Suggested A/V electronics for 685's?

[garson]

Hi all, this seems to be the place for all things B&W! I know that there has been much written here on proper components for such-and-such (Classe, $8000 USD Denon, etc.), but I had trouble finding things within my budget.

I'm new to B&W speakers (sorry), but recently fell in love after years of auditioning Klipsch, James, Triad, Def Tech, PSB, et al. I'm also first time home theater that wants 685's all around. Music 80%, Movies 20%.

Any opinions on $2,000 USD A/V components for 5.1 situation? I'm open to integrated amp or receiver, but know that my ear much prefers warmth over pure transparency. From what I've read, I would prefer Arcam over Onkyo, and Denon over Sony (in the $2000 USD price range). But I am wondering if the world is larger than this? I know about the Rotel relationship, but did not want to assume that I must automatically focus only on Rotel. Any and all opinions and comments very much appreciated. Thanks.

[Audio_ElF]

For 80% music I'd look at rotel, arcam , nad and possibly marantz.

Or look at a lower priced AV amp and add a stereo integrated to use with a CD player and other music sources.

Hope that helped. Of course best advice anyone can give is to get out and demo lit and find what YOU like.

[Dmantis]

Check out Pioneer Elite The sc07 would be a perfect fit. Even the 05 will do.

Dan

[htsteve]

Garson,

If you are not averse to buying used, some used Rotel separates would be a very nice place to start. And within your budget. For example:

amps: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....lass-d-5-ch.-a

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1234110368&/Rotel-RMB-1075-5x125

Pre-amps: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....urr.-preamp-w/

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1233943289&/Rotel-RSP-1098-Surround-Sound-

You can also talk to dealers. They can keep an eye out for items within your budget.

If you want a new piece, I also think a Rotel receiver is a very good place to start. The new Rotel RSX-1550 is $1999 list. You should be able to get some discount off this. The advantage of this receiver is that is decodes the latest HD audio formats and has a built in scaler for video. This would be a very nice package.

http://www.rotel.com/NA/products/ProductDetails.htm?Id=470

Hope this helps.

[garson]

Thanks all, seems that (as expected) there are lots of options and I of course wish I had the time to listen to each and every system and do comparative analysis.

I'm a little ashamed to say (because I'm basing this more on what I've read than what I've actually been able to discern for myself), but I believe I like the idea of separates very much. I'll likely never be a true audiophile, but perhaps I can pretend.

htsteve...I'm not averse to buying used, but worried about buying a lemon. I like the 1085/1068 options you sent -- any advice for a first-timer buying used from Audiogon (or is it caveat emptor as always)?

Thanks again very much to everyone.

[htsteve]

htsteve...I'm not averse to buying used, but worried about buying a lemon. I like the 1085/1068 options you sent -- any advice for a first-timer buying used from Audiogon (or is it caveat emptor as always)?

Thanks again very much to everyone.

garson,

It's a bit of caveat emptor, but you can get really good deals. For me, I tend to gravitate to local dealers for used gear. It gives me a place to do business with and a place to go with any issues. But, you can get good deals (I got a barely used Velodyne DD18 for half price).

On audiogon, I look for things to avoid, like wires or money orders only to non US countries. On the positive side, pictures showing the unit working, dealers moving product on audiogon, people who communicate well, etc. So far, I've not had a bad experience on audiogon. I think the AV community is pretty good to deal with.


Hope this helps.

[stlfdemt]

I run my 685 with a older Yamaha and they sound fine. They sound the same to me as they did with the Rotel and my dealer.

[KyaDawn]

Hi all, this seems to be the place for all things B&W! I know that there has been much written here on proper components for such-and-such (Classe, $8000 USD Denon, etc.), but I had trouble finding things within my budget.

I'm new to B&W speakers (sorry), but recently fell in love after years of auditioning Klipsch, James, Triad, Def Tech, PSB, et al. I'm also first time home theater that wants 685's all around. Music 80%, Movies 20%.

Any opinions on $2,000 USD A/V components for 5.1 situation? I'm open to integrated amp or receiver, but know that my ear much prefers warmth over pure transparency. From what I've read, I would prefer Arcam over Onkyo, and Denon over Sony (in the $2000 USD price range). But I am wondering if the world is larger than this? I know about the Rotel relationship, but did not want to assume that I must automatically focus only on Rotel. Any and all opinions and comments very much appreciated. Thanks.

Five channels of 685, that should be fun! My previous HT set-up (now regelated to the bedroom) was 4 channels of the same speaker (not B&W :lol: ) plus matching center and it was so seamless! Sounds like your five 685s will be awesome!

If you will be using 80% HT, perhaps you can get more bang for your buck using an integrated receiver. For a little more than $2,000 (you can probably find a deal on the Internet for less), you can get the Denon 4308, which has a plethora of features and more than enough wattage to power the 685s. This is actually the model I'm looking at, though I will probably invest in some Rotel amps to drive my fronts (802Ds) and center speaker (haven't purchased yet, but looking at HTM2D). The 4308's 140 wpc should be enough to drive my 805S surrounds, though I'm open to buying another Rotel stereo amp down-the-line if I think it will allow my surrounds to match better with my fronts, thus using the Denon only as a pre-amp.

What I liked about the Denon was that besides supporting all the latest 7.1 uncompressed audio codecs, it also has Wi-Fi capability, allowing for downloading firmware updates directly the the receiver and also for streaming music from my laptop and Internet radio, an option iPod dock (around $100), and 4 HDMI inputs and 2 HDMI outputs (for my 1080p projector and perhaps a flat-screen if I add one later), as well as Audyssey room correction features. Pretty good deal if you ask me!

$2,000 may not get much in terms of separates, but for integrated receivers, you have a lot of choice.

[garson]

all, this is great information. the denon 4308 is certainly on my list, as is the top-line integra. i will be scanning audiogon for 2 weeks or so, but then i need to just buy the system and enjoy. i've been studying for years and now want to have something to listen to...less research and more execution!

i will follow up to ensure i post my final selection, and how it all sounds. i am grateful for the input and hope i can give something back once i make the final decision(s).

;x(

[audioqueso]

NuForce + 600 Series

I really liked my Marantz/600 series that I use to have.
AV receivers, I would favor a Marantz receiver over a Rotel receiver just for the fact that I found the Rotel only to be slightly better than Marantz, at a much higher cost. Yes, the Rotel sounded nice, but not worth the price difference to me.

HOWEVER, even though you said you prefer the warm sound, I must testify about a really nice combination that I just discovered. B&W 600 series + NuForce. I have a pair of B&W 600 S3 in the bedroom. My picked up a pair of 601 S3 for my brother, and I was looking for a small amp. I bought him the NuForce Icon (small little 15watt class D amp) that is ideal for a desktop setup. I bought this just out of recommendation, and tested it out to see if it would do the 601's justice. VERY VERY impressive!!! I hooked up the 601 and 600 to my Marantz SR7002 receiver (rated at 110watts). I hooked them up to my Denon integrated amp (50 watts), and then hooked it up to the little NuForce amp. The 600 sounded much better matched to the Nuforce than to the Marantz or Denon. Really really nice!
Bass: The bass had a night and day difference. So clean and precise. I never really heard a response this fast. I could play some string music or guitars and you can hear exactly when someone started to pluck a string, and when it came to a stop. I was really THAT impressed!
Highs: The highs were clean, but not as liquid-like as Marantz. Still, the highs were so clean and refreshing.
Volume: The biggest thing for me was that I could max out that little amp and it sounded the same as the lowest volume setting... just at difference volume. Not a hint of distortion at the highest volume, or a hint of any lacking at the lowest volume.
Movies: I did try one movie (Matrix bullet and helicopter scene), and it just as impressive! They imaged incredibly well and made every bullet shot and shell drop seem so much better than the speaker could handle. I really liked that combination.

I did try my 805's with the NuForce, but it wasn't a good combination to me. The 805s really do match a warm sounding amp. My Marantz+805 combo has a much different sound/signature compared to the NuForce+600 combo. But both are impressive.

So... if the little NuForce desktop made the 600 and 601 that impressive, I I can imagine how good one of their pre/pro combination would sound with your 685 speakers. It fits right at $2000, and they do have a 30 day money back guarantee, so it wouldn't hurt to try.

[garson]

Well, I'm totally intrigued by NuForce. I will now spend 4-5 hours trying to figure out things like the difference between the MCH-3SE-C7 and MCH-3C7, and then confirming that I only need to match the amp with the AVP-17 and I'm away.

I'd not heard of NuForce previously (I live closer to Best Buy and Circuit City than any boutique), but apparently there's many holes in my research.

Sorry you're all watching me twist in the breeze, I'm more disciplined when I'm comfortable with what I know.

Thanks again, all.

[audioqueso]

No problem. That's what we do. We help each out out in our quest for great music amd HT setup (or you could say feed on each other's audio addiction).

I've never heard their full size amps, but seriously, if their small little desktop amp impressed me that much with the 600 and 601, I'm sure both 3SE-C7 and 3C7 will sound great with a 685 setup.

[emig5m]

I ran my 685's with a Yamaha 663 preamping a Emotiva XPA-5 and the sound of these little speakers is just.... amazing! I'm almost definitely going to upgrade the Yamaha to the Emotiva XMC-1 pre/pro when it becomes available. To be honest with you, I like the sound and overall synergy of the system currently so much that I'm a little hesitant to switch anything out. I don't even need to use any EQ at all and just run it in the "pure direct" mode. I know the Emo amp is more on the neutral side and will more than likely have the sound character of the preamp driving it, but I've been assured by people that the Emo pre/pro, a real preamp and not a budget receiver that has pre-outs will totally blow away the Yamaha. I can't wait to find out for myself - they have a 30 day in home money back trial and mostly praise from owners - but my model Yamaha also has a lot of praise from owners.

What do you guys think? The Yammie does have dedicated Burr Brown DACS on all channels, hybrid digital/analog volume control for minimum amount of distortion from the volume control, pure direct and straight modes for the purest signal paths...etc.. even though it's cheap, it does seem to be designed well towards sound quality over other receivers in it's price range.

I dunno, I hope it doesn't turn out to be the case where I wind up liking the Yamaha sound better. I mean, I have no complaints with it sound wise. The bass is weighted and "there" with zero EQ unlike my previous Sony's that even with heavy amounts EQ'ing still sounded real low-fi no matter what I did. Top end is clean, clear, and smooth and non fatiguing like the Sony's where, I can hear finer details clearly through the loudspeakers that I could only hear beforehand through a good set of headphones (for years I truly didn't believe that any loudspeaker could match headphones for clearly hearing subtle detail, but thankfully I discovered B&W, lol). I guess I wont know until I have the damned Emo preamp hooked up in my home...lol. :lol: I mean how do you know better until you experience better? :W