Amps for the 805 s

[dinyaar]

Hi.

Thanks to my ears and all u guys on this forum i sold my 603 s and bought the 805 s(Cherry wood ) and they are really amazing. They make u want to listen to music and that i guess is what a good audio system should do.But the upgrade bug is really gotten to me and i need ur advice on the amplification for these little gems.
My current set up
Nad c 542 cd
Rotel RC 1070
Rotel RB 1080

Here in india we tend to get mostly all European brands and the US brands are a little hard to find and it would be useless to buy unless i can get a home demo.

My options are

1 Upgrading the pre to the new RC 1082 or the RC 1090
2 Upgrading to an ARCAM or ROKSAN pre amp
3 Buying an integrated from one of the better maunfacturers available here namely 1) PRIMARE I 30 2) ARCAM 3) CYRUS.

Brands like Krell are not available and some like CLASSE and PLINIUS are just beyond my budget.

Lastly since the 805 s are only rated at 120 watts should i look for an amp in the 100- 150 WPC rating? If i keep the Rotel power amp would it match the pre amps from other manufacturers?

Sorry for the long thread and thanks in advance.

Regards

[Briz vegas]

I would say that your electronics are fairly well balanced at the present time. Good basic stuff. All of the changes that you have suggested are likely to yeild improved results. You could also upgrade your source - some might say the Rotel player but I suspect you would be getting a different flavour at a similar performance level.

From my personal experience I would look to optimise my current setup first (I worked that out the hard way) - are you using good wires to hang it all together? With some experimentation you may find a further performance dimension to your current gear.

I would be wary of little jumps, although the Primare looks like a good quality unit on paper. 805 are great speakers so work out where you ultimately want to be and go there rather than making a small improvement that still does not do justice to the speakers.

[dinyaar]

amplification for the 805 s

Hi,
T hanks for the prompt reply B vegas. I ve read some of ur other posts and i would really value ur inputs and suggestions.

The interconnects and speaker wire is kimber. (timbre and 4 VS). You are on the button as far as the rotel cd goes. Looks nice and solid but it retails at double the price of the Nad c 542 and i didnt think it warranted that amount of cash outlay. (RCD 1072 at the same price of the Arcams and the cyrus CD6).
I love the sound of the 805 s even in my current set up but i thought i could extract more. What do u think will make a greater improvement replacing the cd or the pre amp? Secondly i know going from pre- power to integrated is a step back but was just thinking out aloud.

Has anyone tried the new NAD masters integrated with the B&W s? I believe its a good amp.

Regards

[hifiguymi]

My recommendation would be to start looking at preamps and CD players before the amp. The RB-1080 is a very nice amp (there are better out there, but it is the strongest piece of electronics in your system) and will do a very good job with the 805S's. The RC-1090, or RC-1082, would be a nice upgrade. I don't have enough experience with NAD to give you an opinion on their products. If you can, try a new preamp or CD player or integrated in your system at home. That is the best way to know for sure what you will like. Best of luck and let us know what upgrades you make.

Eric

[WI Rotel]

Hi.

Thanks to my ears and all u guys on this forum i sold my 603 s and bought the 805 s(Cherry wood ) and they are really amazing. They make u want to listen to music and that i guess is what a good audio system should do.But the upgrade bug is really gotten to me and i need ur advice on the amplification for these little gems.
My current set up
Nad c 542 cd
Rotel RC 1070
Rotel RB 1080

Here in india we tend to get mostly all European brands and the US brands are a little hard to find and it would be useless to buy unless i can get a home demo.


1 Upgrading the pre to the new RC 1082 or the RC 1090
2 Upgrading to an ARCAM or ROKSAN pre amp
3 Buying an integrated from one of the better maunfacturers available here namely 1) PRIMARE I 30 2) ARCAM 3) CYRUS.

Brands like Krell are not available and some like CLASSE and PLINIUS are just beyond my budget.

Lastly since the 805 s are only rated at 120 watts should i look for an amp in the 100- 150 WPC rating? If i keep the Rotel power amp would it match the pre amps from other manufacturers?

Sorry for the long thread and thanks in advance.

Regards

No reason to change the RB 1080. By far the best 200W amp for the money. To improve on that you'll have to spend at least three times as much. The CD should be fine too! For stereo your pre is also perfectly fine. I vote that you don't upgrade at all unless you are willing to spend BIG money. Remember, by a long stretch the most important part of your system is your speakers and the 805's have that covered. To improve your system with a modest investment the only thing I would add is a good sub. Personally I'm very partial to the PV1, since its "musicality" is second to none. Other subs may have higher ouput or go slightly lower but none match the PV's utterly "clean" reproduction. In conjunction with the 805's I doubt that you would have little think that would need "improvement".

[dinyaar]

Amps to power the 805s

Hi guys,

Thanks again for the advice. Am keeping the RB 1080 and the Nad C542 cd as i heard a few cdp s from different manufacturers and i still liked the nad i own. (Cyrus player was better at 4X the price!!!)

The rotel/B&W distributor has arranged for me to audition all three pre amps i.e 1070 1082 1090 alongwith the RB 1080 and the B&W 805s today at noon.Says he can give me a great price on the RC 1090 as its discontinued i believe.

So am off to let my ears decide and will keep u guys posted. Please keep the advice pouring and thanks again.

Regards

[WI Rotel]

Hi guys,

Thanks again for the advice. Am keeping the RB 1080 and the Nad C542 cd as i heard a few cdp s from different manufacturers and i still liked the nad i own. (Cyrus player was better at 4X the price!!!)

The rotel/B&W distributor has arranged for me to audition all three pre amps i.e 1070 1082 1090 alongwith the RB 1080 and the B&W 805s today at noon.Says he can give me a great price on the RC 1090 as its discontinued i believe.

So am off to let my ears decide and will keep u guys posted. Please keep the advice pouring and thanks again.

Regards

Your dealer appears to be excellent. Don't forget to sample some subs :T

[Briz vegas]

And the winner is ????

[dinyaar]

Amps for the 805s

Hi to all,

Thanks to all of u for taking the time.Well i went and heard all the rotel pre amps alongwith the RB 1080 and the 805s and i think my Rc 1070 is almost as good as the other much more pricey siblings so i think ill keep the upgrade bug in check for now and just enjoy the speakers.(just had them a week and have spent most of it thinking of the damn upgrade and working).

I know cable talk is not appreciated but i just have one observation. My interconnects and speaker wires are all Kimber and i heard a few others cables in similar set ups and i thought they were more transparent, less grainy and by and large more musical so maybe after a while ill experiment with cables as my kimbers are now old and need to retire!!!

Thanks again and all the best in the new year.