your wisdom please...

[yellowkakeuf6]

I am a casual listener and on my brother's recco I am now the proud owner of a pair of B&W DM601 S3 speakers.
Can any of you suggest an amp that would work well with them for a budget of less than $400?
I will be playing regular rock CD's in the main.

Your views are much appreciated.

Thankyou

[FLZapped]

I am a casual listener and on my brother's recco I am now the proud owner of a pair of B&W DM601 S3 speakers.
Can any of you suggest an amp that would work well with them for a budget of less than $400?
I will be playing regular rock CD's in the main.

Your views are much appreciated.

Thankyou

Well, they are listed as 25-100 watts - I hate it when a manufacturer won't tell you what they are really rated for.....

Anyway, you'll probably want to listen to them fairly loud, so you should probably pick an amp around 100 watts per channel mark.

Then you have your choice of new and used. Places like Ebay can yield some decent bargains as long as you have done your research. Below is an example:

Adcom GFA-545 (http://search.ebay.com/gfa-545_Adcom_W0QQbsZSearchQQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompa reQQcoentrypageZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfromZR2QQsaca tegoryZ71543QQsatitleZgfaQ2d545QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocu sZbsQQsosortorderZ1QQsosortpropertyZ12QQsotrZ2)

You could also look at the review section of this forum and other forums to get a basic idea. In other words, don't just take our input, use a wider range of material before making your decision.

-Bruce

[Geoffcin]

I am a casual listener and on my brother's recco I am now the proud owner of a pair of B&W DM601 S3 speakers.
Can any of you suggest an amp that would work well with them for a budget of less than $400?
I will be playing regular rock CD's in the main.

Your views are much appreciated.

Thankyou

I would check AudiogoN.com Here's one that might fill the bill; http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1099926526

[matt39]

While the amps which have been recommended will certainly work, you could save some bucks by going with a decent receiver from Yamaha (RX-496), Denon (DRA-395), Harmon Kardon (HK3380) or Onkyo (TX-8511). A receiver gives you a preamp and tuner so you don't have to purchase these separately. The models I have listed will all drive the 601's effectively and are well within your price range. Integrated amps like the NAD C320BEE or Cambridge Audio Azur 540A would work as well. I listened extensively to the 601's powered by the Denon receiver when I was auditioning speakers and it sounded very good. It had plenty of power and nice features too. I think it or the Harmon Kardon might be your best choices if you decide to go with a receiver. Good luck on your new system.

[RGA]

It's a good speaker - You may want to treat it to one of the nice Rotel Integrated which may be around your budget. Also look for used integrated's - your money may go considerably further - Sugdens come around infrequently but is worth checking out. There are so many good integrateds available from 5-10 years ago that went for over $2k that you could get for your $400.00 Go to some high end dealers and see what they have. Try them out with your speakers and see if you like what you hear. And try the receivers mentioned too.

[yellowkakeuf6]

to all you guys who responded - RGA, Geoff, FC and particularly Matt. You've all made me think of things I would not have. I'm not very well versed in this area, but I wanted to do the speakers some justice at least, with the budget I have. Your ideas are great.
Keep enjoying your systems.

Mark

[hertz]

Try the NAD 320 bee. Awesome quality for the money ! Don't let the 50 watt/ch spec fool you. They can drive the most demanding loudspeaker and sound very musical.

[psonic]

try a search like this:

http://search.ebay.com/rotel-nad-adcom-aragon-refinement-classe-levinson-bryston-sumo-sudgen-forte-musical-ps-audio-parasound_2-Channel_W0QQsofocusZbsQQsbrftogZ1QQsocolumnlayoutZ 3QQcatrefZC6QQsocomparecolumnlayoutZ1QQfromZR10QQs orecordsperpageZ50QQsbrbinZtQQsatitleZQ28rotelQ2CQ 20nadQ2CQ20adcomQ2CQ20aragonQ2CQ20refinementQ2CQ20 classeQ2CQ20levinsonQ2CQ20brystonQ2CQ20sumoQ2CQ20s udgenQ2CQ20forteQ2CQ20musicalQ2CQ20ps*audioQ2CQ20p arasoundQ29QQsacategoryZ71542Q26catrefQ3DC6QQsasal eclassZ2QQsotrZ2QQsosortpropertyZ3Q26sosortorderQ3 D1QQcoactionZcompareQQcopagenumZ1QQcoentrypageZsea rch

someone just got a Bryston 3B THX with 9yrs of warranty left for $399!