What type of amp for kef 104.2 reference speakers?

[tonionc]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and a novice when it comes to audio equipment. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through reviews, comments, and questions from other forum participants and have benefited already from very friendly advice on the kef 104.2 reference speakers, which, thanks to some of your comments, I recently purchased. I am amazed by these speakers, which have skyrocketed the quality of my speakers to another level or many levels!

I would like to ask for some forum advice again on suggestions for an amp or receiver that would be able to provide these kef 104.2 speakers with enough solid state current to really make then perform to their true ability. I am overwhelmed as a newbie with all the options, pre-amps, amps, receivers, two channel, surround sound, vintage tube amps etc.

Maybe if I provide a little info about what I would like and my budget that would help narrow things down a bit? I am primarily interested in listening to great music (all styles) and will switch from playing CDs on a CD player to using a mac book pro running through wireless airport express. My listening room is 20 ft x 14ft with wooden floors and 9 ft ceiling. I would like to be able to connect CD player, DVD player, potentially a subwoofer in the future and perhaps be able to switch from listening to stereo two channel for music only, to surround sound for DVD movies. (I would connect another pair of speakers as opposed to purchasing surround speakers) So, surround sound for movies is not really my priority but having the option to set up four speakers and a subwoofer would be nice. My priority however is using the kef speakers to listen to music.

So my confusion is this, is there one receiver that would allow me to do all of these things? Or do I need a set of components to achieve these goals? Hoping to keep the budget at about $700 to $1000. Is that possible? (For the receiver or amp and pre-amp combination or two amps, not all the other things)

Thanks so much, here are some specs on the kef speakers:

Description: D’appolito design mid/tweet/mid (MTM) with twin 8” woofers in a coupled chamber. 4th order advanced crossover.

Frequency response: 55hz-22khz +/- 2db. In room: about 30hz-22khz.

Efficiency: 92 db 1w/1 meter

Impedence: 4 ohms

[blackraven]

If your planning on a Home Theater then you may want to buy a HT receiver. Here are a few suggestions in your price range if you plan on buying from the internet. You can find these on the net for well below list price with the exception of Ma.rantz and NAD

Onkyo TX SR806, TX SR 876, Denon 3806 and 3808, Marantz SR 6001, SR7002, NAD T-755, Yamaha RX v1900 and RX-V3800.

The Onkyo is a bargain and has a good amp section. Here's a link comparing some onkyo's
http://www.faqware.com/Receivers/Onkyo_receiver_comparison_2008.html

With the money saved on the 806, you could use it to buy a decent CD player.

[tonionc]

Thanks for your suggestions for the home theater set up.

I was wondering if you could recommend an amp and cd player for the kef 104.2 ref speakers for 2 channel playing. I would not mind just using these speakers for listening to music and would like to know about tube amps vs other kinds of amps and pre-amps and what kind of cd player would work nicely.

I am also curious about the use of mac book pro Itunes on a system like this. Can one still use wireless airport express through an integrated or component system or a tube amp and still get great sound?

thanks for any thoughts.

[blackraven]

First off, what is your budget for an amp and CDP? And are you talkng about a separate power amp which will need a preamp, or are you thinking an integrated amp which is a preamp and amp all in one?

Without knowing your budget, here are a few suggestions-

For CD Players-
Marantz SA5003- approx $300
Music Hall 25.2- approx $550 and a bargain, it has a very transparent detailed sound
Cambridge Audio 640c v2- $600 AudioAdvisor has one onsale for $399
Rega Apollo- $900- also a highly regarded player
Cambridge Audio 740c-$1K
Marantz SA8003 SACDP. -$1K This is a winner, it plays SACD's as well as CD's and has a warmer sound almost tube like. Or look for a used Marantz SA8001 SACDP which was last years model and sounds exactly the same for all practical purposes. This would be my recommendation for an excellent CDP.

For amps under $1K-
B&K reference series 100.2
Parasound Classic series 2125
Parasound Halo A23- my pick
NAD C-272
Emotiva amps www.emotiva.com They have a sale on the XPA-2 for $699 which is a steal for a 500wpc amp (4ohms) Their multichannel amps are onsale as well and may be the way to go
along with a preamp processor

As far as tube amps are concerned, tubes offer a warm sound (some find it pleasing and some don't) and less clinical sound. You will pay a lot more for tube amps although, Jolida makes some that are reasonably priced.

If your interested in tube amps/preamps and DAC's as well as solid state amps that have a tube sound, check out www.avahifi.com. His equipment is not pretty, but it sounds great. In fact, your may want to consider his external Insight DAC instead of a new CDP if you already have a CDP with digital out puts that are needed to connect to a DAC.