Hi All,
I am in a bit of a dilemma. Over the years I have been happily/slowly upgrading away at my system. I currently have a set of 683's with HTM61 center.
My electronics consist of a NAD T742 reciever and two NAD PE2200 power amps that I am using to drive the main speakers. All other speakers are being driven from the reciever.
At some point I want to get to the 804S, but I realize that I need to upgrade my electronics first to get the advantage of the speaker upgrade. I also want to add the new HD decoding for DTS and Dolby as I am getting into Blu-Ray audio/concerts.
With this in mind I set out to find some quality separates. I wanted a Pre/Pro and also a 5 channel power amp. Being that I had NAD gear I looked into the T175 and the T975 combo, and I just wasn't feeling that setup. I also looked at the Rotel RSP-1570 and RMB-1575 combo, and found them to be very nice. From my listening, the Rotel had great clarity and control of the speaker. Sounds stage was better then my NAD gear and I really enjoyed it. Best of all, it was right in my budget.
I rarely buy things on the spot and so I went home to think more about it and read more reviews. When I came to this forum, I found that a lot of people had the 804S which is what I want to eventually get. I found that for many that were running Rotel gear with the 804s that they were planning to go for an even better amp to maximize the 804s. This left me feeling a little disturbed. I understand that you can always get better, but I didn't want the Rotel to be a stop gap solution where I would be opening my wallet again as soon as I got to the 804S.
With that in mind I decided I needed to listen to a high end amp and compare the Rotel. The high end offering that my dealer likes with the B&Ws is Chord. My sales guy suggested the Chord SPM-650 which is 130 wpc stereo amp. The price point is just slightly less then the RSP-1570 and RMB-1575 combined. I hoped and prayed that I would not find the sound of the Chord a major improvement over the Rotel...
My dealer setup a pair of 683's with the Rotel Gear again, and played me some of my own CD's, and some of their selection. Again it was very good. He then connected the Chord and played the same CDs.. I was blown away.. It didn't even sound like the same songs.. I was hearing sounds from parts of the room I didn't thing a speaker could touch. Every sound was so clear and precise. The separation was amazing. It was at that moment that I realized I could not buy the Rotel.
Now I was feeling sick to my stomach. Not only was I going to have to dump a lot of coin, but I was only going to have a stereo amp, and no pre/pro, and no Dolby HD.
Since I am planning to get to 804S, my dealer suggested we do the same tests with the 804s. He hooked the Rotel up to the 804s and played the same CDs.. I was shocked.. I prefered the 683's with the Chord to the 804S with the Rotel.. It was as if the Chord was bringing the 683's into a whole new arena of Hi-Fi. He then put the 804s onto the Chord, and it was again awesome (marked improvement over the 683's).
Knowing now that I needed (as any man who likes toys needs) a high end Amp, I was worried that maybe 130 wpc would cause a problem.. My dealer put my mind at ease. He connected up a set of 801D and the Chord made them sing as well seemingly without effort.
So here I am.. I know now that I need a high end Amp.. After looking around I can find no one on here using Chord gear. Also I can only find one magazine review and although they found it performed well they found it colds and lacking personality.
It seems a lot of guys here run Classe, and I have not had a chance to hear that. The Classe dealer in my area is a couple of hours away. Is there something entry level that Classe has to compard to the Chord (Price point is $4800 dollars Canadian or about $4500 US).
I deal with the owner at my Dealer. I asked him about the Classe and he indicated that it is very good stuff and that they had to pick either Chord or Classe for their high end stuff. He preferred the sound of the Chord stuff and felt it to be a better match with the B&W line. Since he wanted to believe %100 in what he was selling he picked Chord. So far he has spent about 6 hours with me auditioning different combinations of the Rotel and Chord and I am very satisfied I have auditioned them to the fullest.
So after all that, my question is:
Does anyone else run Chord gear with B&Ws and if so what is the experience?
Is there any other comparable products (similar price and quality) I should try?
Does anyone else know of any other reviews of the Chord SPM lineup?
Any other comments?
I know in the end it is up to my ears and I think the Chord sounds great, but at the same time this is my first experience with anything in this price range.
Thanks,
Stuart
I am in a bit of a dilemma. Over the years I have been happily/slowly upgrading away at my system. I currently have a set of 683's with HTM61 center.
My electronics consist of a NAD T742 reciever and two NAD PE2200 power amps that I am using to drive the main speakers. All other speakers are being driven from the reciever.
At some point I want to get to the 804S, but I realize that I need to upgrade my electronics first to get the advantage of the speaker upgrade. I also want to add the new HD decoding for DTS and Dolby as I am getting into Blu-Ray audio/concerts.
With this in mind I set out to find some quality separates. I wanted a Pre/Pro and also a 5 channel power amp. Being that I had NAD gear I looked into the T175 and the T975 combo, and I just wasn't feeling that setup. I also looked at the Rotel RSP-1570 and RMB-1575 combo, and found them to be very nice. From my listening, the Rotel had great clarity and control of the speaker. Sounds stage was better then my NAD gear and I really enjoyed it. Best of all, it was right in my budget.
I rarely buy things on the spot and so I went home to think more about it and read more reviews. When I came to this forum, I found that a lot of people had the 804S which is what I want to eventually get. I found that for many that were running Rotel gear with the 804s that they were planning to go for an even better amp to maximize the 804s. This left me feeling a little disturbed. I understand that you can always get better, but I didn't want the Rotel to be a stop gap solution where I would be opening my wallet again as soon as I got to the 804S.
With that in mind I decided I needed to listen to a high end amp and compare the Rotel. The high end offering that my dealer likes with the B&Ws is Chord. My sales guy suggested the Chord SPM-650 which is 130 wpc stereo amp. The price point is just slightly less then the RSP-1570 and RMB-1575 combined. I hoped and prayed that I would not find the sound of the Chord a major improvement over the Rotel...
My dealer setup a pair of 683's with the Rotel Gear again, and played me some of my own CD's, and some of their selection. Again it was very good. He then connected the Chord and played the same CDs.. I was blown away.. It didn't even sound like the same songs.. I was hearing sounds from parts of the room I didn't thing a speaker could touch. Every sound was so clear and precise. The separation was amazing. It was at that moment that I realized I could not buy the Rotel.
Now I was feeling sick to my stomach. Not only was I going to have to dump a lot of coin, but I was only going to have a stereo amp, and no pre/pro, and no Dolby HD.
Since I am planning to get to 804S, my dealer suggested we do the same tests with the 804s. He hooked the Rotel up to the 804s and played the same CDs.. I was shocked.. I prefered the 683's with the Chord to the 804S with the Rotel.. It was as if the Chord was bringing the 683's into a whole new arena of Hi-Fi. He then put the 804s onto the Chord, and it was again awesome (marked improvement over the 683's).
Knowing now that I needed (as any man who likes toys needs) a high end Amp, I was worried that maybe 130 wpc would cause a problem.. My dealer put my mind at ease. He connected up a set of 801D and the Chord made them sing as well seemingly without effort.
So here I am.. I know now that I need a high end Amp.. After looking around I can find no one on here using Chord gear. Also I can only find one magazine review and although they found it performed well they found it colds and lacking personality.
It seems a lot of guys here run Classe, and I have not had a chance to hear that. The Classe dealer in my area is a couple of hours away. Is there something entry level that Classe has to compard to the Chord (Price point is $4800 dollars Canadian or about $4500 US).
I deal with the owner at my Dealer. I asked him about the Classe and he indicated that it is very good stuff and that they had to pick either Chord or Classe for their high end stuff. He preferred the sound of the Chord stuff and felt it to be a better match with the B&W line. Since he wanted to believe %100 in what he was selling he picked Chord. So far he has spent about 6 hours with me auditioning different combinations of the Rotel and Chord and I am very satisfied I have auditioned them to the fullest.
So after all that, my question is:
Does anyone else run Chord gear with B&Ws and if so what is the experience?
Is there any other comparable products (similar price and quality) I should try?
Does anyone else know of any other reviews of the Chord SPM lineup?
Any other comments?
I know in the end it is up to my ears and I think the Chord sounds great, but at the same time this is my first experience with anything in this price range.
Thanks,
Stuart
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