KEF Reference 3

Sorry typo in the Above! I am about to trial the KEF REFERENCE 3 at home. All ready tried the ProAc and the PMC with my system at home.

You must be the first to listen to the new 272, the 273 :rofl:

The Kefs sound fantastic but you wonā€™t be getting the best from them using the Nova. They dip down to 3.2 ohms and like a lot of current.

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The power supply has the ability to elevate the 272, and indeed anything it powers, to a higher level. Itā€™s a fundamental part of the Naim setup and absolutely not a final tweak. Iā€™ve had a 272 for nearly five years and itā€™s great, but with a power supply itā€™s just so much better. If I were you Iā€™d wait a while until itā€™s possible and then try some options. Any decent dealer will be able to demonstrate the impact of adding a power supply. Unlike speakers, you should be able to decide based on a dealer demo, though a longer period at home is best of course.

Yes, thatā€™s right. I added an XPSDR after three months. It was always the intention to do that. I wouldnā€™t have bought my speakers for use long term with a bare 272.

My final 2 cents in this matter is, audition the Kef Reference 3 at home and trust your ears. Do not listen to people who believe they have all the answers as they might just have a strong opinion in issues they possibly donā€™t have a slightest clue about.

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I read this as well, somewhere on the internet. I am however curious why you think that the Nova is unable to deliver a stable current at 3.2 ohms. If this indeed would be the case, what are the implications in regards to the SQ? Boomy bass or distortion? There should be some negative impact that could be heard.

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I canā€™t comment on that specific speaker, but my speakers dip down to 3.1 Ohm, and the Star has no issues driving them. So that in and of itself shouldnā€™t be an issue, certainly with the Nova.

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Thanks. That confirms that my ears are still intact. Reading too many comments on this forum made me think that I have lost my hearing and not realizing that my system is ready for retirement ā€¦ :+1:

I drive the KEF Reference 3 with a Nova in a 28 squaremeter room. No Issues at the moment, sounds great for me :slight_smile: small and big volume.

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Your KEF Reference 3 are great looking speakers and sounds even better. Congratulations to your nice set up!:grinning:

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The preamp section of the 272 is somewhere between the 202 and 282, and the streamer/DAC section somewhere between the NDX and ND5XS. Heated debates in the Forum about the exact ā€œlocationā€ of the 272 ā€“ e.g. closer to the 282 or the 202.

I have no hifi-philosophical ax to grind, or need to justify any past purchase. And I disclose that I havenā€™t been terribly long in the Naim world. But to me it seems fr*** obvious ā€“ apologise my French ā€“ that a 300DR for more Ā£8K deserves more than a streamer/pre-amp for less than half the cost of the power-amp.

I sincerely hope the OP takes on board the suggestions from Forum members with an established track record of good advice. He deserves the best possible system for this monies to enjoy his retirement!

To finish on a lighter note, blessed are the cloth-eared onesā€¦ :wink:

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Iā€™m not ususally swayed by appearance but the black and copper ref3ā€™s are drop dead gorgeous. I bought them with a discount and trade-in, and before the price went north of Ā£10k. These are (at age 66 ) definitely my last pair of speakers. Fed through a Musical-Fidelity Nuvista 800 amp, the sound is stunning. I had a unitiserve, with 272 (acting as dac) and XPS, but felt that they were now the Achilles heal. Am demoā€™ing an Innuos server/streamer, and Chord Hugo DAC, which has bought a whole new musicality and presence/detail to the music. Moral is that after buying the speakers, the peripherals need to be bought up to scratch.

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Love the Dog! Very handsome. Room is ok toošŸ™ƒ do you move the chair between the speakers when you listen?

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hi opus, thanks :slight_smile: i think you mean me and yes my position isa in the centre of the speaker, like in the first photo, with 0.5 meters place behind me.

I just read quickly. Indeed, for the review, Nova can drive expensive as 10 k speakers.
However, in the review, the 2 were bookshelves.
Wilson tune dots. Acoustic energy AE1.

image image

I am currently listening to Dead Can Dance via Qobuz HiRes in my system at a moderate volume and I have to say that it sounds wonderful to my ears.

This will do until I upgrade my system a couple of years from now.

Letā€™s see what will be on the market then. Maybe a ā€œSuper Novaā€, with the internal amp like the 300dr and with matching internal preamp/streamer. :smiley:

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We are a lot to dream on a super Naim integrated, or 372.
Perhaps a petition to Naim could help :laughing:

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I have a nova and contour c30s and nova drives them with ease! And bass is incredibly deep and tight!!

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