advertisement


Amp upgrade for Kef R3’s

M

MEMF1980

pfm Member
Hi all - my first post as I’m looking for advice on amps to get the best out of my Kef R3’s which I love and bought after a lot of testing.

I currently power with them with a quad 306 (via a tisbury passive pre) but thinking they may benefit from a bit more ‘umph’. Would it be worth moving to a quad 606 or 909 for a bit more power?

I think they sound great at mid volume but can sound a little lean at lower volumes.

or any other vintage amps (around £500) worth looking out for or considering?

many thanks for any advice.
 
If you can find one try a XTC POW1. I'm using one with KEF Reference 3.2's. Otherwise Musical Fidelity make good powerful amps. An A3 or A5 would be good.

They like a bit of current.
 
Thanks so much fot the suggestions, I'll check them out (the XTC is a complete unknown brand to me which is always nice to investigate)
 
Thanks - can I ask a follow up question?

I'd thought about bi-amping with 2 x 306' but wasn't sure if it would provide enough power (everything I've read online is contradictory). Would two of them double the power or at least give it a noticable bump?
 
The R3 is a 4 Ohm load and actually drops to 3 Ohms in the bass so it will prefer an amplifier built for such loads.
A 306 will cope with them but it's not always ideal. I personally would not bi-amp using the 306 as it will still 'see' the 3 Ohm impedance at LF.
If staying Quad then a 606/707/909 would be a better match.

If however you only intend listening at low to moderate levels then stay with the 306.
Lack of warmth at low listening levels won't get better with a larger amplifier - ears are just less sensitive to LF at lower payback levels.
Quad's own 'tilt' control was perfect here as you could warm-up the presentation subtly at the flick of a switch, so perhaps seek out a Quad 34/44 to go with the 306.
Get one that's been well serviced as most are failing after all these years.

Be aware that the R3 does has some broad treble lift. It's very, very clean but it definitely comes with some sheen.
 
It’s not just about power, it’s about control. You will not be increasing the power output no, but as an individual amplifier has less of a load (because it’s being split) you’ll get a slight increase in volume yes.

The real benefit of bi amping comes when you can do active bi-amping which I doubt very much you’ll be getting into (This is using a crossover before the amplifier to split the signal to woofer/tweeter, rather than still relying on the passive xover.)

you mention that at medium volume it’s okay, yet at lower volume it’s a little lean.. have you tried moving the speakers closer to the wall to try and increase their bass reflection /reinforcement in relation to your listening g position? This is free, and might improve things..!

Yes you can bung more watts up them, but that won’t necessarily increase the performance at lower volumes which is where you want to improve them... it’s like using horsepower when you actually need more torque..

I’d look at positioning speakers first, then look at getting an amp upgrade.
 
Many thanks all - some great advice here (wish I'd found this place years ago ... ).

I think I'll keep an eye out for a 606/909 as I've always secretly wanted a Mk 2 606 and when I can I do like to play moderate to loud

I'll also see if I can borrow a different pre amp or two to play about with (I did borrow a Quad 34 but never got on with it)

And as for speaker positioning that got me thinking - I use half foam port bungs which improves sound at moderate + levels so maybe removing them at low levels will help.

Thanks again for all your thoughts
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top