2. misc-audio
  3. 186918-160233

Nad M33 or something better

Hello all,

I have a pair of KEF Reference 3 (non meta) purchased 2 years ago along with NAD M33 to power them. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on any other power for these speakers. I like the M33 but I think the Kef Ref 3 might be better with a better amp or integrated amp.

Any help would be appreciated. I purchased the speakers without hearing them with the NAD so I know that was not a great idea. The NAD powers them fine but everything I read about the Ref 3 is they need a quality power amp or integrated amp.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

timeisonmyside11
mahler123
3,324 posts
 

+1 to the add sub consensus 

timeisonmyside11 OP
3 posts
 

Great comments guys.

 

Thanks for all the input..

zlone
658 posts
 

That is a nice set of speakers! I have the LS50's and love the sound of them, I am guessing the Ref 3's are spectacular. Having gone through some upgrades in amplification with my KEF's, I would say that you could find some significant improvements trying some other gear. My original amp was an NAD 375BEE integrated which sounded great and provided a deep well of power for the low sensitivity LS50's. My eyes opened up when I bypassed the preamp section of the NAD integrated with a Schiit Freya+, it was a significant improvement. I later replaced the amplifier with a Coda #8, again a very significant improvement.

I am not advocating for these products, and in fact I am in the process of auditioning replacements for the Freya, but just saying that I think you can do better with a speaker of that quality. The M33 looks great on paper, but like every Swiss army knife solution, I expect there were compromises made along the way. The fact that you are not getting the bass you want, and you are still missing that certain something tells me you should shop around.

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