Question Kef Q900: what amp to pair with?

[PieterG]

It took me a couple of weeks or researching to realize i need help from people who know a lot more than i do... and that's you.

The situation -- I own a pair of Kef Q900 floor standers, which have been used as front channels in a (poorly configured) surround setup. I want to move these into another room and play stereo music through them, mostly from the streamer i intend to buy: the Cambridge CXN100.

The question -- What amplifier should i use to drive the Q900?
Online research gives me conflicting information: they are not difficult to control, yet their bass is tricky because the impedance can drop very low. Many sources suggest using a high power amp to overcome that, but others say it's unnecessary for anything except nightclub volume or extremely large rooms.

I do understand that maximum watts say very little about an amp's efficiency. What i don't understand is that pairing suggestions range from a modest Marantz PM6007 to a high power Rotel or Yamaha at 2500+ euros. I noticed that Arcam A15 is popular here, praised for its neutral character and ability to drive all but the fussiest speakers. I'd like to believe that.

The dilemma -- I picked the Cambridge streamer for its wide stage and detail, and i care enough to set it up in a room for critical listening. I like my music with breathing room between the instruments, plenty of detail. My goal is to have room filling sound that resembles my Fiio portable player with quality in ear monitors. However, i don't feel like spending twice the amount on analog amplification alone. If it takes that, i'm probably better off with a different amp and speakers.

Please, if you have good advice, i'm all ears. (Apologies for the poorly chosen pun.)
If you happen to have experience with Kef floor standers, that would be extremely helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Din5]

I had KEF Q5's , the sound was transformed when I fed them with a Rega Elicit-R amplifier (105W/Ch into 8ohms). Much better control of the bass etc with high levels of detail. Having a large available amount of power in an amplifier allows the amp to supply immediate large amount of current to the speakers when required, so its not just about how loud the amp will go !

 

[Fandango Andy]

It took me a couple of weeks or researching to realize i need help from people who know a lot more than i do... and that's you.

The situation -- I own a pair of Kef Q900 floor standers, which have been used as front channels in a (poorly configured) surround setup. I want to move these into another room and play stereo music through them, mostly from the streamer i intend to buy: the Cambridge CXN100.

The question -- What amplifier should i use to drive the Q900?
Online research gives me conflicting information: they are not difficult to control, yet their bass is tricky because the impedance can drop very low. Many sources suggest using a high power amp to overcome that, but others say it's unnecessary for anything except nightclub volume or extremely large rooms.

I do understand that maximum watts say very little about an amp's efficiency. What i don't understand is that pairing suggestions range from a modest Marantz PM6007 to a high power Rotel or Yamaha at 2500+ euros. I noticed that Arcam A15 is popular here, praised for its neutral character and ability to drive all but the fussiest speakers. I'd like to believe that.

The dilemma -- I picked the Cambridge streamer for its wide stage and detail, and i care enough to set it up in a room for critical listening. I like my music with breathing room between the instruments, plenty of detail. My goal is to have room filling sound that resembles my Fiio portable player with quality in ear monitors. However, i don't feel like spending twice the amount on analog amplification alone. If it takes that, i'm probably better off with a different amp and speakers.

Please, if you have good advice, i'm all ears. (Apologies for the poorly chosen pun.)
If you happen to have experience with Kef floor standers, that would be extremely helpful.

Thanks!

They are easy to drive, manufactures recommendation is anything above 15W. Realistically, you probably want 30W+ so as not to work the amp too hard.

If you are in the UK I would take a serious look at an Audiolab 6000A. the mark II came out earlier in the year. you can get the old version for £299 in silver or £399 in black. it isn't that long ago they were getting five star reviews at £700. Great sounding amp with 50W per channel, more than enough for your needs.

 

[PieterG]

Thank you @Din5 and @Fandango Andy for your replies. Much appreciated.
These are a perfect illustration of the conflicting information i have been finding...

They are easy to drive, manufactures recommendation is anything above 15W. Realistically, you probably want 30W+ so as not to work the amp too hard.

vs.

I had KEF Q5's , the sound was transformed when I fed them with a Rega Elicit-R amplifier (105W/Ch into 8ohms). Much better control of the bass etc with high levels of detail.

For reference: online sources indicate my Onkyo AVR is comparable to about 90W into 8 ohms. That should be adequate power, but it's unclear from the specs if it can control current properly when the Q900 drop to around 3 ohms.

Yesterday i put my speakers in a decent position and played them with the AVR in direct mode through the front stereo channels only. With ample breathing room the bass isn't very powerful and the sound overall seems to lack body and and feels compressed/nasal (sorry - i'm not familiar with the terminology here).

I do like the amount of detail from the speakers, and the better speaker placement gives nice left/right separation. I hope this indicates at least that they have potential. Things improve for me when the volume goes up, but i need a good room filling sound at a level where normal conversation is possible.

Perhaps this update helps to get more targeted advice?

 

[BiggaJ]

I do have for sale on eBay a lovely Gato Audio DIA 250s-NPM amp. It will drive most speakers, I had it hooked up to a pair of Audio Physic Classic 15s.