for lack of pre-outs) - £299 Frank Harvey

Sony BDP S350 £170 Richer sounds (with 5 Blu Rays)

Thanks to everyone for their advice - I'll post up the verdict once I have it all setup. We're moving house on Wednesday so I'm waiting (begrudginly) until next week to set it all up. Sounds like the setup can be a bit of a lengthy process on the amp so I'm going to resist until then!

In the interim can anyone recommend a decent interconnect to run from the pre-outs to my Cyrus. I've heard Chord do a decent one for around £20-£30....good bet?

 

[Anonymous]

Hello there,

I have the kef iq5se at the front and the iq1's at the rear. They didnt have the iq6 in stock so was givent he Iq60 for the front instead. Very pleased with the system and they intergrate really well. I think the IQ 2,20,6 or 60 for the front are all the same size so if your budget can stretch go for the higher model. As for stereo im waiting for new cyrus intergrated amp to come out so I can pick up an 8vs2 at a good price.

Does your cyrus kef combo sound good. I currenlty run a cyrus cd6s through an onk 875. It sound good but I feel Im really not doing my cd player or speakers the justice they deserve.

Stick with the IQ series for 5.1

 

[Anonymous]

19leelong81:
Hello there,

I have the kef iq5se at the front and the iq1's at the rear. They didnt have the iq6 in stock so was givent he Iq60 for the front instead. Very pleased with the system and they intergrate really well. I think the IQ 2,20,6 or 60 for the front are all the same size so if your budget can stretch go for the higher model. As for stereo im waiting for new cyrus intergrated amp to come out so I can pick up an 8vs2 at a good price.

Does your cyrus kef combo sound good. I currenlty run a cyrus cd6s through an onk 875. It sound good but I feel Im really not doing my cd player or speakers the justice they deserve.

Stick with the IQ series for 5.1

Hi, well I haven't setup the 5.1 yet, but I'm really pleased with the Cyrus/KEF combo through the integrated. My amp is pretty old and I'm sure the Cyrus 8 you mention would be a massive stepup from what I'm currently running. I've probably run the KEFs in for about 15hrs so far and they're starting to sound great. I have them biwired using QED silver anniversary. I'm used to slim floorstanders having previously owned the Mission 773s and think that in comparison the vocal clarity and separation are far better on the KEFs. You'll probably find the whole system sounds quite bright, but personally I like that. Not sure if the modern Cyrus equipment is still reckoned to be bright (when I bought mine it was, but that was a while back) so wouldn't want to mis-advise you on that front - there are guys on here who would know better.

 

[beater]

Nice to here you got all your kit, when you get it up and running let me no what you think of the kube 1 as i am looking for a new sub, just didn't no if the kube 1 would be a big improvement on the sub i have already.

 

[Anonymous]

Will do. Opted for the Kube 1 for a couple of reasons. It was the original one bundled with the 5.1 package KEF did so figured it'd be a good match for the speakers. Also, was a bit concerned after reading that there had been some electrical problems with this model - however KEF provided a 2yr warranty on the cone and 5yr on the amp inside so I figured it a pretty safe bet. I also saw the PSW2500 on ebay for £199 but couldn't find a place to listen to one. Could be worth a look though?

 

[beater]

Yes i saw the PSW2500 on ebay for £199 but my speakers are in dark apple and only saw the PSW3500 in that and at £299 plus p&p that gives me alot more sub options.

 

[Anonymous]

jnewbold:
Hi guys,

Ok...I got them! Thanks to Beater for the nudge on the iq2c - managed to pick one up at Richer sounds this morning in Birmingham. Seems everywhere else was pretty much soldout of any in Walnut, although there were a couple of Apple wood ones around if anyone's interested. I even managed to get a bit knocked off of the remaining speakers and sub I found too. Here's what I've finally ended up with, can't wait to get it setup!:

KEF iq5se - £270 richer sounds

KEF iq2c - £130 Richer sounds

KEF iq1 rears - £110 Frank Harvey, Coventry

KEF Kube 1 sub - £185 Frank Harvey

Yamaha APX 763 (after listening to an Onk and ruling out the Sony/Denon for lack of pre-outs) - £299 Frank Harvey

Sony BDP S350 £170 Richer sounds (with 5 Blu Rays)

Thanks to everyone for their advice - I'll post up the verdict once I have it all setup. We're moving house on Wednesday so I'm waiting (begrudginly) until next week to set it all up. Sounds like the setup can be a bit of a lengthy process on the amp so I'm going to resist until then!

In the interim can anyone recommend a decent interconnect to run from the pre-outs to my Cyrus. I've heard Chord do a decent one for around £20-£30....good bet?

Sounds like you're going to have a superb time getting that lot going. I'd heartily recommend the Chord Crimson interconnect, found at the sort of prices you quoted.

Good luck with it all.