Amplifier Help With My Bw 805s

[pony927]

Hi All. I Recently Purchased A New System. Have The Linn Unidisc Sc With Bw805s. Nordost Red Dawn Cables. I Need An Amplifier That Will Compliment The 805s...was Thinking The Arcam P1000 Or The Rotel Rmb1077...any Thoughts? Anyone???

[Karma]

HI pony,
Yes, I have some thoughts. First, use your ears for they will reveal the truth. Next, plan on spending more money. The 805S are good enough to do justice to the best of amps. I have 805S's mated with Krell. It was a wise choice.

There are other amps that may appeal to you more. You DO get what you pay for.

Sparky

[texasbwfan]

Sparky

Question for you, did you audition any of the McIntosh amps before deciding on Krell? I'm currently working with my dealer to audition the mc252 w/ my 805S's and was curious as to whether or not you were able to compare your Krell to McIntosh? Hope all is well,

[pony927]

thx, but is there a huge px difference? i was looking @ spending 2500 on the ampand im sure the krell is alot more...what model number recommend?

[Angioguy]

When I fist set up my B&W 803S in my HT system, I got an Arcam AVR-300 for 7.1. The Arcam is really a thing of beauty for it's $2100 price tag, but I soon discovered that the 803's needed something more. After a lot of listening, I went with the McIntosh MC-402 power amp to drive the 803 mains, while using the Arcam to drive my center and rear channels. This is my current setup, and I must say, I'm quite satisfied for the moment. The Mac seems to sound better each time I turn it on-- and my 803's have never sounded better!

[Karma]

HI Texas,
I was limited to the equipment available to me in Northern New Mexico, not a high end hot bed. I listened to Krell, Bryston, Classe and Rotel. No McIntosh I'm sad to say. However, I have a lot of experience and I knew pretty much what I wanted. I have always liked the Krell sound but never owned one. Now I do and I'm very happy.

I don't recommend my selection techniques to anybody. But if you had listened to as many amps as I have, you too will know your preferences.

My only advise is to use your ears, ignore as much advice as you can (including mine), and spend more than you intend. You won't be unhappy. Oh, I forgot. You are supposed to ignore me. Do it!!!! :T

Sparky

[texasbwfan]

Thanks Sparky,

I will trust my ears and ignore the opinion of others. You're absolutely right, at the end of the day, it all comes down to what makes ME happy. I will follow your advice (despite your warnings) and audition as many amps as possible before making this significant investment.

Unfortunately, I'm in a similar situation as the dealer I prefer to do business with does not carry Bryston, Classe, or Krell. Such is life, I'll look elsewhere and allow my ears to guide my purchase. Thanks again,

[Mark_C.]

Might I suggest you try to include a Musical Fidelity A5 intergrated in your evaluations. I have one for my stereo system powering Nautilus 804s. A great combination. Good luck.

[Liotheles]

Is it REALLY neccesary with all that power into a pair of 805s??
The new 805s model with 1.degree crossover with mundorf components makes it a really easy load, so I would go for high quality low watt amps instead of these monsters recomended here.

[Nolan B]

Has anyone pair 805s with a Rotel 1077? I would be curious of the result.

[Blindamood]

Is it REALLY neccesary with all that power into a pair of 805s??

I agree. I have the 805S/HTM4S mated to a Rotel RMB-1075 (120W x 5), and this seems to be more than enough juice...especially since they're crossed over at 80 Hz.

[scottielee]

since the 805S are fairly easy to drive, try to audition an auto biasing tube amplifier as well. 30 to 50 tube watts should do nicely.

[EDS]

crossed over at 80 MHz

Wow, I didn't know they could go that high!

[Blindamood]

What, you haven't heard of the newest 800 series with the super Aggregated Diamond Nanorod (ADNR) tweeters???

Edit made...thanks.

[Liotheles]

since the 805S are fairly easy to drive, try to audition an auto biasing tube amplifier as well. 30 to 50 tube watts should do nicely.

Brilliant idea! Just what I'm using :W
Splendid midrange, just a tad too dark but very smooth and balanced highs totally without the listening fatigue that some transistors produce with these. Good luck with your choice, pony. :T

[Karma]

since the 805S are fairly easy to drive, try to audition an auto biasing tube amplifier as well. 30 to 50 tube watts should do nicely.

HI,
I tend to agree. The 805S should sound great with tubes. My main system is all tubes and I am a tube kind of guy. However, tube amps do require more maintenance because of the limited life of the tubes.

Because of this, I tend to not use my tube system for casual listening. I wanted a good solid state system that I could play for days on end without once being concerned about the tubes wasting away. That's what I got with my Krell based system. For me, this strategy makes sense.

Sparky (ignore me if you know what's good for you) :T

[Liotheles]

HI,
I tend to agree. The 805S should sound great with tubes. My main system is all tubes and I am a tube kind of guy. However, tube amps do require more maintenance because of the limited life of the tubes.

Because of this, I tend to not use my tube system for casual listening. I wanted a good solid state system that I could play for days on end without once being concerned about the tubes wasting away. That's what I got with my Krell based system. For me, this strategy makes sense.

Sparky (ignore me if you know what's good for you) :T

To change a set of 200$ output tubes every 3000 hrs (which for me breaks down to approx. every 2 years, and is no hassle when you use autobias amps) is no big deal, IMHO

[Karma]

To change a set of 200$ output tubes every 3000 hrs (which for me breaks down to approx. every 2 years, and is no hassle when you use autobias amps) is no big deal, IMHO

HI,
Agreed, the situations are different but I think I need to give you a context for my comments in my above post. I just ordered a set of replacement tubes for my Audio Research D-250 Mk II Servo power amp (2X250W). They ran a not so cool $1850. My Audio Research SP-11 Mk II preamp uses 6 tubes which currently are the hard to find and expensive Amperex Bugle Boy 6922's. My Anodyne Adapt DAC uses two 12AX7's. My new Aesthetix Rhea phono preamp uses 6 12AX7's and two 6922's. All in all, there are a lot of tubes to wear out.

Figure the output 6550 tube set in the D-250 is good for about 2000 hours (or slightly less). I might get the use of two sets of output tubes for each each set of small signal tubes. Then, I replace the entire set. The D-250 uses 20 (!) 6550 power output tubes. For the preamps, maybe I'll get 10,000 hours with a little luck. It doesn't take long to ring up hours when the system is used for background music.

This, plus I am not even talking about the AC power bill and heating the non-air conditioned listening room. In the winter it's OK but in the summer I only listen during the early mornings. One must adjust one's lifestyle to accomodate a system like this. For me, using this system for casual listening just doesn't make any sense. But for serious listening this system is glorious. Obviously, I think the sound is worth the trouble.

Besides, the Krell KAV-280p preamp and the KAV-3250 (3X250W) on my 805S system sounds very good. As good as GOOD tube equipment? Nope, probably not. But still very easy to live with and worry and maintenance free.

While the 805S's are fairly easy to drive I still would not use them with less than 100 GOOD watts per channel depending on room size and one's listening habits. The 805S's are wonderful speakers and good enough to justify a good amp. So, we are talking about a fairly serious tube amp though nothing like my D-250. The situations really are different but the expense and worry about tube life and maintenance is still a concern to think about.

BTW, having owned and run a high end hi fi repair shop, I do all my own maintenance work. If I had to pay someone else to so this work I probably could not afford it. I should say that my equipment has been very reliable needing only the occasional tube replacements and periodic checking on my tube tester, not a small job.

Sparky

[Java]

I've said this before, but I would highly recommend the Classe CAP-2100 (integrated) with the 805S. What an amazing combo! Mine is now broken in and it's exceeded my expectations. I was previously using a nice ss amp and tube pre but I'm happier with the Classe. No brightness at all and the 100 watt rating seems conservative. I enjoyed tubes but I don't miss the hassle and I know this coming summer that I won't miss the heat. 8)

[Liotheles]

OK, Karma, in that context I probably would go for a transistor solution also VERY nice tubesetup by the way

[Karma]

OK, Karma, in that context I probably would go for a transistor solution also VERY nice tubesetup by the way

HI Liotheles,
I'm glad you understand. I thought you would once I explained.

Thanks for the nice words. I appreciate them.

I do agree the 805S's would at their best with good tubes. I fact, I think they would blow away some of the folks around here that think the 805S's are just starter speakers.

Sparky

[AlanB]

Hello again Karma hope you are well. I agree the 805S's are awesome and certainly not a starter speaker. As I said in a previous post I prefer it to my now departed Sonus Faber Guarneri's.
Some time ago I owned Krell 300 and 150 but found the sound uninvolving. iIn my opinion getting the best of SS and tubes is (for me) the MF Nu Vista M3. I am in musical heaven every time I 'boot it up'. Of course cables also finish the picture as I don't use any of the cables supplied with the MF and I include both internal interconnects.