First B&W purchase: 804 vs 805 + Matching Components?

[J.Wales]

Hello all - After a few years of drolling, I am finally ready to make my first B&W purchase. I have been looking at the 804 and 805 as a starting point. (Would love 803s but out of the budget at this point)

What are others experiences? What are some good matching components? I have looked at Arcam, Rotel, and McIntosh. McIntosh is probably out of the budget, Arcam is probably a little ahead, as I have loved the sound I have heard.

Thanks for any comments in advance

[chinets]

definitely Rotel gear with at least 200 watts as 800 series are very hungry for power. Rotel gives a smooth refined sound with lots of stage and dynamics and will suit your 804 and 805 wonderfully IMHO . The prices of Rotel are very reasonable for the Quality you get ,which I believe is high end. Good Luck !!!!!!!!!

[jim777]

I'm very happy with 703's and a McIntosh MA6500 (with a RCD1072). Give that a try before getting 800 series with a Rotel amp. Come back with your impressions

[GregLett]

The Rotel gear gets my vote also.

[JKalman]

Hello all - After a few years of drolling, I am finally ready to make my first B&W purchase. I have been looking at the 804 and 805 as a starting point. (Would love 803s but out of the budget at this point)

What are others experiences? What are some good matching components? I have looked at Arcam, Rotel, and McIntosh. McIntosh is probably out of the budget, Arcam is probably a little ahead, as I have loved the sound I have heard.

Thanks for any comments in advance

Arcam is supposed to be great for the price, as well as Rotel. From what I have heard, without directly comparing the two, is that Arcam is supposed to be a notch up in quality compared to the Rotel. Utlimately, the best way to decide is to find a dealer that will let you try Rotel and the Arcam out for a day or two each and then you can make the decision based on personal experience. Arcam did win some awards this year for its Amp/Preamp combo, though off hand I don't remember which magazine/magazines, and I believe it was their multichannel system, but I'm not certain. I'll dig through my magazines and post it later on if I get a chance.

[JKalman]

Hello all - After a few years of drolling, I am finally ready to make my first B&W purchase. I have been looking at the 804 and 805 as a starting point. (Would love 803s but out of the budget at this point)

What are others experiences? What are some good matching components? I have looked at Arcam, Rotel, and McIntosh. McIntosh is probably out of the budget, Arcam is probably a little ahead, as I have loved the sound I have heard.

Thanks for any comments in advance

BTW, you never mentioned if you were looking for stereo only or multi-channel as well. Hi-Fi Choice gives the Arcam DiVA AVR300 the Gold award for the 500-2000 pound price range. It also gives the Arcam FMJ AV8 and the FMJ P7 the Gold award for best multichannel Processor and Amplifier pair over 5000 pounds. If you can spend that much, those FMJs are sweet and the P7 is seven channel so you can set up a 7.1 system without an extra amp, a problem I will have with my 5 channel amp if I ever decide to upgrade to a 7.1 speaker setup.

If you get a chance, check out Bryston as well, that is what I now use, and I was originally choosing between Arcam, Bryston, Classe, Lexicon and Rotel. The reason I went with Bryston in the end, over Lexicon and Arcam, was my preference for music playback over HT. Bryston is well known for its transparent bypass modes, which allow you to bypass the Bryston processor cleanly when listening to music from an exceptional source.

[Angioguy]

B&W and Arcam

I have a pair of 803S's and an Arcam AVR-300. So far I'm very happy with my growing 5.1 system, however, the AVR-300 is rated at 120 wpc (2-channel) and 100 wpc in 7.1, which really isn't doing justice to the 803's. I'm weeks away from picking up a McIntosh-- will most likely go with the MC-252 power amp, which I'm told works nicely with the Arcam. I love the Arcam preamp, and it sounds soooo sweet-- I would hate to part with it just yet.

My plan is to drive the 803 mains with the Mc through the Arcam, and to use the AVR-300 for the center and rear channels... I listened to comparable Rotels and the Arcam was the clear winner imho.... listen for yourself! :T

[chinets]

Angioguy compared his 120w Arcam with Rotel gear?? The N803 really need at least 200w of power to make them sing. Now compare his gear with a Rotel Combo 1095/1098 and then talk Arcam. Rotel wins hands down in every way. You need real juice to get those N803 going. Trust me I have N803's and I know what I am talking about. Listen and compare with other 200w gear and then judge for yourself. However, Price wise with Rotel gear you will truly be a winner compared to anything else IMHO !!!!!!! Price with Quality, Rotel wins hands down every time !!!!!!!!!!

[J.Wales]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions
JKalman - The focus is on two channel stereo - but want to be able to enjoy surround as well

jim 777 - I have listened to the 8 series and 7 series side by side and the 8 for me are much more open and transparent -the 8s just sort of disappear - It is like I am listening to music for the first time every time

As for budget - I can't justify more than $7K on the whole set up (mains, amplification, and source) for the time being, with a preference for spending more on the speakers - Two things I heard about the Arcam AVR300 was that it can be used to bi-amp the speakers as well as acting as a pre-amp much like Angioguy has mentioned he is in the process of doing -

Also, any suggestions for a CD player around $500?

Thanks again for everyone's feedback - this is a great site!! Glad I found it!

[GregLett]

As long as you are listening, you should lend the XT4 an ear.
Don't let the looks and driver size stop, you would be surprise.

[grit]

I'd cast my vote for the 804's and a Rotel 1080 amp to power them. I'm also quite happy with Rotel's 1072 CD player. I absolutely believe (from my personal experiences) you can buy better sounding electronics, but not for that money. On top of that, Rotel and B&W have (IMO) a beautiful synergy.

[chinets]

Grit has my vote!!!!!!!!! You are 100% correct. Go with Rotel even if you will select 2 channel over 5. You just can't beat Rotel's prices with its Top End Quality IMHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[J.Wales]

Has anyone compared the B&W 804s with the 804n side by side? Any major differences?

[DL86]

I'm running paradigm studio 100 v3 with an RB-1080, I couldn't be more pleased. Rotel represents awsome value for money.

[kurtholz]

oh great, i get to be the oddball, i tried Rotel, then bumped up to Krell, it's a totally different league, also had a rotel 1060 dvd, changed to the arcamdv29 it is like night and day difference

even though the krell amp is rated about the same as my Rotel, it puts out massively more power and drives my 803n's with complete ease, sound stage,every aspect of the sound is better

i would look for some used Krell and go that way, especially the showcase processor, it does so much more than the Rotel, and you can find them used for about the same money

good luck

Kurt

[Karma]

HI kurt,
I'll jump just to keep you from feeling lonely. Krell, Krell, Krell!!! But, to be fair, Krell's stuff is much more expensive. Of course, they are worth it. Drat, isn't that always the case?

Sparky

[Pio]

Rotel is great, I have the 1066 pre/pro and a 1075 amp powering one of my systems and it sounds very good.

You might also want to look into NAD, they make really good sounding stuff and unreal prices. I'm running a NAD stereo receiver with a pair of 602.3's in my office and love the way that sounds.

Bob Carver's Sunfire stuff is also very good for the money.

I totally agree with KARMA, KRell is the way to go when budget allows. Their Showcase processor is amazing, I run that in my main set up. Enjoy!

[J.Wales]

Interesting - Krell vs McIntosh - I like Angioguy's setp up- using the AVR 300 for the time being then bypassing and using as a pre-amp with amplifier, was thinkin MC all the way - Krell seems to have some dedicated fans - I need to take a listen - any other opinions

[kurtholz]

I listened to the MC a lot, i think it's incredible equipment, the Krell just was more to my liking, the Classee is incredible to,

it"s like cars, there are several good choices

good luck

Kurt

[grit]

I listened to the MC a lot, i think it's incredible equipment, the Krell just was more to my liking, the Classee is incredible to,

it"s like cars, there are several good choices

good luck

Kurt

LOL! Ain't that the truth. Within a given price point, it's not like you can go wrong. Krell, Classe, etc. They're all equally good, it's just a matter of what sounds best to you with *your* other equipment.

[kurtholz]

yeah, my dealer hooked me with Rotel, then did the old here take this krell home just to listen to, we will give you full credit on what you just bought if you like it better ( with this innocent look on his face, i call him Satan now), hahaha

after keeping me in his demo room with a pair of B&W800 with matching center and a Krell sub and Krell monoblocks

now he has it all hooked up with classe and a velodyne sub,

the subitis is getting to me bad, look for a cherry asw800 6 months old to hit the market soon

does it ever end

:-)

Kurt

[Karma]

HI kurt,
NO!! it doesn't.

Sparky

[J.Wales]

Thanks for all the input - It really is a matter of preference - I spent all day yesterday at the local high end shop and my conclsuions are this -

I am getting the 804s, but I am not set on the amp or CD source. I am going to concentrate for now on two channel, as I have a Home Theater setup that works for now and I would rather spend the money on better 2-channel. I listened to the 804s with Rotel and then switched to Naim - What a difference - the Naim was warmer - more open - which I would not have believed possible. What are others experience with Naim - I also read about the Krell KAV-400xi, but have not heard it - any thoughts

Again thanks all for your help -