Amp recommendation for 804D

[hidehide]

Hi there, I just got myself a pair of B&W 804D. I'm new to all this and now I have to find myself an amp. I mostly listen to rock/metal, occasionally orchestra/pop. After searching around the internet, I have narrowed my selection to Hegel H360 (250W at 8 Ohms) and Luxman 507ux (110W at 8 Ohms) + Pioneer N-70a.

With these two setup, I will have DAC, able to airplay and stream music with DLNA. My question is will 250W be better than the 110W? Will the H360 be more powerful, thus handling dynamics better? Has anyone with experience of these two combos?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Vladimir]

I'd go for Electrocompaniet. Fits B&W like a glove.

 

[CnoEvil]

I haven't heard these combination, so my comments are speculation.

My heart would say Luxman, for its looks and euphonious presentation.....and it doubles its power into 4 Ohms, so should be able to cope with the speakers.

My head would say Hegel, for its ample power and control....it would give a very clean and tight presentation, keeping the 804Ds on a tight rein.

Another brand to keep in mind would be Classe.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Not heard it but in specs alone the Electrocompaniet is the strongest amp and can easily get the best out of these demanding dips of the 804d.

Also at this standard of electronics its not a good idea to keep all your eggs in one basket. Ie: integrated amp/dac incase you can develop a fault. My hegel h360 had a small drop out fault on the usb every now and then music would stop playing and had to switch on and off from time to time. So best to get quality seperates imo

 

[hidehide]

By saying Electrocompanier, which model are you referring to? I might have a look at it as well.

I'm new to all these, what should I look at when pairing the amp. Andrewjvt mentioned the dipping and CnoEvil 4Ohms... I agreed the look of the Luxman is much better than Hegel.

And the USB issue scares me off as I planned to use the amp for a long time given the price isn't cheap at all!

 

[Andrewjvt]

By saying Electrocompanier, which model are you referring to? I might have a look at it as well.

I'm new to all these, what should I look at when pairing the amp. Andrewjvt mentioned the dipping and CnoEvil 4Ohms... I agreed the look of the Luxman is much better than Hegel.

And the USB issue scares me off as I planned to use the amp for a long time given the price isn't cheap at all!

He is the expert in electro gear. Hopefully he will be around to help

 

[Vladimir]

By saying Electrocompanier, do you guys mean the AW250R? I might have a look at it as well.

I'm new to all these, what should I look at when pairing the amp. Andrewjvt mentioned the dipping and CnoEvil 4Ohms... I agreed the look of the Luxman is much better than Hegel.

And the USB issue scares me off as I planned to use the amp for a long time given the price isn't cheap at all!

Electrocompaniet don't make big integrated amps like the Hegel H360. Their no compromise policy is if you want more than 120W p/c in 8ohms, you buy a preamp + power amp. AW250R is a power amp, for which you need a preamp. These days common practice is to have the DAC with included preamp, but if you have multiple sources (CD, vinyl, streamer...) then you need a proper preamp like the balanced EC 4.8.

Originaly Electrocompaniet designed the x8 Nemo monoaural amps that were used for the B&W Nautilus. Both of these companies flagships are part of the same hi-end system.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi hidehide

Power/control and tonally Hegel amplification forms a great match B&W loudspeakers. We've got clients happily using H360 with top end B&W's such as PM1, 805, 804 and 802 loudspeakers. Fwiw, please take a look at our FB page and you should see some our clients system pictures using Hegel/B&W combinations. Most notably H360/804 pairing posted on 24/01/17.

Btw, since its lauch in the UK almost two years ago we've sold many H360's and as far as i am aware no one has reported intermittent issues with the USB port. We've also had no intermittent USB issues with our demo/display H360 which we've had for nearly two years and also no intermittent USB issues with our demo/display H80, H160, Rost, HD12 and the HD30 and nor with any of these models sold.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Reijer]

In Holland the more expensive B&W are often paired with Classé or NAD masters. Ample power reserve to cope with the dips in Ohms.

Don't search only on the internet. Go to your local shop and let the salesman surpise you. Maybe wise to bring your own speakers with you or try a home-dem.

 

[nopiano]

Some good suggestions above, and I think the point about the DAC being likely to date sooner might be relevant if you expect to keep the amp for over, say, ten years.

Another integrated not to overlook is the Rotel RA1592, which is about 200wpc and under £2,000. It has a decent DAC. As you probably know, B&W import Rotel and often demonstrate them together.

I believe yours are quite sensitive speakers, at about 89dB according to Stereophile, but impedance is often lowish at 4 ohms to achieve it.

 

[drummerman]

Classe + B&W

 

[Al ears]

Classe + B&W

Naughty but nice..

 

[Andrewjvt]

By saying Electrocompanier, which model are you referring to? I might have a look at it as well.

I'm new to all these, what should I look at when pairing the amp. Andrewjvt mentioned the dipping and CnoEvil 4Ohms... I agreed the look of the Luxman is much better than Hegel.

And the USB issue scares me off as I planned to use the amp for a long time given the price isn't cheap at all!

He is the expert in electro gear. Hopefully he will be around to help

I think a picture ( or two ) is worth a thousand words. *smile*

AW250, 1100wpc into 1 ohm, 100 amps of current delivery, it will drive the B&W's without even trying.

http://www.electrocompaniet.no/products/classic/poweramp/aw250r.html

My preference is a pair of AW180 monoblocks that have almost the same output but have more refinements and even bigger heatsinks and and an even more ultra dynamic sound and several killowatts of reseve transient power.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/1210/electrocompaniet_aw180.htm

And the star, the EC 4.8 pre amp, one of the best pre amps at any price in my and many other peoples opinion.

http://www.dagogo.com/electrocompaniet-ec-4-8-preamplifier-review

Hope this helps, but even if it doesn't it been fun doing it. *biggrin*

 

No more to say apart from game, set and match

 

[Electro]

By saying Electrocompanier, which model are you referring to? I might have a look at it as well.

I'm new to all these, what should I look at when pairing the amp. Andrewjvt mentioned the dipping and CnoEvil 4Ohms... I agreed the look of the Luxman is much better than Hegel.

And the USB issue scares me off as I planned to use the amp for a long time given the price isn't cheap at all!

He is the expert in electro gear. Hopefully he will be around to help

I think a picture ( or two ) is worth a thousand words. *smile*

AW250, 1100wpc into 1 ohm, 100 amps of current delivery, it will drive the B&W's without even trying.

http://www.electrocompaniet.no/products/classic/poweramp/aw250r.html

My preference is a pair of AW180 monoblocks that have almost the same output but have more refinements and even bigger heatsinks and and an even more ultra dynamic sound and several killowatts of reseve transient power.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/1210/electrocompaniet_aw180.htm

And the star, the EC 4.8 pre amp, one of the best pre amps at any price in my and many other peoples opinion.

http://www.dagogo.com/electrocompaniet-ec-4-8-preamplifier-review

Hope this helps, but even if it doesn't it's been fun doing it. *biggrin*

 

[Vladimir]

By saying Electrocompanier, which model are you referring to? I might have a look at it as well.

I'm new to all these, what should I look at when pairing the amp. Andrewjvt mentioned the dipping and CnoEvil 4Ohms... I agreed the look of the Luxman is much better than Hegel.

And the USB issue scares me off as I planned to use the amp for a long time given the price isn't cheap at all!

He is the expert in electro gear. Hopefully he will be around to help

I think a picture ( or two ) is worth a thousand words. *smile*

AW250, 1100wpc into 1 ohm, 100 amps of current delivery, it will drive the B&W's without even trying.

http://www.electrocompaniet.no/products/classic/poweramp/aw250r.html

My preference is a pair of AW180 monoblocks that have almost the same output but have more refinements and even bigger heatsinks and and an even more ultra dynamic sound and several killowatts of reseve transient power.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/1210/electrocompaniet_aw180.htm

And the star, the EC 4.8 pre amp, one of the best pre amps at any price in my and many other peoples opinion.

http://www.dagogo.com/electrocompaniet-ec-4-8-preamplifier-review

Hope this helps, but even if it doesn't it's been fun doing it. *biggrin*

 

Have you considered upgrading to the Leema Pulse mkI? I hear one is soon to hit the bay.

 

[plastic penguin]

@electro

That's all well and good but will the two be tonally compatible?

 

[plastic penguin]

Some good suggestions above, and I think the point about the DAC being likely to date sooner might be relevant if you expect to keep the amp for over, say, ten years.

Another integrated not to overlook is the Rotel RA1592, which is about 200wpc and under £2,000. It has a decent DAC. As you probably know, B&W import Rotel and often demonstrate them together.

I believe yours are quite sensitive speakers, at about 89dB according to Stereophile, but impedance is often lowish at 4 ohms to achieve it.

Good suggestion. Rotel + B&W = excellence.

 

[Electro]

@electro

That's all well and good but will the two be tonally compatible?

I think that is up to the op to decide, but yes they are tonally compatible imo.

The original Electrocompaniet Nemo mono's which are just 4x AW180 mono's bridged were built to drive the very difficult to drive B&W 801 Nautilus speakers so in theory all things being equal they should be made for the job if the B&W range is tonally similar . .

http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/300electro/

 

[Vladimir]

@electro

That's all well and good but will the two be tonally compatible?

 

[Vladimir]

You knock on the case to make sure it's tonally accurate.

 

[Vladimir]

@electro

That's all well and good but will the two be tonally compatible?

I think that is up to the op to decide, but yes they are tonally compatible imo.

The original Electrocompaniet Nemo mono's which are just 4x AW180 mono's bridged were built to drive the very difficult to drive B&W 801 Nautilus speakers so in theory all things being equal they should be made for the job if the B&W range is tonally similar . .

http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/300electro/

 

The whole point of building amllifiers as arc welders is to have them absolutely flat and transparent, impervious to speaker impedance changes. If an amp at that price range has a tonal character and has no valves glowing, better chuck it in the bin.
A great amp is super flat at all loads, all the time. Maintaining that with the B&W Nautilus is a hi-end badge of honor. The designer Laurence Dickie made no compromises to make amplifiers life easier. Neither did Per Abrahamsen when he picked up the torch.

 

[Andrewjvt]

@electro

That's all well and good but will the two be tonally compatible?

I think that is up to the op to decide, but yes they are tonally compatible imo.

The original Electrocompaniet Nemo mono's which are just 4x AW180 mono's bridged were built to drive the very difficult to drive B&W 801 Nautilus speakers so in theory all things being equal they should be made for the job if the B&W range is tonally similar . .

http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/300electro/

 

The whole point of building amllifiers as arc welders is to have them absolutely flat and transparent, impervious to speaker impedance changes. If an amp at that price range has a tonal character and has no valves glowing, better chuck it in the bin.
A great amp is super flat at all loads, all the time. Maintaining that with the B&W Nautilus is a hi-end badge of honor. The designer Laurence Dickie made no compromises to make amplifiers life easier. Neither did Per Abrahamsen when he picked up the torch.

If i were looking for amps and i had the money, id buy those electros blind and any thoughts of tonal balance would not even enter my head as a side thought.

 

[plastic penguin]

Many amp manufacturers claim their equipement has a flat frequency but a number don't. Naim is a perfect example - Naim and B&W is a s##t combination.

It's a phrase that's largely meaningless as tonal qualities are influenced by many things: room size, shape and acoustics. blah blah blah.

I wonder if Vlad has heard Electrocompaniet with B&W? Very unlikely. In which case it's at best a wild guess.

Neither have I, and I wouldn't want to promote an unknown combo.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi hidehide

Something that slipped my mind yesterday is that a few weeks ago i was extremely imprresed at hearing Monitor Audio's Platinum PL300's being driven by Auralic's Polaris amplifier. Based on this i would recommend that you should also try to look at and hear the Polaris as for a realtively small amp its got some serious zip.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Vladimir]

I wonder if Vlad has heard Electrocompaniet with B&W? Very unlikely. In which case it's at best a wild guess.

Actually its very popular match here, I've listened to two combos. I haven't heard B&W with Classe. Most common of course is Rotel.