Kef 201/2 your impressions and comparisons

Interesting that the OP found the 50W Cayin A100T had enough juice to drive the KEF 201/2. I have had a pair for about two months and found it a difficult load to drive. They like power and high current, with lots of reserve to maximize dynamics. When I switched to Pass X250.5, the 201/2s snapped to life. The 201/2 puts out a very clean and hall forward presentation. Bass, however, is not a standout feature of the 201/2, and I use them with a sub (but then, IMHO, all monitors need a sub). I am currently A/B'ing the Linn Akurate 212 (a super monitor that plays huge and musical) and the KEFs. I still can't quite get used to KEF''s uni-q tweeter -- its not that I don't like it, I do, but at times (i.e., with some recordings) it gets a bit hard/fatiguing. That said, I'm liking the speaker overall.

The Cayin is 100W per channel. I had heard it pushing B&W 802N at the dealer with plenty of headroom and tight bass. Pretty balsey amp actually. Not real tubey sounding. Went ahead and bought the 201s. So far very happy with them. Love the detail. Lots more detail than my Usher BE 718 and edges out the paradigm in detail also. Mating with JL F113. Still trying to get them synced up a little better but for most music sounds excellent.

Just a note that my main musical taste is rock and metal and classic rock.. The Cayin is IMO better than any SS amp I have heard for this type of music. It's a fast little fucker and the dose of tubes takes the edge off and makes the guitars a little more crunchy while keeping everything well separated. I was running Odyssey Stratos plus on the Ushers before I got the Cayin. It's high current 150W per channel. The Cayin sounds more powerful than the Odyssey to my ears. I still have not tried the Odyssey with the KEF. maybe this weekend.

Ah, my error on the the Cayin power rating (I read the specs too quickly). I am not familiar with the amp, but your experience speaks well of it.

Good luck with the 201/2. I'm running a JL F112 with them. Keep adjusting and you'll get them synched with the sub. We too listen to a lot of rock and metal (including lots of live material). I use an external crossover and have the high pass to the 201/2s at around 120 Hz, to take the bass load off the 201/2s and free them up. At that XO, the 201/2 with the sub is delivering really strong mids and upper bass, and lots of slam, all the while delivering it clearly and sweetly. I do, however, wish the speakers had a bit wider dispersion, as we do not confine ourselves to the sweet spot.

My cayin does not have a pre out so i have the sub hooked up by the speaker wires. Basically put another set of speaker wires from the output terminals and splice in resistors and then splice into rcas and then into the sub. I have been trying to figure out a way to put in a external crossover but I do not think it will work without a separate pre amp. the cayins pre amp section cannot be separated from the amp stage. So that leaves me running the speakers full range. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. You can however use a different pre amp with the Cayin and bypass its own but I don't really want to invest in a separate pre amp.