2. speakers
  3. 1376419231

Preamp and DAC to drive KEF Reference 104/2?

A buddy of mine just acquired some 104/2s for free and is mainly looking to play digital via computer as his source, quite probably CDs as well. He's just starting to venture into the world of higher end components, so I'm thinking he's in the ballpark of spending 2, maybe $3K.

Given that he's working the serpent from the tail end, albeit the speakers were free, he may or may not have the opportunity in Seattle to listen to the suggested components. Beyond advising he get the speakers serviced, I didn't have much to offer him. Any suggestions?
Ag insider logo xs@2xnewstar
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Perhaps he should look into the Emotiva line of components. They have a very nice preamp and very solid power amps. All of their gear comes with a 30 day in-home trial and 5 year warranty.

Have him look at the XSP-1 preamp and maybe an XPA-2 power amp. Link to XSP-1 is below:

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xsp1

If he's just going to use a PC for his source, the XDA-2 DAC/Preamp might be just the ticket:

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/processors/products/xda2

-RW-
electroslacker
375 posts
 
They're very easy to drive, so a lot of options would work. I'd spend $50 each to get the tweeters refurbished, (check eBay) and buy a decent used sub and cross over at 50hz, then just get enough power, which isn't that much. I drove a pair with a VAC Avatar tube integrated with 28 watts triode, but that's on the low end. It's a great speaker, presents a benign 8ohm load, pretty efficient, but the tweeters dry out after a decade.
schubert
7,386 posts
 
I heard them driven by an Eastern Electric MiniMax with the EE DAC, sounded outstanding !Electroslacker is right on about the tweets.
jedinite24's avatar
jedinite24
1,503 posts
 
What is the size of the room the KEF Reference 104/2s be in? I have a smaller sized room and I had a 1st generation Jolida Tube DAC sending signals to a Kavent S-33 preamp to a Jolida JD-502P amplifier for a bit and all kinds music was awesome sounding. I could tailor the sound to my liking by swapping tubes on the DAC or even the Jolida 502P. It can get crazy with all the tube rolling one can do. To make things simpler for your friend he can get a Jolida DAC and a Jolida 502 Integrated and it would really push the 104/2s right.
More to discover