What cable where to get and is this amp sufficient for an 801?

[mili]

Hi Guys

I am rather green when it comes to relatively high end stuff but I fell in love withthe 801s about 10 years ago when I first heard one. I own a pair of B&W P6 speakers and just bought a NAD Amp/Preamp Set T163/T973.
I was wondering how it would be able to drive a pair of 801 Nautiluses as I am tempted to get a second hand pair?
Also what cable do you recommend with these speakers and what online store actually has those?
Thanks in advance

mili

[greggz]

To quote from the stereophile review of the N801...

The big B&W's sensitivity was basically to specification, at an estimated 90dB(B)/2.83V/m. However, the plot of its impedance [solid line] magnitude and phase [dashed line](fig.1) reveals that it is a demanding load, dropping to 3 ohms through the midrange and to 4 ohms in the high treble. In addition, a punishingly high capacitive phase angle in the midbass, coupled with a low magnitude, will demand a good, current-worthy amplifier.

[DrBoom]

How on earth can B&W claim it's an 8 ohm nominal impedance when you look at that graph ??
It's not even 8 ohms at the 1 KHz measuring frequency, and most of the time it's around 4 ohms or lower.

I already knew that the 801 was one of those impossible-to-drive speakers, but this beats everything
The T973 is a good amp, but I think it's in a different league and not meant to be paired with monsters like the 801.
These things need equally monstrous amplifiers like Krell, Parasound JC1's, Pass Labs X600, Classe CA400 or Omega Omicrons, or you can experiment with one of the more recent technologies like a TacT Millennium or an Acoustic Reality digital amp which are both high power amps.
Don't skimp on the amplifier, or you'll never enjoy the 801's sadly enough.

[Lex]

We really don't allow a lot of cable talk in the B & W forum, but I am going to show you our sponsor's cables (me)

Mili, as owner of this forum and your web cable company (Catcables.com and QuantumCable.com) I cannot pass up a chance to show my Silver Centauri. I use these cables non bi-wired on my 10K Sonus faber Extremas, and they are quite awesome cables.



The Silver Centauri Omnicron Reference Speaker Cables (Wow what a mouthfull!) are 16 strand 22 awg with 8 strands in teflon coated silver and 8 strands in teflon coated bare copper. Great blend for excellent presentation without being bright, plenty of detail.

Doug

[mili]

Thank you guys but I don't think I can afford another 10 grand on an amplifier and I have already bought the NAD. Damn.

mili

[stedman]

Doug,

Do you send Catcables to Australia?

Rich

[Aussie Geoff]

Rich,

Doug certainly does send to Australia - including Perth - where you and I live!

US Email Postage works fine...

Geoff

[sikoniko]

I wish I could look at that chart and make sense out of it...

[Lex]

Yes, I've shipped to Australia many times lately. I'm actually shipping there today and again Friday, lol. Shipping with insurance starts at about 20.00, and depending on how much you order can go up from there.

So, Geoff has helped to create a lot of interest in CAT from land down under.

Doug

[jlee]

"I wish I could look at that chart and make sense out of it..."

1. The chart is impedance vs. frequency... the lower the impedance, the more current it draws from the amp, thus making the speaker harder to drive for most amps. Manufacturers usually give a "nominal" value for the impedance. All the B&W speakers with the FST midrange driver are often in the low impedance range and thus require really good amps to sound their best.
2. The further apart the dotted and solid lines are, the more the phase angle. As you can see, in the midbass section (100Hz to 1Khz), there is a huge gap between the dotted and solid lines.

Perhaps somebody else can give an even more in depth explanation.

[DrBoom]

The solid line represents the speaker impedance in relation to frequency.
The impedance is read on the left side of the graph.
The dotted line is the phase behaviour, or whether the speaker is capacitive (like a capacitor), inductive (like a coil) or purely resistive (like a resistor).
Phase is read on the right side of the graph, 0 degrees means the speaker is purely resistive at that frequency.
A positive phase angle, larger than 0 that is, means that the speaker is capacitive at that frequency, while a negative phase angle means that it's inductive.

[greggz]

One other little "fun fact" when looking at this kind of chart... That "saddle" formation you see at the left side of the impedence chart tells you the frequency to which the port is tuned. The bottom of the saddle is the port frequency, or in the case of the N801 chart above, 21 Hz.

Knowing the frequency to which a speaker's port is tuned is useful when trying to intgrate a sub. All bass coming from the port is out of phase with the woofer except for bass at the tuned frequency.

[mili]

Would this puppy be good enough?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39783&item=5720680832&rd=1

mili

[aarsoe]

Mili

Oh - yes. That would be very nice with a pair of 801's....