Hi, i'm considering going in to have a listen to a pair of KEF IQ9's and was wondering on what type of AMP would suit these? I am willing to spend around the same amount on the amp as for the speakers or more in order to achieve best possible quality.
AMP to compliment KEF IQ9 speakers
- Thread starter DrOctagon
- Start date
For £800, I would suggest you looked at speakers other than those Kef iQ9s. Good speakers, but for the same money (unless you are getting them with a ridiculous discount) you can get much better for the same or a touch more and on the nearly-new second hand market you can get speakers that leave them for dead.
I tested every single speaker in that sort of price range I could get my hands on and ultimately I felt I couldnt justify the money over the speakers I eventually went for, the Mission M35is. Everybody is an individual and money means different things to different people so maybe you will find it easier to spend that extra £500 - only one way to find out!
As for amplification, that would depend on three things:
Budget (I could assume it would be £800, same as the speakers but thats probably not the case)
What music you listen to (it makes a HUGE difference)
What is your source going to be?
I tested every single speaker in that sort of price range I could get my hands on and ultimately I felt I couldnt justify the money over the speakers I eventually went for, the Mission M35is. Everybody is an individual and money means different things to different people so maybe you will find it easier to spend that extra £500 - only one way to find out!
As for amplification, that would depend on three things:
Budget (I could assume it would be £800, same as the speakers but thats probably not the case)
What music you listen to (it makes a HUGE difference)
What is your source going to be?
DRZ said:
I've been looking for a pair of floor standing speakers for a bit now, however, i really have no idea where to begin. My budget is around £2-3k (can raise if necessary for better quality) and with this i'd like to get a pair of floorstanding speakers as well as an AMP and cd player.
I listen to hip-hop music and while i would like a good thumping bass, i do not really want the bass to overpower everything else.
I will be going into some stores soon to have a listen to some speakers, however, i would like an idea of what stuff could be recommended for my budget and music preferences.
Many thanks
If you are into Hip Hop, the first setup I would probably demo is something like Dynaudio Focus 140 loudspeakers being driven by an Arcam P80 / A80 bi-amp setup with a CD player that the store in question recommended. From there I would ask to dem the Audince 72se (even though these are too expensive!) and have a look at getting the Audience 62s s/h if you like them.
Then adjust the amplification to suit. Maybe try the Mission Elegantes and the Quad 11L for comparison but for transient response, its going to be hard to beat a Dynaudio speaker IME!
Amplification is going to be trickier - you need something with grunt that has a warm streak - something like that is hard to find for hip-hop and you WILL need to test a lot. Thankfully, £1000 is a lot to play with for an amp both new and second hand! You could be realistically looking at Mark Levinson for this money on the used market!
Then adjust the amplification to suit. Maybe try the Mission Elegantes and the Quad 11L for comparison but for transient response, its going to be hard to beat a Dynaudio speaker IME!
Amplification is going to be trickier - you need something with grunt that has a warm streak - something like that is hard to find for hip-hop and you WILL need to test a lot. Thankfully, £1000 is a lot to play with for an amp both new and second hand! You could be realistically looking at Mark Levinson for this money on the used market!