Dear community,
This is my first post—I’m glad I stumbled upon this forum! And I have a question right away: I currently have the Naim Nait XS3 and am very (!) satisfied with the amplifier. I’m currently still using the Kef LS50 Meta with it, but I’ll soon be getting my endgame speakers, the KEF Reference 1 Meta. Since these are relatively inefficient (85 dB sensitivity – actually similar to the LS50 Meta), I wanted to ask if anyone here has any experience with these speakers in combination with the XS3. KEF itself states that the amplifier should deliver at least 50 watts at 4 ohms – the XS3, with 100W and 130W at peak, is of course well above that. In addition, my listening room is relatively small at 12 square meters, so I don’t listen at particularly high volumes. So I’m not concerned with absolute volume, but rather whether the XS3 can drive the KEF Reference 1 confidently and dynamically even at room volume. Any experiences?
What made you choose the Reference 1 meta, did you hear it on the XS3?
Unfortunately, no. The KEFs were connected to a Hegel 190v. My dealer was convinced that the XS3 would also have more than enough power, especially since the power consumption is not very high at normal volumes. But for me, it’s all about the dynamics and peaks – and the question of how much authority the Naim has over the KEFs.
For the WhatHifi review they used a SN3 amp. When in doubt you could take your XS3 with you to your dealer and hear for yourself. I am surprised the dealer didn’t suggest that.
If you hear the KEF need more oomph a SN3 is easily sourced, I’ve noticed used prices are finally dropping even over here. Although then you start having a so called mullet system (most on speakers, and more amp level than source level), which does not always work out happily.
Given your small room XS3 and all could be just fine though. Oh, and welcome to the forum!!
What’s your source? I suspect given the high-end nature of your KEF Refs, unless you have invested wisely, that may be the limiting factor to sound quality?
I’ve got both the ls50 metas and the r3 metas, wouldn’t be going near the reference r1 metas with my SN3.
They will need something more exotic to justify the expense, but good luck and hope for all the best if you partner with XS3.
Thank you for your replies - they are all helpful. To answer your questions:
- My dealer suggested that I test the KEF speakers in my listening room for two weeks, which is what I plan to do.
- The rest of my setup looks like this: Rega P6 with a TAD Excalibur Gold MC cartridge, Gold Note PH-5 with the Gold Note PSU-5, and a NAIM CD5SI. My focus is vinyl and that’s where the KEF Reference 1 outperforms in my personal opinion. And it delivers the full spectrum even at low listening levels with great authority - which is quite important for me.
Absolutely it can, while improvements are possible with better amps it doesn’t mean the XS3 isn’t capable of satisfactory performance, there is always a better amp no matter how fancy is the one you have. Way to many people here are sick with upgraditis and it is highly contagious, don’t get too close or they’ll give it to you, it’s a very expensive disease.
Welcome to the forum.
I look at things a little differently from some. If you really want those expensive speakers and intend to upgrade amp and source in the future, do go ahead. But if you intend to keep and use that system for some time, I’d ask the question: would a different amp and set of speakers for the same price give you a more enjoyable sound? You might want to compare upgraded electronics with less expensive speakers with your proposed setup.
Some folk on the forum have systems with the bulk of expenditure on speakers. Others adhere to “source first” and my own experience is closer to that. But with the amount of money you’re contemplating, it would surely be worth auditioning a few possibilities before your final decision. And do go by your ears rather than specs and numbers.
Have fun choosing.
Roger
You don’t use £8,000 speakers with a Rega 6 and a CD5si. You just don’t. You’d do much better to get a Rega 10 and keep the existing speakers. Later improve the amplifier and only then get better speakers.
Lots of suggestions to upgrade for sure but it’s also no fun living with under-driven speakers. XS3 is reasonably flexible but, even so, some care needs to be taken in my experience. Seems these speakers might need a fair bit of power to wake them up, else they could be a bit underwhelming.
Personally, I find AI increasingly good at this sort of thing. Looking retrospectively at systems I’ve had in different rooms, it’s been surprisingly close with its predictions compared to what I experienced. Always better to get a home dem where possible though.
I agree - didn’t realise they were so much.
Hi Flaneur and welcome
Absolutely the XS3 will drive the Kef’s as my own speakers are relatively inefficient too and my XS3 drives them just fine
However spending that amount on speakers you must home demo them to make absolutely certain that they are what you’re looking for, sound wise, and that they work ok in your room
Personally I would home demo 3 pairs of speakers, max, with your current setup before you finally decide
What other speakers have you heard?
I agree HH, I know a guy from another forum that switched from Dynaudio C 1’s to Kef reference ones. Whatever amps he used with the Dyn’s could not power the Kef’s sufficiently.
He ended up buying Simaudio mono blocks to power them correctly (Moon 400 M) These amps put out 650 watts/channel into 4 ohms I believe. These were the first generation Ref 1’s.
I would suggest an alternative dealer. If they are advising you to match 8K worth of speakers to a Naim XS and Rega P6 (as good as they both are), then they are either ruthless or desperate for the sale. The amp and turntable shortcomings will be brutally exposed by the proposed speakers. Tread very carefully, especially as new speakers depreciate much more than other equipment.
You have a wonderfully balanced system, and the front end is where the next upgrade should go.
If you intend to spend 8K in one go, then look at a Rega P10 / Apheta3, and if you can, stretch to the Aura phono stage at the same time, alternatively, wait a few weeks for the new Rega AOS MC phono stage to match with the P10. Your Nait XS and KEF LS50 will shine as a result!
Isn’t there more to it than just the speaker efficiency figure though?
Also, I can see a danger where someone will think everything is OK cos the amp does a reasonable job but once they hear the same speaker properly driven then they realise what’s been missing/not done properly. What I’m saying is that it took me a while to learn what an underdriven speaker sounds like and it’s not necessary that obvious until you learn what to look for, especially if you’ve not heard the same speaker properly driven.
Typical things I notice are the tune going slightly off pitch cos it can’t hold notes properly, bass boominess, and/or a general tired sluggishness creeping in.
you’re totally right.
I really liked my ProAc T10s, but when I hooked up a NAP300, I was finally able to hear their true potential and it left me speechless.
I’ve never said my XS3 is getting the most out of my ATC’s and that’s how I answered the OP
Absolutely the XS3 will drive the OP’s new speakers no problem but will it squeeze out everything from them? well possibly not
We are talking £8k worth of speakers here
To the OP I would personally home demo them as well as a couple of other speakers to make sure you get the sound you want and, most importantly, they suit your room acoustics too
Some speakers sound amazing in the dealers demo room but until you get them home you’ll never know what they really sound like
Thanks again for your thoughts—and your justified criticism of my planned upgrade. It was indeed a good idea to register here on the forum.
I understand your points and can largely see which steps would be sensible and which would not. That’s why I’ve taken another look at everything myself. Basically, I am extremely satisfied with my setup with Rega, Gold Note, and Naim and really see no reason to upgrade further. With the Rega, I’m not sure if the difference in sound compared to the P8 is really significant—I thought that at this level, it’s more the cartridge that makes the difference. And the TAD Excalibur Gold is actually already at the top of its game. I’m also very happy with the LS50 Meta overall, which is also supported by the KEF KC62 subwoofer. My challenge is actually the size of the room, as it’s probably too small for the KEF Reference 1 to reach its full potential. Even though I’ve already acoustically optimized the room with absorbers.
But you’re probably right: the leap to the KEF Reference 1 is probably too big. That’s why I’m leaving everything as it is for now and prefer to continue optimizing the status quo. This also applies to the room acoustics.
A quick note about my last post: of course, I didn’t just mean Murmur, but everyone here who gave me really valuable tips.
And yes: I will make sure that I test any speakers that come into question in my listening room. But for now, everything is fine, because I now understand that such a massive upgrade has a long tail behind it. And that wasn’t really my intention 