Nautilus 804 & HTM1 with Pioneer ax 10ai?

[bryan w]

hello there current system b@w cdm7nt front cdm nt centre scdm rears cdmnt sub driven by pioneer ax10ai want to upgrade to 804 fronts and htm 1 centre will my amp drive them ok

[Rags]

It will drive them but in my opinion you need much better amplification to get the best out of them. Even though the AX10 is a top of the range unit it might be a bit pushed driving the 804's - they are quoted at 8 ohms but in reality they can drop real low. I would try to get a good seperate power amp if you can to achieve a better system balance.

[htsteve]

Bryan,

804's and HTM1's are pretty power hungry. I have them and am running a Rotel 1095 with them. They perform very well. I think this level of B&W is really designed to be driven by a good amp. Hope this helps.

[aphexist]

hello there current system b@w cdm7nt front cdm nt centre scdm rears cdmnt sub driven by pioneer ax10ai want to upgrade to 804 fronts and htm 1 centre will my amp drive them ok

i don't know bryan you are trying to push quite a load there hahaha you might want to look into a separate amp and familiarizing yourself with common punctuation but otherwise good luck with that system

[Hillie]

Bryan, don't worry, you don't need another amplifier. The AX10ai will do fine. People here think that the N804 requires a heavy amplifier because it is a Nautilus. This is a misconception. The N804 is not a N802. BTW the AX10ai is a heavy amplifier...its a beauty.

804's and HTM1's are pretty power hungry.

Do not believe this! The cdm7nt has a similar load as the N804. If you don't believe me, please call B&W. I just told you what they told me. B&W nicely explains what you need to know.

[PewterTA]

You put the N804 on the AX10ai, and I'll put it on my RMB-1095 and you tell me which sounds a whole lot better...

The FST midrange likes alot of clean power.

I'm not saying they won't play on the AX10ai...but the differences will be noticeable. If you plan on getting a seperate power amp in the future, 804 or better are the way to go!

But you might be disappointed with the 800 series (maybe not the 805s) with the Pioneer...

[sikoniko]

When I first got my 804's I was using my rotel 1055. The 804's sounded very strained. I speak from personaly experience when I say that the 804's like power.

[Hillie]

The AX10Ai provides 130 Watt / 8 Ohm (170 Watt / 6 Ohm) per channel. The Rotel 1055 is only 75 Watt per channel. The Pioneer AX10Ai is known of its bright and clear sound. Other amplifiers may sound differently. The sound is a matter of taste. Every amplifier introduces color in the sound. Therefore, this is not just a matter of whether or not the AX10Ai is not strong enough for the N804. The AX10iA is strong enough and it fits to B&W sound. One person may like bright sound and another may like more bass or depth. I prefer bright sound.

A year ago, I have listened to a 7.1 system based on a AX10i with a HTM1 in the center, 2x N803 in the front and 4x N805 in the back. It did sound wonderful and even at loud volume. This is a great HT combination.
A week later, I have listened to the N803 (not with N805 in the back) on a Classe stereo amplifier (forgot the type) and this did sound also great, a bit warmer and more depth. But the price of this stereo amplifier was almost the price of the AX10i.

I am not debating which amplifier is better. This does not the answer the question. You might not be disappointed with the N804 and the Pioneer ...

[PewterTA]

Pioneer AX10Ai:
Power: 150W x 8 @6 Ohms (Surround Sound) 170W x 2 @6 Ohms (Stereo).

Which isn't bad!

[Hillie]

Power: 150W x 8 @6 Ohms (Surround Sound) 170W x 2 @6 Ohms (Stereo).

The manual says:
Continuous Power Ouput: 170W @ 6 Ohm per channel (7x) (Stereo and Surround Mode)
Rated Power Output: 150W + 150W @ 6 Ohm (It doesn't say if this is for all channels)

True, it isn't bad.