Would the Classe CAP 2100 be overkill for the 805S?

[JimTW]

I mean overkill as in the price of the CAP 2100..... and will the 805S
be able to capitalize on the purity of the integrated amp?

I love the 800 series, so for my own system, they'll be the 805S.
Trying to find an amp that will give me the nuance and similar
style in sound as the 802Ds hooked up to the Classe Monoblock 400s!

I know, big difference, but that's the direction given the limited
room size and budget.

Tks!

[RebelMan]

The CAP-2100 would be a perfect fit (price and all) for those 805S's in a two-channel setup. The combination won't match the 802D's and CA-M400 monos but the family resemblance will still be there. The CAP-2100 is essentially a CA-2100 and CP-500 in one box but for $2100 less. If you look at price form a relative point of view you'll get ~90% of the performance for about 30% less cost.

[Audiophiliac]

Also looking into the CAP-2100. I dont think it is overkill at all. Is there a such thing in hi-fi? lol

[stewfoo]

yes. Overkill is running my B&W in-ceiling ccm-80's with my Classe 2100

[JimTW]

The CAP-2100 would be a perfect fit (price and all) for those 805S's in a two-channel setup. The combination won't match the 802D's and CA-M400 monos but the family resemblance will still be there. The CAP-2100 is essentially a CA-2100 and CP-500 in one box but for $2100 less. If you look at price form a relative point of view you'll get ~90% of the performance for about 30% less cost.

Rebel,

Would the extra money to get 200 watts to each 805S be worth it?
(CA 2200 and CP-500)

Or would the improvement and extra control and clarity be really hard
to tell between 200 and 100 watts from Classe to 805S? Wondering
if you have experience in hearing 200 vs 100 Classe watts to the 805S.

I've heard the 803D and 802D on the Classe monoblocks... breathtaking.

Tks.

[JimTW]

yes. Overkill is running my B&W in-ceiling ccm-80's with my Classe 2100

THAT is crazy!!! Hehe. Nice!

[RebelMan]

Would the extra money to get 200 watts to each 805S be worth it? (CA 2200 and CP-500)

Or would the improvement and extra control and clarity be really hard
to tell between 200 and 100 watts from Classe to 805S? Wondering
if you have experience in hearing 200 vs 100 Classe watts to the 805S.

I'll put it this way, I have seen people use the CA-2100/CAP-2100 to drive 800 series speakers all the way up to the range topping 800D's, just for grins. Now, I certainly wouldn't (nor would they) recommend anyone do that as a regular thing. But what it demonstrates is the capacity for the CAP-2100's to drive difficult loads. I certainly wouldn't recommend spending the extra money to get the CA-2200's UNLESS there was a chance that you'll upgrade those 805S's to something more capable like say the 804S's later on. I did not perceive any audible differences between the CA-2100 and the CA-2200 in my demos at modest volumes with the 803S's.

[JimTW]

I'll put it this way, I have seen people use the CA-2100/CAP-2100 to drive 800 series speakers all the way up to the range topping 800D's, just for grins. Now, I certainly wouldn't (nor would they) recommend anyone do that as a regular thing. But what it demonstrates is the capacity for the CAP-2100's to drive difficult loads. I certainly wouldn't recommend spending the extra money to get the CA-2200's UNLESS there was a chance that you'll upgrade those 805S's to something more capable like say the 804S's later on. I did not perceive any audible differences between the CA-2100 and the CA-2200 in my demos at modest volumes with the 803S's.

Rebel,

Tks for the response.

When I heard the 802Ds through the Classe monoblocks, the
sound was SILKY SMOOTH and the speakers were absolutely
transparent. The sound was very laid back, extremely detailed,
and the sound stage was wide and deep, placement of instrument
were also very consistent.

Granted.. an 805S with CAP-2100 setup will most certainly not
achieve the same results as the 802D with the Monoblocks, but
without listening to this particular set myself, how much of the
802D/monoblocks experience I heard will follow the 805S/CAP-2100?

My guess is it will still sound silky smooth, very detailed, and
laid back not in your face, but the sound stage will not be nearly
as wide, most likely no where near how deep it is with the 802D,
and if I close my eyes, I can probably locate the 805S.

I've heard hte 805S properly setup with Rotel gear, and thought
the speakers were transparent with a solid sound stage. I suppose
I can expect the CAP 2100 to hide the 805S as well as if not better
than the Rotel setup ya?

Tks!

[tboooe]

Jimtw:

I had the pleasure of owning the 805S, 804S, and 802D. I would say the bigggest different between the 805S am d802D are:
1. Bass
2. Overall fuller sound
3. Smoother highs (though the tweetwe on the 805S is very good)
4. Richer, more natural mids

I dont agree with your assessment that you will be able to locate the 805S. I think that is more an issue with room treatments.

That being said, this is only in comparison. By itself, the 805S are great though I would recommend adding a sub. Now that is a whole separate topic altogether.

[JimTW]

Jimtw:

I had the pleasure of owning the 805S, 804S, and 802D. I would say the bigggest different between the 805S am d802D are:
1. Bass
2. Overall fuller sound
3. Smoother highs (though the tweetwe on the 805S is very good)
4. Richer, more natural mids

I dont agree with your assessment that you will be able to locate the 805S. I think that is more an issue with room treatments.

That being said, this is only in comparison. By itself, the 805S are great though I would recommend adding a sub. Now that is a whole separate topic altogether.

Tboooe, wassup man?

I remember you started with the 805S... and said they sounded great
at the audio store, but once you had them, they were hard to break in
and you didn't like how they sound, so then you moved to the 804S.
I didn't know you upgraded to the 802Ds, when did this happen?

Congrats man!!! I recall posting a feedback about the 802Ds for you
when you were still considering. =D

Tks!

[tboooe]

jimtw:

my issues relating to the 805S was mainly due to electronics, source, and room. Originally I had a Rotel 1080 and a Sonos digital music system as my source. This combo did not work for me. It sounded bright and thin. When I switched cabling and amp to a Parasound A21 I was much happier. Note though that my preference is for a slightly warmer, romantic sound as I listen to a lot of female vocalists. And once I changed to a Cary 303/300 cdp my 805S sounded great. I still thought they were light on the bass but that is to be expected. Also, my room volume is very large so the 805S had a hard time filling up the space. My room is about 16' x 22' with cathedral ceilings. At the time, I was also very naive about speaker placement. Originally I had them too close together which caused the music to sound muffled with a very confused soundstage. Once I increased their spacing to 6'-7' they sounded much better. Lets put it this way, I liked the B&W sound enough from the 805S to continue on the 804S and now hte 802D.

So if you have a smaller room I would go ahead with the 805S especially with the Classe gear.

As for the 802D, I got it about a month ago (thanks James!!). These are going to last me a loooooooong time!

Good luck jimtw!

[RebelMan]

I've heard hte 805S properly setup with Rotel gear, and thought
the speakers were transparent with a solid sound stage. I suppose
I can expect the CAP 2100 to hide the 805S as well as if not better
than the Rotel setup ya?

Without a doubt you will observe noticeble improvements in detail, transparency, dimensionality and soundstaging. You should also notice less fatigue and with proper positioning those speakers will vanish. Just to give you an idea of scalable performance, my 803S's and Classe' electronics produce better quality sonics than the 802D's I heard using Rotel's RC-1090 and RMB-1095. This is not a put down on Rotel by any means. It just goes to show how good Classe' really is.