Bought B&W 686, Need amp advice

[szap]

I've been wanting to put together my first nice stereo setup for awhile now and I just recently decided to get started on it. After auditioning a few different types of speakers I settled on a pair of the new B&W 686.

For now, I will have these setup in my bedroom. Before I can do that, I need to purchase an amp. I would like to try and stay within a budget of $500 for the amp. The salesman at the store I purchased the speakers from recommended a Rotel amp or a Marantz stereo receiver. Since I'm new to all of this I figured I'd come online and see what some owners of B&Ws recommend. Can you suggest any amps that would fall within my budget and pair well with the B&W 686? I would greatly appreciate your help.

[Alaric]

I have a Marantz PM7200 integrated and am very happy with the bang/buck ratio. Rotel would be a step up , and will cost accordingly.

[bigburner]

Hi szap,

Welcome to the HTGuide Forum!

Your 686 speakers are rated at 25 watts - 100 watts into 8Ω on unclipped programme. The general rule in order to get the best out of speakers is to look for an amplifier at the high end of the range, i.e. 100 watts per channel into 8Ω.

The sensitivity of your 686 speakers is rated at 84dB spl (2.83V, 1m), which makes the 686 a relatively inefficient speaker compared to many others. This makes it even more important that you consider an amplifier at the high end of the range.

Sadly a new 100 watt amp plus preamp of adequate quality may be hard to find for $500. Your best bet in the Rotel range would be this integrated amp:

RA-1062, 60 watt integrated amplifier - $699

http://www.rotel.com/products/specs/ra1062.htm

However, if you're prepared to spend more or buy second-hand then the options are endless...

Nigel.

[OttoMatic]

Hi there,

Here are some options from AudiogoN:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1190315908

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1190217839

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1190153096

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1190002430

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampstran&1189965080

I have two amps, and both were purchased used (one from AudiogoN and one locally). As Nigel notes above, you will have many more options going the used route. Some of these have higher power ratings than 100 W, but don't worry about that; you'll be fine, and your speakers won't blow.

Good luck!

[szap]

I definitely don't mind going the used route. That is actually what I've been leaning towards since I figure you get much more bang for your buck.
But, I wasn't sure if there were certain brands that a majority of people tend to pair with B&Ws.

[Ted]

Congrats on your new speakers!!

I have Rotel equipment running my B & W's and have been very happy with it. I would give it a listen. We can all give lots of advice, but you need to trust your own ears too! Good luck!!

[szap]

Yesterday, I went to an new audio store that just recently opened to check out some more amps. They had a Marantz pm7001 amp that I tried out with the 686s. I thought it they sounded pretty good when paired with this amp. It's $600 which is a little more than I was planning on spending, but I think I may go ahead and get it. Anyone have any experience with this amp?

[szap]

I went ahead and purchased the Marantz PM7001. I found it on crutchfield for $540, free shipping and no tax($600 plus 8.75% tax if I purchased locally). I couldn't pass that up. I'll let you know my novice impressions once I get it.