Kef R900 with 80 watt Class A amp, am I doing it right?

[shafesk]

Dear all,

I finally have the oppurtunity to change my amp and speakers. At the moment I am looking at the Kef R900 paired with Cayin h-80 which is an 80 watt Class A amp with 150 watts @ 4ohms in Class A/B. The reviews say that the amp is on the warm side of neutral and as it is a tube hybrid it is more musical than analytical. I am looking for speaker which are just the same, they should be warmish and musical...musicality and vocal reproduction is most important, it should sound like someone is in the room. I get the in your room feeling with my current setup, although it is not the most revealing setup which I absolutely dont give a shite about. I am hoping someone who has these speakers could comment on the tonality so as to point me in the right direction or recommend some alternates. Just to make it clear, I care more about realism and don't like an analytical approach. THINK MUSICAL MUSICAL MUSICAL!

REally would appreciate any help,

Shafin

 

[shafesk]

P.S I like how the Dynaudio DM 2/7s or Roksan Caspian speakers sound and would like to atleast better the Dyns if not the Caspians

 

[BigH]

My opinion, 2 warm items = very warm, you maybe better going for a more neutral speaker. If you want to sound like someone in the room then I think you need a more neutral sound.

 

[hone_u2]

Hi,

In my opinion the KEF R900s image better than the Dyns...

And "In your room" is something that is accomplished by flawless imaging, and as BigH said, neutrality...

I've auditioned the Dyns myself and I personally feel with the right amp and source, the KEFs will give you much much more!

Although, you should try the Focus 160s... Theyre pretty good!

 

[shafesk]

thank you, well my Mezzos don't particularly excel at soundstaging but they have great center focus and I think thats really important too. Basically, I think the quality of the midrange is what nails realism the most and is also whats more important to me. Good thing is I can actually get a demo of the Dyns with the amp but with Kefs I would have to rely on the dealer as he doesn't really have a huge stock. Think you guys are right about neutrality, my Mezzos are very neutral and I would say they match well with Cayin. I would go higher in the MS range but dislike the Avianos and can't afford the Performance series.....how would you guys rate the Kef for midrange, certainly an area where Dyns are very good.

 

[Exoticsounds]

Since you like DM 2/7, why not also try to audition some of the Dynaudio floorstandres in the Exite and Focus ranges?

 

[shafesk]

I'm already familiar with the Excite floorstanders, I like them but they sound a little drumroll......unexciting for me. But this is with my current amp so things might change with the other one plus I am under the impression that those guys need some power to come to life.

 

[philipjohnwright]

Hi

You might want to consider Harbeths, which are on the warm / sweet side of neutral. I use Harbeths and i liked the R500's i heard, so you might too. For that money the whole range apart from the 40.1's are open to you. I'd try to hear the 30.1's if I were in your shoes. They aren't that easy to audition as the aren't many dealers. I was in London recently and dropped into KJWest One, who have all the models on demo. Have fun!

Oh, and Proacs might be to your liking as well. D18's?

 

[plastic penguin]

My opinion, 2 warm items = very warm, you maybe better going for a more neutral speaker. If you want to sound like someone in the room then I think you need a more neutral sound.

Concur - too many warm components and you can end up with a sonic gunge. You do need transparency and imaging to achieve realism. If you too warm you tend to compress those qualities and end up with a bland, one-dimensional sound.

 

[CnoEvil]

I think you will be happy with what you hear, though you may be satisfied with the R700s.

 

[shafesk]

Hi Cno, have you heard both the r700 and r900s? What do you think are the differences? I know the r900s are bigger and go down lower in the bass due to their cabinet and driver size. Is there anything else that changes because I don't want to pay 300 pounds extra just for more bass.

 

[plastic penguin]

Not sure you will like the 'R' series seeing as you own Mezzos. personally, and from what I've read about 'R' series they are warmer than previous Kef incarnations.

What is it you DON'T like about your current set-up?

 

[Singslinger]

ProAc speakers are supposed to work well with tube/class A amps. I know the D18 well and I think it might just fit the bill. I would also consider the D2 as I once read a Stereophile review that said it is a great match for tube amps.

 

[shafesk]

Not sure you will like the 'R' series seeing as you own Mezzos. personally, and from what I've read about 'R' series they are warmer than previous Kef incarnations.

What is it you DON'T like about your current set-up?

Well the Mezzos could do with some bass, the stereo image is quite vague too. Tonal balance is great though but I'd like more punch in the bass although extension is great already. Basically, I'm hoping to get more of everything.

 

[Pete68]

Warm in my limited experience can be something of a misunderstood term.

I think that there is a very fine line between ‘warm’ and ‘musical’ and getting it right is all about equipment synergy.

Some electronics can sound a little ‘warm’ by their very nature and will sound 'extremely warm' when partnered with the wrong kit.
Take my Arcam Alpha 9/9P amplifiers for instance. They do sound very warm with a lot of speakers but when partnered with the ‘right’ speakers (MA BX2's for instance) they sound truly fabulous (hard to be believe, I know), the natural warmth (character) of the amplifiers was still there but in partnership with the BX2's the sound wasn’t warm but very musical, the blanket that the older Arcams have been accused of putting over music had completely gone.

Great synergy between the two products.

Some products just go well together. Harbeth and Lavardin, ATC and Perreaux, Arcam and Monitor Audio (I’m generalising a little here), the list goes on and a good dealer will be able to help match equipment for you so you get that sweet musical presentation that you’re after.

If you get the synergy of your equipment right then you can start to think about cables and interconnects to really put the icing on the cake. IMO cables etc are also misunderstood. Cables are never going to get anything more from the electronics than the electronics can deliver, but poor cables (or cables that don’t suit the set up) can hold the system back from delivering it’s potential. Again this is down to synergy.

Like I said, I have very limited experience with all this but this is what I have found so far.

Good luck with it all.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi Cno, have you heard both the r700 and r900s? What do you think are the differences? I know the r900s are bigger and go down lower in the bass due to their cabinet and driver size. Is there anything else that changes because I don't want to pay 300 pounds extra just for more bass.

Sorry for the late reply, as I forgot about your question.

I have heard the R700s but not the R900s........the reason for my comment, is that imo the R700s have as much bass as most people would want, unless they have a very big room or are "Bass Junkies".

Don't take my word for it, just bear it in mind while listening for yourself.

 

[ISAC69]

Dear all,

I finally have the oppurtunity to change my amp and speakers. At the moment I am looking at the Kef R900 paired with Cayin h-80 which is an 80 watt Class A amp with 150 watts @ 4ohms in Class A/B. The reviews say that the amp is on the warm side of neutral and as it is a tube hybrid it is more musical than analytical. I am looking for speaker which are just the same, they should be warmish and musical...musicality and vocal reproduction is most important, it should sound like someone is in the room. I get the in your room feeling with my current setup, although it is not the most revealing setup which I absolutely dont give a shite about. I am hoping someone who has these speakers could comment on the tonality so as to point me in the right direction or recommend some alternates. Just to make it clear, I care more about realism and don't like an analytical approach. THINK MUSICAL MUSICAL MUSICAL!

REally would appreciate any help,

Shafin

Hi Shafin

The Cayin H-80 will arrrive to my country in the end of the mounth and I am very curious about this amp .

Did you buy or heard the Cayin h-80 ?

What is your opinion ?

 

[hooflungdung]

hi shaf

i have both the mezzos & the caspian fr5's. In no way would i describe the roksans as warm compared to the mezzo's. Although both have their strengths. Mezzos are engaging in the lower mids & upper lows for rock such as pearl jam where a good bass line pulls you in. the caspians are detailed, throw out transient sounds fabulously around the room & are very open, but they are light in the 'guts' of the music, but fantastic with stuff like lonnie liston smith where high attention to detail in the production is evident.

considering the cost of each pair i reckon the mezzos are one of the great bargains of the hi fi world. Personally i am considering swapping both out for the old thin wall type sp2/3r2 or similar harbeth, but that is with caspian electronics which are pretty neutral.

Hope that helps & good luck

 

[shafesk]

Dear all,

I finally have the oppurtunity to change my amp and speakers. At the moment I am looking at the Kef R900 paired with Cayin h-80 which is an 80 watt Class A amp with 150 watts @ 4ohms in Class A/B. The reviews say that the amp is on the warm side of neutral and as it is a tube hybrid it is more musical than analytical. I am looking for speaker which are just the same, they should be warmish and musical...musicality and vocal reproduction is most important, it should sound like someone is in the room. I get the in your room feeling with my current setup, although it is not the most revealing setup which I absolutely dont give a shite about. I am hoping someone who has these speakers could comment on the tonality so as to point me in the right direction or recommend some alternates. Just to make it clear, I care more about realism and don't like an analytical approach. THINK MUSICAL MUSICAL MUSICAL!

REally would appreciate any help,

Shafin

Hi Shafin

The Cayin H-80 will arrrive to my country in the end of the mounth and I am very curious about this amp .

Did you buy or heard the Cayin h-80 ?

What is your opinion ?

Hi there, well I have placed an order and still waiting for it to arrive, right now all I know are from the rave reviews of stereophile which say "Put the Cayin up with any speakers and up against anything"...which is good enough for me. I will let you know once I have set it up to confirm...should take 3 weeks though, hope you can wait.

Regards,

Shafin

 

[shafesk]

Hi Cno, have you heard both the r700 and r900s? What do you think are the differences? I know the r900s are bigger and go down lower in the bass due to their cabinet and driver size. Is there anything else that changes because I don't want to pay 300 pounds extra just for more bass.

Sorry for the late reply, as I forgot about your question.

I have heard the R700s but not the R900s........the reason for my comment, is that imo the R700s have as much bass as most people would want, unless they have a very big room or are "Bass Junkies".

Don't take my word for it, just bear it in mind while listening for yourself.

Hi Cno, I'm no bass junkie...I was just wondering whether I'd end up with a lesser speaker if I buy the R700s. I don't want to spend this amount of money knowing I could've done better but didn't. If the R900s just add more bass I don't want it because it usually ruins it in my room. Thats why I didn't like the Aviano 8s, which are terrific in the midbass and treble but the bass sounds as if its disconnected from the speakers.

 

[shafesk]

hi shaf

i have both the mezzos & the caspian fr5's. In no way would i describe the roksans as warm compared to the mezzo's. Although both have their strengths. Mezzos are engaging in the lower mids & upper lows for rock such as pearl jam where a good bass line pulls you in. the caspians are detailed, throw out transient sounds fabulously around the room & are very open, but they are light in the 'guts' of the music, but fantastic with stuff like lonnie liston smith where high attention to detail in the production is evident.

considering the cost of each pair i reckon the mezzos are one of the great bargains of the hi fi world. Personally i am considering swapping both out for the old thin wall type sp2/3r2 or similar harbeth, but that is with caspian electronics which are pretty neutral.

Hope that helps & good luck

Hi, thanks for the review. I do agree the Mezzos are great speakers but I'm afraid that in my setup it is one of the weaker components in terms of detail. Although the detail is great for an 800 pound speaker, I feel I can finally do better. I agree that a person can be happy with either Mezzos or Caspians, as with hifi we need to spend a lot more to achieve a bit more in terms of overall sound.

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi Cno, I'm no bass junkie...I was just wondering whether I'd end up with a lesser speaker if I buy the R700s. I don't want to spend this amount of money knowing I could've done better but didn't. If the R900s just add more bass I don't want it because it usually ruins it in my room. Thats why I didn't like the Aviano 8s, which are terrific in the midbass and treble but the bass sounds as if its disconnected from the speakers.

Though I believe the R700 is the sweetspot of the range, the R500 is also worth trying as well.

It may not be the case that the R900 "only" gives more bass, as changing the bass (8" vs 6.5" Bass Drivers) "can" change the balance of the sound (for good or bad, depending on room / amp). This was the case when I compared 205/2 with 207/2, where the latter was more than a "205/2 with extra bass"......saying that, I believe the 205/2 is the sweetspot in that range.

 

[ISAC69]

Dear all,

I finally have the oppurtunity to change my amp and speakers. At the moment I am looking at the Kef R900 paired with Cayin h-80 which is an 80 watt Class A amp with 150 watts @ 4ohms in Class A/B. The reviews say that the amp is on the warm side of neutral and as it is a tube hybrid it is more musical than analytical. I am looking for speaker which are just the same, they should be warmish and musical...musicality and vocal reproduction is most important, it should sound like someone is in the room. I get the in your room feeling with my current setup, although it is not the most revealing setup which I absolutely dont give a shite about. I am hoping someone who has these speakers could comment on the tonality so as to point me in the right direction or recommend some alternates. Just to make it clear, I care more about realism and don't like an analytical approach. THINK MUSICAL MUSICAL MUSICAL!

REally would appreciate any help,

Shafin

Hi Shafin

The Cayin H-80 will arrrive to my country in the end of the mounth and I am very curious about this amp .

Did you buy or heard the Cayin h-80 ?

What is your opinion ?

Hi there, well I have placed an order and still waiting for it to arrive, right now all I know are from the rave reviews of stereophile which say "Put the Cayin up with any speakers and up against anything"...which is good enough for me. I will let you know once I have set it up to confirm...should take 3 weeks though, hope you can wait.

Regards,

Shafin

Good Luck with your new Cayin amp !

Please keep update .

 

[Ben K.]

A good review here http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/kef3/1.html

I am hoping to demo these speakers in the future as there seems to be very positive reviews on the R series and the range toppers should be heard.

 

[shafesk]

Hi Ben, to be honest I tend not to go with 6moons reviews as they always talk more positives than negatives...I can't think of a review they did of a pair of speakers that they really disliked. I've found forum members and dealers to be more effective. I'll definitely give you a review if I end up buying these.

Regards,

Shafin