Amplifier for B&W 685

[Anonymous]

Octopo:You may, it is a naim nait 5i.

How did I know that would be the answer - the Naim has a really good power supply in it and therefore it won't clip as soon.

 

[Anonymous]

Agh! Now I see some conflicting opinions.

Drummerman and Hughes, is the A28 really not worth it then ?
What would you choose ? Should I be ditching the Arcam for the 1500ae Denon ?

This Hifi world is sooo complicated.

Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

If it was my money I would listen to some amplifiers first, but yes, I would put my money on the Denon being better (even though it's 70watts into 8ohms, it doubles into 4, so it is a very powerful and well-designed amp.)

 

[Dave_]

i'd say audition them both, which ever sounds best to you is the right one for you, trust your ears,

 

[Anonymous]

Very true, the naims are good, but do not forget to remember when throwing numbers about that there are all kinds of other things to take into account. I'm sure you know, but advice like that is misleading to a newcomer.

Anyway like Drummerman says, don't worry too much about the numbers + B&W's are not as hard to drive as they used to be.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, I'll give them a test drive tomorrow. Thanks.

As for the Denon, I am finding it hard to track them down. Havent seen it in any shops.

 

[Anonymous]

Forget the Denon.

 

[Anonymous]

AudioT do Denon, as do Sevenoaks (or they used to!)

 

[Anonymous]

EvilWolf:Forget the Denon.

Man, your making this hard for SnowOwl!

 

[Tesler]

d_a_n1979:

IMO id stay away from Cambridge Audio; i find that they dont gel well with B&W speakers, they sound too clinical.

I entirely agree with dan, also IMHO, the Cambridge stuff is way too clinical. I've tried both the Cambridge Audio 640a and the 740a amps with my B&W 602 S2's. I took the 640a back and upgraded to the 740a, which I only sometimes like, it's way too cold and has too much of an edgy and harsh treble with the B&W's for my liking.

I really enjoy my B&W's with my old Pioneer A400, it's much warmer and musical, but I wouldn't mind getting hold of a Roksan Kandy to try.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Snow_Owl...

You need to demo, demo and demo again

IMO (with very similar music tastes to you and as an owner of B&W 685's (theyre in my bedroom set-up) i dont think you could go wrong with a decent Arcam or NAD amp.

Again, IMO id stay away from Denon, C/A, Cyrus and Naim. With the 685 speakers, those amps all sound too clinical and i really dont feel the Naim has a good sound with B&W speakers.

If you want to stay under £500 for an amp (which in turn will leave you some £££ for a CD player upgrade) then personally i would be looking on eBay for a decent Arcam alpha 9 or 10 integrated amp, an Arcam A85 integrated amp and if you want to go for a new amplifier then take a look at the NAD C352 or NAD C355BEE integrated amps. Both can be bough from Superfi (www.superfi.co.uk). Believe me; both those NAD amps and any of the Arcam amps mentioned above will sound superb with the B&W 685 speakers and will provide the power that they need to be driven well and sound at their best!

My bedroom set-up consists of the B&W 685 speakers on Atacama SE24 speaker stands (mass loaded with Atabites), the NAD C352 amp and the NAD C542 CDP and it sounds superb.

The bass is deep and puncy but not OTT, the midrange is brilliant, well timed and detailed and the treble is sweet and crisp. Great for the vocals on Hed Kandi CD's and absolutley brilliant with Fischerspooner/Layo & Bushwacka. The sound really makes my bedroom rumble haha...

Let us know how you get on!

 

[Anonymous]

d_a_n1979:i really dont feel the Naim has a good sound with B&W speakers

SorryÿSnow_Owl for hijacking!

Out of all the amps in my price range at the time Naim amps provided me with the most exciting, comfortable sound I could find with my B&W's. I always like to keep an open mind though, and I have decided to follow the Naim path now as I'm getting a bit bored with the B&W sound. Think I'm gonna try Sonus Faber and the Neat Motive 2's, any suggestions?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Snow Owl - since you have a short-list of what you are looking for, why don't you audition all three and decide for yourself what suits you and your system best.

 

[Anonymous]

Sonus Faber Cremona Domus! Best speakers I have heard for the money - but I'm waiting for a proper listen to the ProAc D Twos.

 

[Anonymous]

EvilWolf:Snow Owl - since you have a short-list of what you are looking for, why don't you audition all three and decide for yourself what suits you and your system best.

Never buy any hi-fi component without auditioning...ever.

 

[Anonymous]

Hughes123:Sonus Faber Cremona Domus!

Eccellentissimo! Although Cremona Auditor ? Think I would have to make do with the Concertino Domus though, have you experience with these Hughes?

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry! I meant the Concerto Domus is the best, but I should expect the Concertinos to be just as good (I havn't heard them, sorry)...that said, I havn't heard the Neat Motives yet (nowhere around here stocks them.) You must check out ProAc speakers though!

 

[Anonymous]

Agreed, Hughes is a wise man, it seems

 

[Anonymous]

Hello again !

I'm now very poor and will be eating baked beans for a good while.

It's all done...... I bought the Arcam A28 !

This is going to be hooked up via some whatever it is cable (5.50 per metre) with those banana plug things.
The speakers it willl drive are the B&W 685's.

I demo'd quite a few amps. The first one to get booted out was the Marantz 7001KI.
Didnt impress me at all.
The top three contenders were the Rotel 06, Roksan Kandy, and Arcam A28.
I tended to find the Roksan and Rotel had their good and bad points. Each seem on the same level.
Going back to the Arcam, It seemed to shine above the rest.

It does need to be turned up quite high, eg. 50 out of 72 to get some volume but it does it well.

So there you have it.
Let's just hope all works well as half of the time things I buy I have to take back.

Right, I better go and buy some cheap food for tonight as I'm now poor.

I'd like to thank you all for your superb help.
I posted on another site and got not even one reply.

This forum is full of great people and I do really appreciate all of your replies that you have posted.

Have a good evening.

 

[Anonymous]

Brilliant choice! I'm sure you'll love it to pieces! The reason you need to crank the taps on it, is because it only goes up loud enough so that distortion only just starts to kick in - you could pretty much run it at 72/72 on most speakers on CD without a problem...and can I advise you to buy Tesco Value beans? They are so much nicer than HP and cheaper, and then when you get a little richer again, you can upgrade to Heinz beans and sausages!!!

Have fun!

 

[d_a_n1979]

Nice buy

Dont forgot that your amp and speakers will need a good 100 hours, if not more, running in time to sound at their best so dont drive the amp or speakers too hard too soon!

 

[Anonymous]

Hello !

Thought I'd update you all. My Arcam has finally arrived, got it hooked up with QED Anniversary cable and in a few weeks I'll be buying some chunky hifi cables to replace the freebies.

It's sounding great !

One little question if I may, How long do I have to play the amp and speakers softly before I can crank up the volume and get some serious sound out ?

Thankyou.

 

[ear]

i am also a "taker backer", u seem to have the same taste as me.I'm interested in knowing what U think are the flaws with either the roksan and the rotel, could U explain? thx very much.

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldnt say the Rotel or the kandy had any faults to them. I'd say they were easily on par with each other.
What I liked about the Arcam was the vocals seemed clearer and the overall the sound seemed more present as if you were surrounded by the musicical instruments.

The Rotel had some good punch to it as well as the Kandy and I'd say these as well as the Arcam are great at driving the B&W's. At the end of the day it comes down to personal taste.
Best bet is to book a demo and give them a listen.

 

[ear]

great answer.it clears ir for me love surround