B&W 685 + MT-30 / what receiver shall I use ???

[tudorvok]

Hi everyone,

I own a B&W MT-30 (5M1 speakers and PV1 amp) + 685(front) and currently use an ONKYO TX SR-785 which i love for all the helpful and complex options it has and especially because i also use an 1080p video projector.anyway i have a normal sized room and good acoustic for these speakers but i somehow feel that they don't have that perfect showroom sound they should. It is slightly not clear enought... I am an average electronics user so I spent enought time in setting it etc.

my question: is it maybe because of the receiver?? Would it make any difference if I would change it?

i didn't have the chance to hear the speakers on any other receivers so i wonder if there is anything better out there for this setup.
if yes, what would be the options... Rotel or...?

Cheers

[audioqueso]

I just recently (this month) had five M1 speakers for a week matched with my Velodyne sub running off of my Marantz SR7002 receiver. My HT space is fairly spacious (about 5x10m). My Nautilus 805 sound really good with the Marantz, and so I knew the Marantz can do the M1's justice. The M1's sounded nicely too... but after playing Transformers, Matrix (bullet and helicopter scene), Rambo, Iron-man, and Gone In 60 Seconds... it sounded nice, but not as good as I expected. So I don't think the limitation was the receiver, but just the speakers themselves. So... for you, I think you will be fine with your Onkyo. You may get some improvement with another receiver, but not a huge difference.
At the same time, I used M1's as my surround speakers two years ago. When powered by my Marantz, they sounded good, but when powered my by Parasound amp, their soundstage really improved. So if you can, I would recommend to borrow a 5-channel amp from your dealer and see how you like it.

[audioqueso]

I must add... your 685s would benefit more from a different receiver.... but at the same time, I think a dedicated amp would still improve both M1 and 685.