RB1080 for B&W 803D's?

[Stevebez]

This is what I will have this weekend and will let you know the result. I guess Ideally I should have something between a 1080 and a 1090 ... but will let you know how the 1080 stacks up with the newbie B&W.

Rgds Steve.

[turbokuo]

This is what I will have this weekend and will let you know the result. I guess Ideally I should have something between a 1080 and a 1090 ... but will let you know how the 1080 stacks up with the newbie B&W.

Rgds Steve.

Great! I look forward to the review. Are both the speakers and the amps new?

[Stevebez]

Nope just the speakers are new, had the 1080 for a while now but was driving Boston Micros !!!!!!!

Can't wait ...

Rgds Steve.

[jfinneru]

I do think that the B&W 803D have a potencial beyond what the 1080 can deliver. no dought that it will play good with 1080, but they deserve more :wink:

[DanR]

Do yourself a favor and get a better amp. If you have the kind of money to drop on 803D's then you should know that the 1080 is not in the same league.

[Cowanrg]

before making a decision, see my post here:

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showpost.php4?p=150527&postcount=7

[Stevebez]

1080 and B&W 803D's

Well been some time now and have to say the 1080 is really living up to expectations but ....

I cannot but wonder how a 1090 will sound with the dual mono design ... thinking about upgrading, but really very seldom listen at high SPL's so wondering if it is worth the jump ... the sig-noise ratio is also very attractive at >125db ... mmmmm.

Space obviously a bit of an issue with 1090 as would need to rejig cabinet a touch ... B&W's rated 500W and I know the range is notoriously difficult to drive.

I am every day amazed by this speaker set-up ... I cannot wait to get my hands on a HTM2D ... thats next speaker investment for sure.

Any thoughts gents (and ladies) if I should step up to 1090... Kathy I know you love your 1090 with your setup, did you demo a 1080 at all ?

DrJRapp I know you love your 1080 what do you reckon ?

Rgds Steve

[Aussie Geoff]

SteveBez,

Thanks to a very friendly Rotel dealer I was able to at home A/B demo a RB-1090 to the RB-1080 for 2 weeks earlier this year.

On easy to drive speakers there was not too much in it. However moving to B&Ws the story changed. The 1090 was just a whole step more transparent, especially with the "microdynamcis" - the little sounds and details that make music sound real. And I thought I had good bass with the 1080 (way better than the 1075) until I heard the "grin making" 1090...

I also have an Email from B&W who (netting it out) recommend the extra current from the 1090 for the 803D for all but smaller rooms..

So - time to save (but then with HT it - isn't it always!)

Regards

Geoff

[Stevebez]

Have to admit pretty much as I thought.

Room actually is not large... so I'll put it on the radar as an potential candidate to feed my upgraditis... at mom have the 1080 running with sub setting on 1068 set to MAX (i.e. sub sound to fronts duplicated to sub, not db setting) with sub is actually set to very low output and x-over at 100hz.... this sounds awesome with CD analogue stereo performance - much better than digital feed PLII Music setting.

With newborn in the house don't have much chance to crank the system up so run-in on the 803's taking a long time... makes the 1090 seem excessive.

FYG track 7 of J-lo's album guitar start sequence is just mind blowing on these speakers - those tweeters rock.

Anyone selling a 1090 ?

Rgds Steve.

[lars]

Hello All,

Forgive my ignorance, but can you give me an idea of how using a 1067 (which I have) compares against a 1080 or 1090 for 2 channel listening?

I'd love to do an A/B, but isn't the kind of thing that dealers around here do -

Thanks,
Lars

[Stevebez]

Have not done that comaprison but I would expect the 1067 to be slightly worse than a 1075 combo ... and the 1080 is better than the 1075 by quite some margin and the 1090 better than 1080 by I would say a smaller margin ... largely depending on your speaker sensitivity and SPL requirements.

I got the 1075 and 1080 so I can say for sure the 1080 outperforms the 1075 by quite a bit in punch, refinement, and cleaner background. 1075 is gr8 for surrounds where effects channels are not primary sources. Have to say with 1080 on fronts 1075 may need to be bi-amped for centre channel to keep up.

Rgds Steve.

[Stevebez]

2 x 1080's bi-amped vs 1090 for 803'D's ??

Sorry to harp on about this but I have a bit of a dilemma...

Are two 1080's bi-amped better than 1 bi-wired 1090 ??

Anyone tried this configuration / comparison at all ?

Giving this some serious thought as I either need to get an additional 1080 or trade my existing 1080 for a 1090 to fully serve these B&W's.

Also whats this I hear they wont be making the 1090 anymore ??

Rgds Steve.

[Aussie Geoff]

Steve,

Let me give you a quote from B&W on this very question (bi-amped RB-1080 vs RB-1090 for driving the B&W 803D (remember in the UK they sell both)

I have to admit that I am always in two minds over the question of bi-amping. Is it the right route or, given a certain budget, are you better off getting a single, more powerful amp? If you listen fairly loudly such that you often approach the voltage limits of the amplifier, then I would go for a more powerful amp to lessen the likelihood of clipping. Bi-amping gives you no more total power transfer. A RB-1080 in bi-amp mode still delivers just 200W worth of sound level. What matters is the voltage swing. What bi-amping can do is give each amp an easier load. For example, the difficult part of the load of these speakers (most of ours come to that) is the low point in the impedance just above the box/reflex resonance peaks in the bass - around 100 - 200Hz. If you split the amp load, the one feeding the MF/HF of the 3-ways does not have to cope with this current-sucking region and may perform to a better quality level by being less stressed. Once you get to the better amps, though, this is actually less of a problem as they tend to have better current reserves.

and

I would suspect that a pair of RB-1080's would be more balanced with the 803S's and an RB-1090 more in line with the 803D's

Geoff

[Stevebez]

Thanks Geoff !!! think that sorts it ... 1090 it is.

Rgds

[junior77blue]

I don't understand why the 803s would be better off with RB1080s and the 803d the 1090? Can someone explain that?

[Aussie Geoff]

Junior77blue,

I have the full emails and I think B&W were saying that the 803S with its 250W power rating could be driven well by a bi-amped RB-1080 (they were careful in their email to emphasise that there were lots of other good amps, such as the Classe that they sell). It was also a good value mix (price of the 1080 vs. the 803S) While the 803D with its 500W power rating could benefit from the extra current of the RB-1090...

Geoff