19-Oct-2015, 12:57
A couple of years ago, I did a straight back to back audition with what was then the D170 vs the D240. This was with KEF Blade speakers. The difference was night and day. The D240 sounded splendid and worked well with the speakers, the D170 was very poor, in particular with respect to the bass performance. With the D240 the bass was extended, accurate and very controlled. With the D170, the bass performance just was not there, very muddy by comparison. I think the issue here may be with the Blades having 4 x 9" drivers per side, and these drivers are fitted with voice coils normally sized for 15" drivers. So perhaps not the easiest of loads to drive.
Subsequently, I have been luck enough to hear the D200 with a number of different speakers, and the issue with the Blades I describe above was simply not apparent. So I feel that the apparent difference between the D200 and D250 is very speaker dependant. If the speakers are a nice easy load, then the D250 might not have much more to offer, with more "challenging" speakers, the D250 could offer quite a jump. Plus, in this respect I would not consider "efficient" speakers as being necessarily easy to drive. Resistance curves and peaks can do strange things to amplifiers.
Subsequently, I have been luck enough to hear the D200 with a number of different speakers, and the issue with the Blades I describe above was simply not apparent. So I feel that the apparent difference between the D200 and D250 is very speaker dependant. If the speakers are a nice easy load, then the D250 might not have much more to offer, with more "challenging" speakers, the D250 could offer quite a jump. Plus, in this respect I would not consider "efficient" speakers as being necessarily easy to drive. Resistance curves and peaks can do strange things to amplifiers.
