What Amp for KEF LS-50s

[SpursGator]

Thank you very much for your reponses. I absolutely agree that Pioneer A70 drives Kefs really well and gives a very clear sound but I think that my system still needs a bit of analog touch . That's why Im considering to add an external dac.

What do you thnin about nuforce and teac dacs. I can order these dacs at my local store (cant listen tho) thats why Im insisting on these ones

I have bought three DACs - A Benchmark DAC1 (bought from the factory for $895, in person, in 2002), a Cambridge DACMagic (bought for, I think, about £300 in 2012), and an AudioEngine D1 (bought for $140 in NYC, also in 2012). The D1 was a nice clean sound but I strained to hear much of a difference from a MacBook analogue output (all headphones).

The other two DACs were stunning and convincing upgrades in their respective systems. The Benchmark has been a workhorse and you can search the forum for my views on it - I think it's amazing, but it costs a lot of money and it ought be. And it still manages to be a bargain.

The Cambridge - the first series of the DACMagic - was just as convincing, As an upgrade I mean - it's nowhere close to the Banchmark. But in every combo in which I've tried it, the A/B test of any digital source with the DAC in and out of the system was utterly convincing.

Mind you, I wouldn't call it more analogue. If you wanted to knock either DAC, you'd say the Benchmark was clinical and the DACMagic was bright. Probably not what you are looking for, even though I feel sure you would prefer either to no external DAC at all.

Maybe you could have a look at a DAC with a tubed output stage? You could have your cake and eat it too - the output of a DAC could almost be called a little preamp. So there are DACs out there that are specifically designed for your request - Music Hall is one I can think of.

Good luck!

 

[BigH]

Thank you very much for your reponses. I absolutely agree that Pioneer A70 drives Kefs really well and gives a very clear sound but I think that my system still needs a bit of analog touch . That's why Im considering to add an external dac.

What do you thnin about nuforce and teac dacs. I can order these dacs at my local store (cant listen tho) thats why Im insisting on these ones

I have bought three DACs - A Benchmark DAC1 (bought from the factory for $895, in person, in 2002), a Cambridge DACMagic (bought for, I think, about £300 in 2012), and an AudioEngine D1 (bought for $140 in NYC, also in 2012). The D1 was a nice clean sound but I strained to hear much of a difference from a MacBook analogue output (all headphones).

The other two DACs were stunning and convincing upgrades in their respective systems. The Benchmark has been a workhorse and you can search the forum for my views on it - I think it's amazing, but it costs a lot of money and it ought be. And it still manages to be a bargain.

The Cambridge - the first series of the DACMagic - was just as convincing, As an upgrade I mean - it's nowhere close to the Banchmark. But in every combo in which I've tried it, the A/B test of any digital source with the DAC in and out of the system was utterly convincing.

Mind you, I wouldn't call it more analogue. If you wanted to knock either DAC, you'd say the Benchmark was clinical and the DACMagic was bright. Probably not what you are looking for, even though I feel sure you would prefer either to no external DAC at all.

Maybe you could have a look at a DAC with a tubed output stage? You could have your cake and eat it too - the output of a DAC could almost be called a little preamp. So there are DACs out there that are specifically designed for your request - Music Hall is one I can think of.

Good luck!

Have you tried Metrum Octave MKII and John Kenny both these are said to better the Benchmark on another forum.

 

[SpursGator]

Have you tried Metrum Octave MKII and John Kenny both these are said to better the Benchmark on another forum.

No but I would love to. Please send samples! :type:

 

[BigH]

Have you tried Metrum Octave MKII and John Kenny both these are said to better the Benchmark on another forum.

No but I would love to. Please send samples! :type:

I don't have any but I think you can try both for upto 30 days.

 

[SpursGator]

Can you feel my wife's cold, withering glare coming at you from across the Channel?

The last thing I need to do now is replace my DAC, unless I could somehow get my hands on the likes of a Weiss, dcs Debussy, etc. - i.e. 3-4x more expensive. There may be a DAC at the Benchmark's price level that is subtly better in one way or another, but to have it be any kind of a real upgrade there seems to be a general agreement that you need to go way above in price. And at this level the differences are so subtle that the return on investment is awful - huge money, miniscule improvement.

Of course, I could move the Benchmark into the system with the Naim...that would be an upgrade...slap :shame: evil thought! Go away!

Actually, the part of my main system that 'needs' to upgrade next is the power amp...and I have some ideas. >)

 

[BigH]

Can you feel my wife's cold, withering glare coming at you from across the Channel?

The last thing I need to do now is replace my DAC, unless I could somehow get my hands on the likes of a Weiss, dcs Debussy, etc. - i.e. 3-4x more expensive. There may be a DAC at the Benchmark's price level that is subtly better in one way or another, but to have it be any kind of a real upgrade there seems to be a general agreement that you need to go way above in price. And at this level the differences are so subtle that the return on investment is awful - huge money, miniscule improvement.

Of course, I could move the Benchmark into the system with the Naim...that would be an upgrade...slap :shame: evil thought! Go away!

Actually, the part of my main system that 'needs' to upgrade next is the power amp...and I have some ideas. >)

Well you maybe right but other Benchmark users or testers may disagree, the Metrum is meant to be more natural than the BM but one guy changed his Metrum for the latest John Kenny which are about Euros 500. You could probably sell you BM off and it would not cost much money? Metrum is about £700 maybe less in France or Holland.

 

[SpursGator]

Can you feel my wife's cold, withering glare coming at you from across the Channel?

The last thing I need to do now is replace my DAC, unless I could somehow get my hands on the likes of a Weiss, dcs Debussy, etc. - i.e. 3-4x more expensive. There may be a DAC at the Benchmark's price level that is subtly better in one way or another, but to have it be any kind of a real upgrade there seems to be a general agreement that you need to go way above in price. And at this level the differences are so subtle that the return on investment is awful - huge money, miniscule improvement.

Of course, I could move the Benchmark into the system with the Naim...that would be an upgrade...slap :shame: evil thought! Go away!

Actually, the part of my main system that 'needs' to upgrade next is the power amp...and I have some ideas. >)

Well you maybe right but other Benchmark users or testers may disagree, the Metrum is meant to be more natural than the BM but one guy changed his Metrum for the latest John Kenny which are about Euros 500. You could probably sell you BM off and it would not cost much money? Metrum is about £700 maybe less in France or Holland.

I'm never selling the Benchmark. That and the BAT VK-50SE are the only two components I own where I can say that with full confidence.

BUT - very intriguing thought nonetheless, my dear BigH. The 'selling the Benchmark' part of your argument is non-critical to your idea, after all.