Is B&K PT5/ST125.2 a good match for B&W 604S3 ?? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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AudoAddict
08-17-2005, 12:07 PM
Hello,

I recently bought B&W 604 S3 speakers, and got them connected to B&K Components PT5 and ST125.2. And I have few questions abot it. First of all the speakers are 8 ohm nominal impedance but they ca go down to 3.5 / 4 ohm. The amp is rated about 140W @ 8 ohm and 185 @ 4 ohm, is it enough to control those speakers ?? As far as I know they can handle from 25W to 200W @ 8ohm. Another thing is the amount of bass is very poor, my room is 11,5ft x 10,5ft so it's rather small. The speakers are 3 weeks old, and they have more than 70 hours on them, so last weekend I turned the volume a little more up to -20db it was ok not too loud, but clean and controlled. When I turned it to -10db the amp lost control over the speakers, the woofers started move like crazy but the bass was same. Still the sound was not disstored, clean but not controlled. From time to time I like to turn it louder, but that time I was just curious how much can I push my system and how the speakers can handle the power. So I'm not sure is it the room (size and shape), the amp is not able to drive speakers or the speakers just play like that. The reason I ask is just no difference in bass when upgraded from MonitorAudio Silver S2. But the clarity, sound stage, everything is perfect for 1.500$ speakers. Should I think about changing my amp or it's just me?? Actually reason I ask is B&W dealer had only Rotel amps, most B&W owners go with Rotel or Classe. Many people told me that B&W and Rotel / Classe is best match. Is it true?

Best regards,

Audioaddict

topspeed
08-17-2005, 02:33 PM
The short answer is there is not "best match," for any speaker. There is only what is "best" to you. A lot of people match Rotel and B&W because these two companies share the same distributor therefore there is a very high probability for a dealer that carries one brand to also carry the other. Of course, a dealer wouldn't think to upsell on one if you were purchasing the other now, would they (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)? FWIW, I know of B&W owners swear by their tubes. Figures...in audio it's all subjective.

The B&K should have more than enough to properly drive the 604's, a speaker that isn't reputed to be hard to drive. If you are concerned about a loss of control, I'd check the damping factors and compare it to other amps you are considering. While B&K makes fine equipment, maybe it just doesn't like your speakers. Hey, it happened to me (also with B&K and B&W).

A lot of the perceived lack of bass is likely your brain needing time to get acclimated to the new speakers and/or room acoustics. Tweak the placement of your speakers and surrounding furniture if possible. Do a search here for room acoustics and Richard Greene, who wrote a terrific article on room nodes that I consider mandatory reading for anyone remotely interested in getting the most out of their system.

One last thing, did you feel the 604's had more bass when you auditioned them? If so, find out what the dealer was driving them with (probably Rotel). I will say that when I switched to another amp, the difference in my 7NT's wasn't subtle in the least. However, I was trying to drive them with an AVR, not separates.

Good luck

AudoAddict
08-17-2005, 06:36 PM
The speakers were connected to Rotel's AVR RSX-1056, the source was Rotel's DVD 5 disc changer. I played Eric clapton and Carlos Santana, on CD Shaman 604's had some Bass but the dealer didn't set to higher volume. It was moderate, over all the sound was great even for AVR. About the dampening factor as far as I know my B&K amp have "100" and Rotel RB-1080 have dampening factor of "1000"! It's 10x more than my amp, how?? I did nit have a chance to listen to RB-1080 separete. In AudioAdvice when I was purchasing my amp it was connected to Martin Logan's Clarity, Sonus Faber Grand Piano's and Monitor Audio Gold 60's; the sound was great smooth, clear, almost perfect but low end was little light like it wasn't there. I also listened to Krell KAV-400xi, but I didn't really care how it sound becouse the price tag was 2500$ and at that time I just wanted anything that plays... Anyways I'm quite happy with my amp, but also want to change it for something better, there is one more thing that bothers me a little except of bass. It's integrated tuner, I'm not a fan of amplituners... O! just thought of it now, may be the reason is my DVD Player - Denon DVD-2910 connected via AudioQuest Copperhead. Maybe I should purchase a CD Player instead of spending more on AMP which is not that bad.


P.S.

After changing my speaker cables to AudioQuest Bedrock (bi-wire) I got 100% more bass with Monitor Audio Silver S2 than with Monster Cable MCX2 (bi-wire)

Remo1075
09-23-2005, 10:53 AM
I also recently bought the same speakers as you and am totaly satisfied with the bass. They are being driven by MF A3CR Pre/Amp its also about same watt as your amp. Speaker placement is everything I have them about 6-7 Ft apart pointing inwards for that sweet spot. I also use very good speaker cable gold/silver/copper mix this helps loads. I had them on plain copper cable before and you notice the difference straight away when you upgrade the cable. Try listening to rihanna song called pon_de_replay off Music of the sun album to really get the base jumping. Its hard to listen to even at low levels because the bass is so intense on this song.

just an extra note. I upgraded to B&W from sony bookshelves and man when i listened to them the first time I could really notice the difference in the high end driver ( tweater ). They were picking out sounds Ive never heard before on music Ive had for years. Did you also notice this ? Enjoy your speakers I know I am.. :)

Geoffcin
09-23-2005, 02:56 PM
I also recently bought the same speakers as you and am totaly satisfied with the bass. They are being driven by MF A3CR Pre/Amp its also about same watt as your amp.

I own an A3cr, and it's a great amp.

Even though I've never heard the A3cr drive these speakers, in my opinion it's a darn near perfect match. The MF can pump out the gobs of current that B&W speakers love, and it's super extended frequency response will add a little bit of sparkle to a speaker that's just a tad on the warm side.