I have the b&W 804s and Htm3s powered by an emotiva xpa-5 , and I was wondering if adding a xpa-1 for just the center channel would improve my home theater experience. Or should I just replace the xpa-5 for an xpa-2 and xpa-1 combo.
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B&W 804s
B&W htm3s
B&W dm601 s3
Outlaw lfm-1 EX x 2
Denon 2808ci
Emotiva XPA-5
Emotiva XPA-2
Sony PS3 -
I'd rather get the matching 800 series bookshelf speakers for your rears IMO. I think the XPA-5 is competent enough for your kit and anything else is possibly in the over-thinking things stage, especially if you're crossing over to a powered sub. Go 805S for your rears and enjoy! :W -
Omar,
Sorry I'm jumping in late. Have you made up your mind yet?
Just in case, here are my two cents: I'm 100% stereo, so take my words with that point of view. In my experience, sound improved a lot when I moved to a better matching amp with my 804S. I went from Rotel RB1080 to McIntosh MC275. The improvement was all around: better, deeper, fuller bass (yes, from a tube amp!), edgyness in the trebble was gone and became more extended, and the mids are fantastic. Imaging improved A LOT.
At the time I was thinking of upgrading I wasn't sure which component to upgrade first and some suggested amp, so I went out for a listen. I literally couldn't believe how good the 804S were sounding with an all McIntosh setup at a dealer. I compared there Rotel, Mac SS and tubes, Classe. I was certain my speakers could perform better than they were at home.
So, are you better off spending on surround speakers or amplification? I don't know. Do you have a chance to listen to 804S with other amplification?
I hope this helpsComment
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I am trying to decide which is the better option
1. HTM3S + 804S + ASW825
2. HTM3S + 803S
The price is similar (a little more for option 1), and I know option 2 could be upgraded in the future with the ASW825, but I have to limit myself a little.
I feel the... -
I started a thread "New B&W series", and we came to 804 vs 703, so that's why i'm opening new thread to dont continue off topic..
As u know i had a chance to have them both at my place (too bad that instead of having few days, i have them for few hours together, becouse... -
I just ordered a set of 804s and an HTM3s. It killed me to spend that much on a center channel but since I will use the system for 50% music and 50% movies I did not think I had a choice. With a sonically matched front end such as this I believe I could benefit from using a 3 channel amp with matching... -
Hi, I recently upgrade my surround processor from Rotel RSP 1068 to Classe SSP-300, and I still use the Rotel RMB1075 to drive the B&W 804S (Front) and HTM3S (center). The sound improvement is great especially listening to 2 channel CD music. I am now thinking about upgrading the multichannel amp... -
Hi, I recently upgrade my surround processor from Rotel RSP 1068 to Classe SSP-300, and I still use the Rotel RMB1075 to drive the B&W 804S (Front) and HTM3S (center). The sound improvement is great especially listening to 2 channel CD music. I am now thinking about upgrading the multichannel amp...
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