My current set-up is a pair of KEF 104/2’s powered by an old (but mint condition) Akai AM-69 and a Topping D50s DAC.
I love the speakers. Boy they sound huge, lush and detailed. So the amp is obviously doing it’s job. However, I only ever have the volume at about a quarter to a half of the maximum. Add to this that the amp is fucking huge haha. The speakers are rated at “up to 200w at 4 Ohm and 100w at 8 Ohm.”, the amp AM-69 is rated at 110w at 8ohm and 220w at 4ohm.
Long story short; I’m thinking about getting rid of the amp and DAC and replacing it with the PS Audio Sprout100. Is this little guy going to be enough to power the speakers sufficiently? I love the idea of such a little unit doing everything. I don’t think I’m ever realistically going to have space for the massive amp, so the Sprout100 is very appealing to me.
The power rating of the speakers means nothing. They’re 92db efficient - that’s mainly what you’re looking at. The Sprout does 50W @ 8ohms and 100 @ 4ohms (which is the impedance of your speakers). Your current amp is given as 110W @ 8ohms and 220W at 4 ohms. Basically you’d be halving the power you have available. Realistically that should be fine but it’s not a guarantee that you’ll get the same dynamics. HOWEVER! PS Audio offers 30 day in home trials with free shipping to and from. So buy one and try it out. If you don’t like it, send it back and it will all cost you $0.
Thanks, mate! I appreciate your time. I don’t say this often, but unfortunately I am in New Zealand… This means I can’t do the whole returns thing. Makes it much more of a mission. I think I would be buying second hand. I’m pretty comfortable losing half the power - it’s currently massively in excess for my needs.