Upgrade query

[tosh]

Hi,i was considering changing my speakers for standmounts to achieve a punchier tight sound.However when i spoke to my local hifi dealer today he reckons my money would be better spent upgrading to a more powerful amp to bring the best out of my existing speakers.Any thoughts?

Nad 315
Nad 515
Kef IQ5se

 

[drummerman]

I probably agree with your dealer. Kef's IQ range are imo well controlled with tight, delineated low distortion bass and combine many of the better aspects of standmounts with a little bit more extention at the bottom (literally). Punchy with the right amp. Others will sound warmer and more expansive but you probably loose detail, focus and drive. Your dealer should be able to help.

 

[tosh]

Thanks drummerman.

 

[mikegtar]

I have the iq5se speakers in my bedroom system hooked up to a Technics SUA900mk2 (90 watts rms / channel) amp with silver aniversary XT cable. Even though the Technics amp is considered to give a warm/smooth sound, I find the combos gives a sufficiently punchy sound when listening to rock or dance/electronic music. However I have also heard the iQ5se's in a shop demo on the end of a Cyrus 8 integrated amp and that seemed very punchy. Not sure how much volume levels affected this observation, but I believe it demonstrated to me how different amps can change the character of the sound coming out of the speakers.

The 315 is rated at 40 watts and you may find trying amps with a bit more grunt will exercise more control over the speakers. Also bear in mind that speaker cable and intrrconnects can affect the character of the sound, for example I had a marantz cd63se player connected with the bundled interconnects for quite a while, and then I changed to some Monster interconnects (£40) and found an obvious improvement in bass weight and punch of the sound coming out of the iQ30's which I had at the time.

In summary I would recommend that you demo different amps and cables before you ditch the iQ5se's, which are after all very fine sounding speakers (and easy on the eye too!)

 

[tosh]

Hi,Thanks for that mikegtar.I'll arrange to listen to a few different amps with more power.My speaker cable is QED original mk2 and Van Den Hul the Name interconnect.I agree they are gorgeous looking speakers.