danes vs. brits -i need advice

[Mr Peabody]

Most of the B&W I have heard has been the Nautilus series. I found I could spend half as much money and have a better sounding speaker than the Nautilus with a Dynaudio Contour series. I find B&W's sound lifeless. Dynaudio is a very dynamic speaker when driven by decent equipment. I DO NOT think you will find a better value for your price range than the 52's. If you can afford the extra $300. the 52se is more than worth every penny. You should hear the Dyn's have more bass accuracy and authority than most others, they will be neutral and the highs are extended. I heard a direct comparison of the 52's against a $2,200. Thiele and a $700. AE tower and the 52's ruled. I would like to hear the speaker that "stomps" on a Dyn. Not likely!

I tend to agree that Yamaha wouldn't do much for either of your choices. They are like B&W, overrated. I put Yamaha with Pioneer or Kenwood, no better. The $1,200. Arcam is very good sounding but doesn't have a lot of the bells & whistles of mass market receivers. I seen one drive all Martin Logan speakers, so I know they can drive a tough load but if you like loud, it may still fall a little short. If I had to have a receiver though the Arcam would be my choice. I don't know the cost but you might also take a look at the Integra stuff as another option. It would at least offer a high current amp section that would easily drive an Audience or B&W. I honestly haven't heard the Rotel. I am not a fan of NAD but since you have the CD player you might give a listen to what they offer, you would then have synergy on your side.

[spacedeckman]

Equating Yamaha with Pioneer and Kenwood is a low blow, especially when you put Integra on some type of pedestal. You have been out of the receiver loop for the better part of the past decade. The Integra stuff is a bit lame, and Denon, to my ears and many of my other tweak-head buddies (mostly tubes and vinyl crowd, you know, C-J, Sonic Frontiers upper end stuff, Some Rowland, Red Rose, etc), is a sonic far cry from whatever you could get from Yamaha. It is every bit as "high current" as an Integra, and maybe more so, only vastly superior on the reliability, design, and build fronts. My two considerations when I finally get around to the HT thing will probably be the new Arcam that is supposed to be out this spring, or a Yamaha as a second choice. Since I don't need a lot of features, and the potentially better sonics, the Arcam is the list topper.

Next time you are in MFP, remind the guys that "all things that glow don't blow".

Later,

[musicman1999]

i assume you have a reason for narrowing your search,but if you don't RGA is correct
you can certainly do better in this price range.I have not heard the danes myself,but have heard they are decent but not special.the b&w were on my audition list(603's) but while quite decent were a clear loser to my current jm labs setup.Spend months if you have to,it will be worth it,listen close and make the right choice.