Marantz Nr1200 with KEF Q550

[Carlos Mexico]

Hi all. I really like some help please. I have a Marantz NR1200 amp and I'm connecting it to (Brand NEW) KEF Q550 speakers. The sound I'm getting out of them is very low on both line in (CD) and Phono. I only hear a reasonable low sound at 70 on the volume dial! (which I've been advised to not exceed by Marantz in order to protect the speakers and amp). I had an older pair of cheaper speakers and they sounded already very loud at 50ish on the volume dial. Is this a problem with the power of the amp? I see a lot of people online saying that the wattage shouldn't be an issue. The speakers are rated at 8ohms and the amp has an 8 ohm standard capability..... I'd really like any advice please. Do I really need to change the amp for a more powerful one? If so what do you recommend? If not, What could the problem be? Thanks!!!!

 

[Gray]

How did the sensitivity of those old speakers of yours compare with the 87dB quoted by Kef Carlos?
That can make quite a difference to the volume you get for the same control setting - though the Kefs are not especially insensitive.

Kef also quote a minimum impedance of 3.5ohms - which is what they will drop to at certain times while music is playing.
That wouldn't be a problem for some amps.
However, for the NR1200 Marantz quotes:
8/4 ohm RMS 75W/ No as the output 🤔

At the very least, that suggests the speakers and amp are not the best match electrically.

Do you know the sensitivity and minimum impedance of your old speakers?
And is that 70 volume figure out of a maximum of 100?

 

[Carlos Mexico]

How did the sensitivity of those old speakers of yours compare with the 87dB quoted by Kef Carlos?
That can make quite a difference to the volume you get for the same control setting - though the Kefs are not especially insensitive.

Kef also quote a minimum impedance of 3.5ohms - which is what they will drop to at certain times while music is playing.
That wouldn't be a problem for some amps.
However, for the NR1200 Marantz quotes:
8/4 ohm RMS 75W/ No as the output 🤔

At the very least, that suggests the speakers and amp are not the best match electrically.

Do you know the sensitivity and minimum impedance of your old speakers?
And is that 70 volume figure out of a maximum of 100?

Hello Gray thanks so much for your reply! The old speakers were called concept speakers but I don't remember what their specs were. The Marantz lets you select manually an ohm range from 4-8. I have it on 8 as standard and tried 4 and 6 just to see if it made any difference, it didn't. Yes that volume is 70 out of 100. Is that watt output a problem? Many people say not to worry too much about the watts but I'm really not getting much through the speakers.... Thanks