B&W 601 S3 and ..... what?

[ewan_uzami]

I'm looking to find my way into HiFi on a seriously limited budget. My dad has a pair of B&W 601 S3s that I really like and as they seem to be going for around £200 on ebay these days, they looked like a good place to start. I'm looking for some advice on an amp to compliment them. He's got a Rotel amp (can't remember which one now) linked up to them and once you turn them up a bit, the sound is great - at least to my ear anyhow. Any suggestions for a suitable amp - available cheaply (around £200) - or any suggestions for a different budget setup greatly appreciated.

 

[d_a_n1979]

In agreement that the MA BX2's are better speakers than the B&W's BUT the 601 S3's are still bloomin good speakers!

Personally I'd go 2nd hand with amplification and look for something along the lines of a NAD C320BEE or Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp via eBay and the likes...

Both mentioned are on there currently!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi ewan_uzami

I apologise upfront for misunderstanding however if you're going to be given 601S3's then great. If not and you're looking at spending around £200 then I'll advice you to also seriously consider Monitor Audio's BX2's. As good as 601S3's are however they sound somewhat veiled in comparison to BX2's.

If you can stretch your budget then Rotel's RA-1062 is worth looking out for. RA-1062 is a superb amplifier and one which works a treat with BX2's and 601S3's :rockout:

Fwiw, I feel the RA-1062 is overall the finest and most balanced sounding amplifier which Rotel have produced in the last ten years.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[ewan_uzami]

amazing, thanks rick, i'll check them both out. sadly, i'm not being donated the 601s so i'm very up for well matched alternatives.

 

[ewan_uzami]

just been looking at the nad on ebay. lots of people seem to rate it as a great budget amp.

 

[d_a_n1979]

Was best in its day and still better than most amps in that range today IMO

Built like battleships; solid, deep and punchy sound. Great power and able to drive difficult speakers with ease...

retain their value too!

Ive got mine still in a 2nd system but have had others and never lost money on them when I've sold them off

 

[ewan_uzami]

is there any huge difference between the c320 and c320bee?

 

[d_a_n1979]

There's a noticeable sound difference. The BEE is cleaner & crisper IMO...

personally the older c3020 was better than the C320 but the C320BEE is where NAD got it very right!

 

[ewan_uzami]

think that's probably a decision made. c320bee and a pair of MA BX2s. nice. thanks guys

 

[d_a_n1979]

think that's probably a decision made. c320bee and a pair of MA BX2s. nice. thanks guys

Brilliant budget system

You'll love the combo (if the MA speakers are to be new through let them run in as they're very tight to begin with and can sound quite 'boxy')!

What will be your music source and what music do you generally listen to?

 

[ewan_uzami]

for the moment i'm using my pc as a music source (currently stuck with some really awful computer speakers). as for music, really varied. if i had to pick a particual genre... i generally have breakbeat radio on as i go about my daily business. but when i sit down and actually listen to music it really can me anything.

 

[d_a_n1979]

for the moment i'm using my pc as a music source (currently stuck with some really awful computer speakers). as for music, really varied. if i had to pick a particual genre... i generally have breakbeat radio on as i go about my daily business. but when i sit down and actually listen to music it really can me anything.

Have you thought how you're going to connect your PC to the amp?

You'll need to sort a DAC unless you've got a soundcard with RCA (or other outputs on it) - This is all foreign to me TBH - Never understood soundcards etc... I just rely on the Mac Mini's optical out

 

[ewan_uzami]

just had to check again but i think my sound card offers full 'hd' DAC on the analoge output. not sure what improvement i'd see. perhaps get one at a later date and see if it does make any significant difference. it's got nice gold plated outs, so some decent cables and hopefully i'll be okay...