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220 or 440 for KEF Blade 2
#1
As a current Blade 2 owner, I am interested in moving to a Devialet front end.  I'm unsure whether the 220 or 440 is the better choice.  Someone on the form mentioned that the 220 sounded tighter than the 1000.  I'm wondering if that would be the same case going from the 220 to the 440.  Any insights would be appreciated.
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#2
There is actually one KEF Blade 2 owner who is a member of this forum, AlexS. Having said that, I don't think he has posted for a while, plus if I recall correctly, Alex is running a D250, the one model not mentioned in your post. Maybe Alex will chime in if he happens to log in some time.

I can provide some advice from the perspective of a user of the 'original' Blade. When I first auditioned the KEF Blade this was with what was then a Devialet D240. When deciding what to purchase to power the Blades, I auditioned very many amplifiers, but eventually decided that by far the best option within budget was the D240. At the time I did try the Devialet 170 (prior to the firmware upgrade that turned it into a D200). My thinking at the time was that the D170 was a lot cheaper, ok a little less powerful but 170w should be enough, shouldn't it? As things worked out the D170 was just about the worst thing I listened to driving the Blades. The main issue was a complete collapse of bass definition. Bass depth, accuracy and power was one thing (amongst many) that I liked about the Blades, but with the D170 the Blades were poor. The Blades are reasonably efficient, but this is only part of the story with impedance curves, plus the Blades having four bass drivers per side, and these are bass drivers with rather oversized voice coils. Whatever the reason, one thing was clear, with the D240 the Blades were spectacular, with the D170, they were poor, the bass definition simply collapsed. For the record, the D400 did not exist at this time! Since then I have purchased a 'companion' and I am now running a D800, the 800 is just that little bit better than the 250 in all areas, particularly bass definition.

I'm guessing that the Blade 2 is a little easier to drive than the original Blade, but having said that I am sure there is not much in it. Also, the D220 is obviously a more powerful than the 2013 spec D170. But I do suspect that if the 220 Pro can drive the Blade 2 ok, it is probably going to be a bit marginal. As for the 440 Pro, this one will be fine. I ran my Blades with a single D250 for over a year and it was superb. The 440 Pro will be a superior beast to the D250 and I am certain will be a great match for the Blade 2. Interesting to note that Devialet are demonstrating the 440 Pro with the Blade 2 at this weekends 'Indulgence' show in London, so that might tell you something. Oh, and the D800 with the Blades is even better than the D250, and the 1000 Pro even better than that! But I reckon the 440 Pro with the Blade 2 should be terrific. I have seen at least one dealer demonstrating this combination too. Oh, and if a 220 Pro is indeed 'tighter' than a 1000 Pro, with the Blades at least, I'd eat my remote!
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#3
(15-Oct-2016, 18:53)Confused Wrote: Oh, and if a 220 Pro is indeed 'tighter' than a 1000 Pro, with the Blades at least, I'd eat my remote!

I sure hope you haven't bitten of more than you can chew here Confused.  Big Grin
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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