Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
Drop Refurbished
Like-new products you can trustDrop Rewards
Get $5 for every 500 points you earn! Learn more
Drop Keyboard Club
Become a member and expand your keycap collectionCollaborate With Us
For Brands & DesignersFollow Drop
Couple of observations from my combination:
1. I found the D3 amp and the sparkly top end of the KEFs to be too bright for my taste, especially at higher volume levels. Although that’s just my opinion, one mans bright sound is another man‘s detailed sound. 2. Bass was satisfactory with the Pioneer receiver/ KEF combo. However, when using an external NAD C275 BBE to power the fronts fed using the receiver as a preamp the bass gained some additional detail and just seemed to really improve the sound greatly - the highs were less strident and the bass just was fuller and enveloping. I’m not sure, but I’m guessing the increased wattage and especially the high current capabilities of the NAD were just a better match to driving the slightly hungry KEFs. 3. I also tried a friends McIntosh 7106 6 channel amp bridged to provide 3 channels @ 320 watts for the L, C, & R speakers again using the Pioneer as a Pre/Pro and thought that produced the best results in HT and 2 channel stereo. The imaging and 3D qualities frequently had me wondering if sometimes I had left the surround decoder on! Bass was very similar to the NAD but in the treble the Mac really made the speakers shine. So if I were you maybe look at the Pioneer if you think it’s the component you want, perhaps know that you may not be as blown away as you thought you might be. At which point start saving for and auditioning power amplifiers.