Newbie purchasing b&w 685...need advise

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • favian
    Junior Member
    • Oct 2009
    • 3

    Newbie purchasing b&w 685...need advise

    hello b&w lovers,

    Recently, I have been doing some minor research on HT.
    I went to a local HT dealer and was impressed with the sound quality of the 685.

    I think the 685 will suit nicely with my small apartment. Now I need advise on selecting a Receiver.

    At the moment I am looking at Onkyo TX-SR 607 / 606 as my first option with Denon AVR 1910 as a second option.

    My set up will be mostly used for watching then music. I have heard that Onkyo would be better suited for this.

    I need opinions from you expert to convince me that I will be making the right choice, or please shoot any suggestions.

    Thank you gentlemen. :T
  • emig5m
    Senior Member
    • Aug 2008
    • 646

    #2
    Well first off, good choice on speakers. From someone who's owned the 685 (and 684, and 683...) right up to the 800 series 804S you have chose the best bang for the buck in true high performance hi fidelity IMO. Mate them to a good sub and NEVER audition any of the bigger B&Ws with the FST mids and enjoy that you have a outstanding performing kit and didn't have to pay bookoo bucks to get there, hehe. Because honestly, if I had one of those memory eraser flashy thingies from the Men In Black (and also a time machine), I'd erase my memory of ever listening to the 683 and 804S, then go back in time to just before I bought any of my new speakers and leave myself a note to go with 685 and to never go any further and pocket the rest of the cash I saved, hehe. :E :B

    Now, I can't give you advice on those two receivers, I would assume they both would be just fine, but I honestly wouldn't touch a AVR without pre-amp outs. I know, the 685 isn't a huge speaker and would seem easy to drive, but see, it's the efficiency of the speaker where the power amp will help maintain that pristine clarity at volume. You can use the AVR's power amps to start out with, but it's nice to have that option open for a future upgrade to a nice power amp later. I've used a Yamaha RX-663 with my 685s with great results for sound quality and it has pre-amp outputs for use with an external amplifier in which I use a Emotiva XPA-5 - the little 685s handle the XPA with ease and the sound is so clean and clear at volume.

    What sub are you going to get? A Velodyne MiniVee might be a nice little sub for a apartment/685 setup although I don't think the MiniVee is too good for high volumes if you're going to want to play loud. I had to get rid of mine for a Sunfire Signature EQ as I found the MiniVee's built in limiter would kick in and limit it's volume WAY before my 683s where jammin' full tilt. The Sunfire could keep up at high volume.

    And lastly, since the 685 is so small already, you now have the option to have identical speakers for each and every channel. I wouldn't bother with either the 600 series center with the 685 and just use another 685 for the center channel.

    Comment

    • favian
      Junior Member
      • Oct 2009
      • 3

      #3
      Wow...thank you for an awesome response. I have not yet listened to any of the higher end series other than the 685 for now ehehehehehe...

      For now, I have set a pretty small budget. I am thinking of just getting a pair of 685 and a good reciever to match them without looking at any subs or centre speakers yet.
      I will add more to my set-up in the later future when I have set aside the money or if I feel I need them desperately. They will certainly be in the short future.

      I will definitely look at the Yamaha RX-663 and compare it to Onkyo TX-SR 607.
      Can you help me clarify what is "pre-amp"? and how do I know if the receiver I am looking at has a pre-amp or not?

      Also, what is a good approach in looking for a receiver ? what should I be looking out for?
      This is my first HT so I am still very new to this world. Pardon my newb.

      I appreciate your suggestions!

      Comment

      • emig5m
        Senior Member
        • Aug 2008
        • 646

        #4
        Originally posted by favian
        Wow...thank you for an awesome response. I have not yet listened to any of the higher end series other than the 685 for now ehehehehehe...

        For now, I have set a pretty small budget. I am thinking of just getting a pair of 685 and a good reciever to match them without looking at any subs or centre speakers yet.
        I will add more to my set-up in the later future when I have set aside the money or if I feel I need them desperately. They will certainly be in the short future.

        I will definitely look at the Yamaha RX-663 and compare it to Onkyo TX-SR 607.
        Can you help me clarify what is "pre-amp"? and how do I know if the receiver I am looking at has a pre-amp or not?

        Also, what is a good approach in looking for a receiver ? what should I be looking out for?
        This is my first HT so I am still very new to this world. Pardon my newb.

        I appreciate your suggestions!
        The pre amp is basically the volume control of the amp. With pre amp outputs you can bypass the receivers internal amps and use the receiver to control a external higher quality amp. I don't think it will be necessary for you to start out with but there will be pre amp outputs on the back of the receiver or the manufacturer will state it in the specs on their websites.

        I bought the Yamaha kinda on a whim. I needed a nice receiver with HDMI/HD decoding and also wanted pre amp outputs to be able to use a separate amp in the future and also got the Yamaha with the AVS forum discount which was a flat out steal for what you get. I was worried that it might not be as good as my Sony since the Sony cost over twice as much, but after getting it I was shocked at the sound quality difference over my previous two Sony's just for standard 2-channel CD playback. Funny thing is one of my Sony's cost over twice as much as the Yamaha! (albeit, eight years older) but the Yamaha blew the Sonys doors off for 2-channel music which IMO is the hardest thing to get right. Movies aren't as demanding for the utmost fidelity like 2-channel music is IMO (I was fine with my Sony's sound for movies but hated them for music - coming off of Carver stereo separates).

        I've read people complain about the Onkyo's heat output....they run hot...so they say. I haven't owned a Onkyo in a good sixteen years, heh. I don't hear too many complaints about Denon. I can only vouch for what I have had hands on experience with - the Yamaha 663 and the B&W 685s...amazing detail and clarity for the price you pay...

        Comment

        • larposh
          Junior Member
          • Oct 2009
          • 1

          #5
          Hi I am new also, I have herd a pair of B&W speakers and was blown away! I am looking for a pair, presently I have a yamaha RXV2500 and a pair of Klipsch RVX54 and a Velodine 12 inch sub, I am not too crazy about my Klipsch RVX 54 they just dont sound that great, I am looking for advice, Thanks all, awaiting..

          Comment

          • favian
            Junior Member
            • Oct 2009
            • 3

            #6
            a quick question..

            What types/brand of Speakers wires would you recommend for my 685?

            I have decided to go with Onkyo TX-SR607 since I received a very good offer on it and support just across my apt.

            Comment

            • SoundEngine355
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2008
              • 313

              #7
              Originally posted by favian
              a quick question..

              What types/brand of Speakers wires would you recommend for my 685?

              I have decided to go with Onkyo TX-SR607 since I received a very good offer on it and support just across my apt.
              I used to own the 685's, great speaker. They use Van Den Hul CS-14 internal wiring ( http://www.vandenhul.com/p_D03AE.aspx ) which is a copper/silver cable. I would not go overboard with the cable selection, personally I would buy the CS-14 by the M/Foot and some bannana plugs and make my own cable.
              SoundEngine355

              -------------------
              [Music] B&W 800D | Classe CDP202 +M400s | Velodyne DD15

              Comment

              • emig5m
                Senior Member
                • Aug 2008
                • 646

                #8
                Originally posted by SoundEngine355
                I would not go overboard with the cable selection, personally I would buy the CS-14 by the M/Foot and some bannana plugs and make my own cable.
                I agree. I'm using Radioshack 14GA Megacable and RadioShack crimp on banana plugs and it works perfectly with both my 600 series and 800s. I used the 14GA Megacable to replace 16GA Acoustic Research cable and I couldn't tell on bit of difference, lol. I mainly bought new cable because the color was starting to turn on the old cable, but there was no sonic difference that I could tell (but the brand new shiny cable makes me feel better, lol). :lol:

                Comment

                • rhinopilot
                  Junior Member
                  • Jan 2009
                  • 29

                  #9
                  Favian,

                  Great choice on the speakers - you will be really happy with them! I will preface this post by saying I have the 685's as the front L/R of my HT setup and run them on a Denon 2309ci receiver.

                  Emig5m makes some really good points

                  Originally posted by emig5m
                  Mate them to a good sub and NEVER audition any of the bigger B&Ws with the FST mids and enjoy that you have a outstanding performing kit and didn't have to pay bookoo bucks to get there
                  I have recently auditioned some 804S and 803D mains and will have to salivate as I try to determine if that is where I should drop some coin. After auditioning them I went home and listened to my 685s and I am still in amazement! Those little things can rock! I've heard people say they can get you about 90% of the way for about 15% of the price and they are so right. I find it difficult to want to upgrade when they sound so good.

                  Originally posted by emig5m
                  I honestly wouldn't touch a AVR without pre-amp outs.
                  I really wish I had listened to this advice. I am happy with my Denon, a fair bright but that is another discussion for another thread, but the one thing I really am kicking my own @$$ for is not getting a receiver with pre-amp outs. I am looking for my next upgrade and if I want to upgrade the electronics I have to replace the receiver with a pre-pro and amplifier or another receiver and amp. Suffice it to say I could probably have satisfied my upgrade bug with an amp... at least for a little while. :B

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  😀
                  😂
                  🥰
                  😘
                  🤢
                  😎
                  😞
                  😡
                  👍
                  👎
                  Searching...Please wait.
                  An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.

                  Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                  An unexpected error was returned: 'Your submission could not be processed because the token has expired.

                  Please push the back button and reload the previous window.'
                  An internal error has occurred and the module cannot be displayed.
                  There are no results that meet this criteria.
                  Search Result for "|||"