KEF Blade or Blade 2

I am one of those people who did not buy the Blades because I was sure it would get destroyed in my space. A good decision but a lost opportunity.

The speakers I ended up buying were the worst demo I have ever had. Sometimes a demo is dangerous to the decision-making process.

If you have the side wall space and you can keep the Blades safe you will not be sorry you got Blades.

I am one of those people that heard the KEF Blades in a large room with various Hegel gear, including their top end monos. I thought you could do better with the amps, but even with the issues with the amps (a bit grainy) the sound was so engaging.

Such a great speaker.

@questforhifi Can you elaborate more about your system? What are you using to drive the Blades?

If I got the Blades I was going to trade in my current CODA #16 for the KRELL KSA i400. I owned the lowered end KRELL DUO 175XD and they sounded great with the LS50 Meta. The CODA #16 would be good, but it is hard to argue with 400 watts of Class A for the Blades with ability to double down to 2.

@yyzsantabarbara 

sure of course. It starts with my synergistic purple outlet. The first item plugged in outlet is puron ac line conditioner. Next to that is the Galileo SX Power Cable that powers my powercell 12 uef se. I use the gold tuning bullet. Since everything is plugged into the powercell all my components pick up tonal characteristics of the Galileo. The power cell is key because the kefs are power hungry and unlike almost every other power conditioner, this one has been shown to actually increase powerdraw (by an average of 5%) so it adds to power reserves for when I play some bass heavy tracks at high volumes

My transport of choice is the lumin u2. Im using the ether-regen for my network switch, and I'm also using a linear power supply and external clock for the switch

The lumin gets a triode obsession PC. As with testing I found it perfect there. I'm using 3x IsoAcoustics Orea under the lumin

The lumin connects to my mola mola tambaqui dac via nordost interconnects. I'm currently auditioning new pre-amps atm so nothing I want to share there. Looking for the right fight. I use the krell duo 300 xd power amp. Would I love to try the i400? absolutely

But at $36.5k there is a lot of competition.. particularly the gryphon antileon evo. Plus I'm very happy with my current krell so no plans to change just yet

I'm using stealth audio cloude 99 speaker cables. Talk about speed, clarity, and air. Usually you need to pay BIG money to get such imaging and air, but the kef uni-q with these cables makes you think your listening to speakers that cost over $100k. They might actually be the fastest speaker cables period, not just from stealth but from any cable manufacturer. and they DONT SOUND BRIGHT. but I think these in other systems could easily be bright, its just that the blades arnt as "lively" as most others in the price range. looking squarely at vivid, B&W, and focal. The kefs are very flat and some dont like this but I LOVE that about the kefs because it's what gives them a blank slate and allows for leeway upstream to add the tonal characteristics that you want

Finally, my kefs sit on Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation Podiums. This was a very big upgrade, and not to be underestimated. They brought my blades to new heights

I'm probably forgetting a bunch of other little things/ tweaks here and there but thats the gist of my system

@questforhifi Thanks for the description of your system. You and I likely have similar sonic tastes.

Good to learn about the Powercell 12 uef se. I was looking for another conditioner that would do what my 10-year-old Torus RM15 does in my office system. The Torus also provides power on peak demand.

I had the Lumin X1 and loved the streamer part, especially with the fibre input since I only stream with fibre. I no longer have the X1.

I also owned a KRELL DUO 175XD which is one step below your amp. Since you are looking at new preamps let me suggest 2 that I know, and I think will work great with the KRELL. The Benchmark LA4 will work great, and you have a 30-day home trial, maybe 60-day with online sellers. The Holo Serene is almost identical to the LA4 and a bit warmer. I have both and would go with the LA4 on the warm KRELL. Though the Serene does sound great with my warmer CODA #16. The reason I mention these 2 is because for my sonic sensibilities they compare with preamps at ANY price. Both are around $3k.

I will send you a DM about the KSA i400. I am still thinking of this amp.

I was also wondering about these for my Yamaha NS5000 speakers.
Seismic Isolation Pods | Supertweeters (townshendaudio.com)

What are the differences between the first gen and the meta versions?