Which electronics for 804S?

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  • Birdy
    Senior Member
    • Mar 2006
    • 186

    #1

    Which electronics for 804S?

    Hya all,

    It is some time now that I desire to buy the B&W804S. Initially I had listened to the 805S + electronic Primare that had made me quite an impression.

    Originally I oriented myself towards a HT system with 4 805S + htm4s + sub to define. The small lack of bass of the 805 was therefore compensated by the sub.

    Change of plans the HT is sent back to + /- 2 years due lack of place.

    Therefore I still would like to "build" a stereo system that will be transformed later on in ht...

    Currently I have 3 brands of references and 6 different options. ...Problem is that, living in Italy, it is not easy to find a store allowing to listen to all brands together...

    I would appreciate therefore the opinion of experienced users ...

    The current solutions are (in disorder) :

    1) Primare: CD31+I30 4.600€
    2) Primare: CD31+PRE30+A32: 8.400€
    3)Classé: CDP102+CAP2100: 10.450€
    4)Classé:CDP102+CP500+CA2200: 14.700€ (OMG )
    5)Rotel: RC1072+RA1070: 2.500€
    6)Rotel: RC1072+RC1090+RB1080:4.000€

    I have an "open" budget , there are some huge budget differences.
    I don't matter paying 6 times more but I want clearly to hear the difference ! :B

    Now, as said above almost impossible to listen B&W + primare + classé + rotel in the same shop. ... Different locations auditions are possible but might not be very objective....

    Who can help me to reduce a little the options? : -?

    Thank-you,

    Birdy
  • mat
    Junior Member
    • Mar 2006
    • 9

    #2
    Hi,

    Very nice options. I'm not sure if it will help because I can't tell you the differences between the options that you are pointing out, but I can tell my experience when I bought a pair of 804S about a month ago. I was in a very similar situation and heard Rotel, Parasound and Cyrus with them and classe paired with 802d (this one was in a different room). If your budget is not a problem I would probably go for Classe, however I didn't heard it with the 804S so really I can't compare it with the other three brands. To my ears the Rotel was a very nice amp, I liked it overall but the LF was a bit 'boomy' and lacking a bit of detail for my tastes. Parasound Halo was too much 'rounded' on the HF, of course is a matter of opinions and tastes but it wasn't for me, the highlight was the bass frequencies where it performed better than Rotel. Finally I discover Cyrus, not very impressed at the beginning due the cosmetics and size of the amps but I thought (and the dealer also) that it worth the try. They put a smile in my face immediately, the sound was clearer and plenty of detail. I found a winner for me and could not be happier now. I hope to not mislead you more but I think it worth the try if you can find and demo them at a local dealer. And as ever of course let your ears to decide, each of these amps will drive quite well your speakers and probably you will be happy with any of them... it just depends on which one is closer to your tastes. just my 0.02 :W

    Comment

    • Birdy
      Senior Member
      • Mar 2006
      • 186

      #3
      Originally posted by mat
      Hi,

      Very nice options. I'm not sure if it will help because I can't tell you the differences between the options that you are pointing out, but I can tell my experience when I bought a pair of 804S about a month ago. I was in a very similar situation and heard Rotel, Parasound and Cyrus with them and classe paired with 802d (this one was in a different room). If your budget is not a problem I would probably go for Classe, however I didn't heard it with the 804S so really I can't compare it with the other three brands. To my ears the Rotel was a very nice amp, I liked it overall but the LF was a bit 'boomy' and lacking a bit of detail for my tastes. Parasound Halo was too much 'rounded' on the HF, of course is a matter of opinions and tastes but it wasn't for me, the highlight was the bass frequencies where it performed better than Rotel. Finally I discover Cyrus, not very impressed at the beginning due the cosmetics and size of the amps but I thought (and the dealer also) that it worth the try. They put a smile in my face immediately, the sound was clearer and plenty of detail. I found a winner for me and could not be happier now. I hope to not mislead you more but I think it worth the try if you can find and demo them at a local dealer. And as ever of course let your ears to decide, each of these amps will drive quite well your speakers and probably you will be happy with any of them... it just depends on which one is closer to your tastes. just my 0.02 :W

      Yeah, you don't help that's for sure .... :B

      I was considering Cyrus as well but I find their look terrible .... :M

      Anyway, what config did you buy ?
      I read a lot What hi-fi and it's true that Cyrus products are receiving 5 stars most of the time ( as Primare as a matter of fact; and curiously Rotel don't ...) so I might consider it as well if really the sound makes me forget the look ... :P
      Anyway I'm totally confused right now so why not add a liitle more ??? ;x(

      Birdy

      Comment

      • GregLett
        Senior Member
        • May 2005
        • 755

        #4
        Birdy,

        I vote for the classe since you have an open budget. The Rotel
        is also very good, but Classe, is a step up. I haven't heard
        the Primare, so I can't comment on that combo. Hope that
        helps.
        Greg

        Comment

        • mat
          Junior Member
          • Mar 2006
          • 9

          #5
          Hi Birdy,

          Yes, I agree that the cyrus gear looks terrible but I have to say that I'm more and more used to them, even I like now how they look at home... :rofl:

          I really liked their sound when I compared them and could not resist to buy them. At the moment I have a Cyrus 8vs integrated, mainly because that was the unit that I heard most of the time at the store with the 804S and I got a great 2nd hand deal :B , if not, probably I would went for the Pre Xvs. I bought also one smartpower plus and I'm now playing with some configurations (using the 8vs as a pre with smartpower powering the speakers, bi-amping with 8vs LF and smart HF, etc...). Also I just have purchased a dAD 3 Q24 cd player to the equation (waiting for it) and for the near future I'm planing to purchase two smartpower+ more and use them in mono mode powering the LCR of the HT. another (and more costly) option will be to keep the smartpower for the rears and add 3 xpower to the fronts, but I'm not sure if it worth the extra cost. Anyway you can see which way I'm planning my configuration.


          Yeah, you don't help that's for sure .... :B
          I know, I know... :roll: Sorry if I just mislead you a bit more...

          oh, and also sorry for my bad gramma... I know my english is really bad ops:
          Last edited by mat; 21 April 2006, 16:31 Friday.

          Comment

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