Amp for LS50

I have the Class D CDA 250 and like it a lot.  I have owned it for about a year.  I can listen for hours, as it is not a fatiguing listen at all.  

Admittedly, I do not know which type of modules it uses (ice power, etc), which seems to be important to know in any discussion about D type amplifiers, in general. 

I am not sure how the Class D audio will pair with the KEF LS 50s though.

I am finding that the CDA 250 sounds better with some of my speakers than with others.  The other amp in rotation is the tube Prima Luna Prologue 5, which I have had for 13 years now.

I am finding that the CDA 250 sounds better with the traditional 2 driver speakers I own (Opera, Wharfedale), whereas the Prima Luna sounds better with the single driver systems that I like (Omega).

Rich 

Your KEFs will respond well to a LOT of power. I have R500s in my second system powered by a Mivera amp with an IcePower AS1200 module and 700 watts/8 ohms per channel works very well. One of the amps from Apollon or Nord using IcePower or Hypex amps would be a good alternative if you wish to go class D at the budget you mention. As the LS50s are quite revealing, any increases in preamp quality and transparency you can afford will be rewarded. 

Awesome!  Thank You Everyone who replied!  All the suggestions are options I would definately consider.

  I didn’t know that the Rotel and Musical Fidelity had such good reviews.  I wasn’t up to date with those!  Thanks.

Good to hear about the Peachtree stuff.  I liked my Nova Pre/220 and 220se that I had.  I took my LS50’s to my brothers house and hooked them up to his Nova Pre / 220 and wasn’t impressed to be honest.  I couldn’t believe that I could turn it up to 1 o’clock on the volume dial. Made me realize that these Kefs are power hungry, yet I have them hooked to a little 50 watt amp and they sound pretty good so I’m not sure that something like the Rotel or Musical Fidelity wouldn’t sound fantastic...

I’m leaning towards something like that Class D or Mivera amp (Thanks for turning me on to Mivera; I will be reasearching them!).  I figure if I can get some kind of crazy power and then pair it to a sweeter sounding preamp, that would be the hot ticket.  

The Kefs are sounding great though the more they break in.  Interesting as almost all of my previous speakers were pre owned so I never realized how much a speaker can change in the first 15-20 hours.  I wonder how much of it was me adjusting to thier sound.

@b_limo It sounds like your brother's Peachtree is not the new stuff made in Canada. They basically restarted the company with N. American manufacturing and new designer. They ditched the tubes for lower noise floor.

The NOVA line and LS50 are a very good match. I had a Benchmark DAC3 + AHB2 hooked up to the LS50 and it was a bit better than the NOVA 150 but it also cost more than 2x the price of the NOVA 150. I sold the Benchmarks and kept the NOVA and LS50. 

Peachtree give you a 30 day trial so, if you are inclined, do a little bit more research on this combo. You really don't have much to lose. The new NOVA 500 has a new DAC and newer preamp section.

https://darko.audio/2017/01/dancing-with-the-big-boys-the-powerfully-persuasive-peachtree-nova300/

Here is my next Peachtree upgrade.
https://www.peachtreeaudio.com/nova500-amplifier-with-dac.html

The Peach tree is okay but I was not satisfied with the model I heard... I don’t think $1k is enough of a budget for an amp to pair with the kefs unless you search hard for a decent ab unit in the used market. Unlike a lot of $1k speakers the kefs will scale with better electronics. I had a $15k digital front end class a pass Labs with kefs and it was sublime and a huge upgrade over the anthem 225i I had before. 

I highly recommend the Kinki Studio ex-m1 for your kefs! Within your budget too if you can stretch $500 as it is both a preamp and amplifier. 

Good luck