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Amps for KEF Blade 2

I am looking for advice from owners or dealers of the KEF Blade 2 loudspeakers. I am concerned my current pair of amps will not be sufficient for the B2s because of an article written about the original Blades published on July 5, 2013 in The Absolute Sound:

"The Blades have a nasty kick in their crossover that will suck an amplifier dry quicker than a student downing free tequila shots ... Just don’t be tempted to cheapskate on the driving amps, or you’ll live to regret it. Tube amps at least have an output transformer to hide behind, but when the Blades suck out a solid-state design, they celebrate by spotlighting their tweeter something chronic. To give you some idea of the lengths required, the otherwise excellent Rowland 625 [550 watts into 4 Ohms] wasn’t up to the job, it taking a pair of the 725 monoblocs [650 watts into 4 Ohms] to restore order. "

Are the Blade 2s just as demanding as the original Blades in terms of amplification? I would guess not due to the smaller 6.5 inch woofers, but this is just an uneducated guess. I own a pair of Benchmark AHB2 amps, which according to the manufacturer produce “a little over 500 watts into 4 Ohms”. Will this be enough?
e91811
headphonedreams
527 posts
 

Looks like someone demoed Kef Blade 2's with the new Hegel A30 in Munich. I was not there but read the the H30A is really good, better than the H590 and should be able to drive anything. The cost of course doubles if you're gonna use it in a mono configuration. 

 

https://www.stereophile.com/content/hegel-reference-h30a-reference-power-amplifier-p30a-preamplifier-kef-reference-5-meta

ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,375 posts
 

Since the blades tend towards a lifeless sound I think an amp with some life, like maybe a tube amp would do them some justice.  I had the blade 2s with the Theta Prometheus for a few years and I'm sure this contributes to my opinion of the speakers being lifeless.  I don't think the Prometheus is a lifeless sounding amp, especially for class D but with a speaker like Kef that leans towards a lifeless and dull sound you get a bad combo.  I bet a Pass amp might sounds good.  Personally I would just avoid the blade altogether, I think personally there are much better speakers for way less money and the Blade is a cheaply made speaker too, mine developed a rattle inside and just touching the cheap plastic base makes you wonder how they justify the price.  Very very cheap and light when you consider the price.  

yyzsantabarbara
4,909 posts
 

The fact tact that it does not weigh much is really a feature and not a bug. Ever see the demo with the quarter on edge on top of the Blade while some hard rock is played through them. That is some space age engineering. The Blade does not need concrete like weight to be stable.

Interesting that you thought it was lifeless. For me it produces the most realistic sound, especially for live performances. The sense of being in the audience is unparalleled with anything I have heard, even at 10x the price.

Good thing there are so many different speaker choices for everyone.

 

 

mofojo
2,304 posts
 

For 10x the price! Wow 😯. 

yyzsantabarbara
4,909 posts
 

Yea, like some of the Wilson or Darth Vadar speakers (as my wife said to the Wilson rep).  A Wilson demo with close to $300K speakers and Dagastino gear was really great but was it fun, I am not so sure. I was more fascinated by the price of the gear than into the music. I like the sense that you are transformed to the live show and I get that with the Blades. 

I like the old Blades even more than the great Vivid Giya (the most recent iteration) and that is a $100K speaker. 

Another that came to mind was MBL with all MBL gear in a large room. I did not understand the hype.

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