B&W Ampliefier Preference

[bloat]

Heydo,Firstly I'm new to this forum....& it seems that I'm here because I caught the sound bug again.....which I haven't had since before kid days....

Anywho....

I'm getting new speakers primarily for 2 channel music listening......
I was planning on a new set of B&W 602 S3, but....I came across a mint set of B&W 805s that was to good of a deal to pass up.... so I got em....

I know I need to get a high current quality amp to drive the 805's, but will one of my current recievers do well for a while? or will i be disappointed?
Was it a bad idea to grab the 805's instead of the 602's?

I have the following recievers:
Denon AVR1403
Yamaha RX V493
Harmon Cardon AVR40

My plan is to eventually upgrade my reciever and get a quality sub to go with the 805's.
But this might take a year to do.
thanks

[topspeed]

Welcome to the forum!

The 805's offer far better resolution and transparency to the 602's so in my opinion, you definitely made the right choice. However, the reality is that your receivers...all of them...aren't going to be up to the task of driving the 805's anywhere close to their potential. It's not that your avr's are bad, just that the 805's have challenging impedence swings that no avr is going to be able to keep up with.

It sounds like you're on a bit of limited budget so I'd recommend getting a nice two channel amp and running it through the pre-outs of one of your avr's. If you don't mind buying used (and amps are great buys used), check out audiogon.com and see if you find something that tickles your fancy. Because the 805's are a bit light in lower octaves, something that is known for excellent weight and slam might be a good match. Krell, Bryston, or an older Threshold or Forte might work nicely. Personally, I favor switching amps and have found the PS Audio HCA2 (around $7-800 used) to be a particularly synergistic match with my CDMNT's, a speaker that is voiced very similarly (and have the same impedence challenges) as the Nauts. If your interested, you can read my review here. (http://www.audioreview.com/mfr/ps-audio/amplifiers/PRD_302365_1583crx.aspx) Mine is the fourth one down below Geoffcin's, a moderator and reviewer at AR.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

[PeruvianSkies]

what is your budget?

[Feanor]

Heydo,Firstly I'm new to this forum....& it seems that I'm here because I caught the sound bug again.....which I haven't had since before kid days....

Anywho....

I'm getting new speakers primarily for 2 channel music listening......
I was planning on a new set of B&W 602 S3, but....I came across a mint set of B&W 805s that was to good of a deal to pass up.... so I got em....

I know I need to get a high current quality amp to drive the 805's, but will one of my current recievers do well for a while? or will i be disappointed?
Was it a bad idea to grab the 805's instead of the 602's?

I have the following recievers:
Denon AVR1403
Yamaha RX V493
Harmon Cardon AVR40

My plan is to eventually upgrade my reciever and get a quality sub to go with the 805's.
But this might take a year to do.
thanks

And welcome to the AR forums.

I'm not that intimately familiar with these relatively new B&W models but clearly the 805 are up two or three ranges above the 602's, so I have little doubt they are significantly more refined. Therefore I'd say it wasn't a mistake to go with the 805's.

But consider that to fully exploit that extra refinement, you will eventually need better aplification that any of your receivers is likely to provide. Nevertheless there's no reason to break the bank in the short term: try out each of your receivers and decide which gives you the best sound. Regarding "best sound", listen for naturalness of voice and instruments, and for "transparency" which is not only detail but also "the air around the performers".

[bloat]

Very limited budget now.....sunk into the 805's......but should be able to spend about $1000 in about 6-9 months.

Not sure about the adding an amp to my reciever through the preouts cause that woud not able me to use the reciever amp services anymore.....which powers my exterior speakers on channel B.....plus I wanna run a powered sub too. Or could I?

I just wonder if I'm best to just save up.

[PeruvianSkies]

Very limited budget now.....sunk into the 805's......but should be able to spend about $1000 in about 6-9 months.

Not sure about the adding an amp to my reciever through the preouts cause that woud not able me to use the reciever amp services anymore.....which powers my exterior speakers on channel B.....plus I wanna run a powered sub too. Or could I?

I just wonder if I'm best to just save up.

It was a very wise move to put your money on the speakers first and then do the rest later. Most people make that mistake. Now the fun begins. You have a great set of speakers and now in time can keep improving other things, like amplification.

If what you are asking is what I am thinking than you should have no problem using your receiver and adding the amp to the pre-outs. I was thinking that for your case, you could try the PS Audio Trio amp. See if you can demo it somewhere. It's small and fiesty and can deliver a good load of power, plus you can add another one later. They are about $700/each.

[bloat]

I'll have to check if my recievers have correct preouts...
I know that the yamaha only has preouts for sub,center and rear speakers.....

[PeruvianSkies]

I'll have to check if my recievers have correct preouts...
I know that the yamaha only has preouts for sub,center and rear speakers.....

really? wow I never realized that about certain Yamaha's. That's one more reason for me to not really care for them now.

[bloat]

whats your thoughts on Hafler & NAD?? Should I get an integrated model or straight amp??

[Rock789]

check out Anthem and B&K...
you can find their amps <$1000 on ebay and audiogon

[Feanor]

whats your thoughts on Hafler & NAD?? Should I get an integrated model or straight amp??

Integrated is the better value to someone on a constrained budget. Forget about Haflera and NAD. Here are whole bunch of used integrates on Audiogon any of whose performance will whip Hafler, NAD, Adcom, or Rotel ...

NuForce IA-7
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1181491845
Arcam Diva A 85
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1181434726
Musical Fidelity X-150
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1181416537
Music Hall MAMBO
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1181414773
Nuforce IA-7
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1181073456
Naim nait5
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1181026746
Cyrus 8
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1180644770
Primare i21
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1180560706
Blue circle CS
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatran&1180115859
I look at the NuForce IA-7's in particular.

If you want new, this Onkyo model has been causing good vibes of late ...
http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=A-9555&class=Amplifier&p=i

[bloat]

how about parasound amps?....HCA-750a(75wx2) or HCA-1000 wTHX (125wx2)
These two are available near me for a reasonable price....& I can demo them too.

[jrhymeammo]

Agon, Agon, Agon, Agon, Audiogon.

You can get some great deals there. Just look for idiots like me.
I used to own B&W Signature 805 in Birdseye Red and powered with Rotel RSX-972, I sold my Rotel there for $350.
Rotel's rated 75 watts is much more beefer than Denon's 120ish, and didnt think the 'Tel was enough to drive those pups. I would look for a used Rotel 120w Stereo amp on Agon. Sounds like you got some time to upgrade, so I would post offers there and see if any of them will bite.

805 are great speakers. Hope you will find tehm to be exceptional as well.

Peace