Alternatives for Cambridge 851D/851W?

[tomatofk]

My friend is looking to upgrade from his Yamaha av amps. He has demoed the Cambridge 851D/851W combo from his friend and feels pretty good. But he's also wondering if there is alternative within the price range, he doesn't want to trust the sales from the local/online dealers recommandations when he go shopping, the guys here always push you to pay more. He also wonders if it would be just get a higher end integrated amp instead?

His speakers are B&W 684, and the room is about 300sqft rectangular, with the system placed towards to the left side. Thanks for the inputs.

 

[Andrewjvt]

My friend is looking to upgrade from his Yamaha av amps. He has demoed the Cambridge 851D/851W combo from his friend and feels pretty good. But he's also wondering if there is alternative within the price range, he doesn't want to trust the sales from the local/online dealers recommandations when he go shopping, the guys here always push you to pay more. He also wonders if it would be just get a higher end integrated amp instead?

His speakers are B&W 684, and the room is about 300sqft rectangular, with the system placed towards to the left side. Thanks for the inputs.

Ive not heard it and regards build quality and sound i cant coment but on paper it looks good.

Cant help feel that the set up you mention is too good for the b&ws but it should sound very good. The specs read well but not all amps are made equal even if the rms is the same regards quality of parts and power supply/current handling etc so best he demo if possible.

A cheaper option would be an abrahamsen intergrated amp and a seperate dac or an hegel h80 or 160 would offer top class build and sound quality but never heard the cambridge

 

[splasher]

...and not 851N? The 851N has all of the DAC options you could ever need plus network streaming, Internet radio, Spotify connect and a pretty decent control app. Much more versatile piece of kit. I have it partnered with the 851A simply because I need an analogue in for my records, but if I was just a digital kind of guy, the 851W would have been my choice.