B&W 684 speakers with RA-06 SE or ROTEL 1520

[admin_exported]

Im new to hi fi......I've auditioned the B&W 684s and RA-06 SE and really liked the pairing.

As I am unlikely to be in a position to audition the 1520 at my local dealers.

1) Can someone advise if its worth choosing the 1520 for the extra money given that I was quite impressed with the RA-06 SE?

2) Also I would appreciate any opinions on Naim Nait 5i or Roksan Kandy K2 paired with the 684s

Thanks in advance

 

[Frank Harvey]

I'd go with the RA1520.

I've never felt that B&W and Naim go together very well, so Roksan would be the better bet of the two. Whether you'd prefer this or the Rotel is personal preference.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

DFX:
Im new to hi fi......I've auditioned the B&W 684s and RA-06 SE and really liked the pairing.

As I am unlikely to be in a position to audition the 1520 at my local dealers.

1) Can someone advise if its worth choosing the 1520 for the extra money given that I was quite impressed with the RA-06 SE?

2) Also I would appreciate any opinions on Naim Nait 5i or Roksan Kandy K2 paired with the 684s

Thanks in advance

Hi DFX

If you've got mind set on Rotel then also consider their RA-1062. The RA-1062 is a cracking amp and i also feel is the finest amp they've produced in the last ten years. Better still you could even pick a good used one for around £300-£350.

Other then this the Nait 5i is a better bet as i feel the K2 can sound a bit too heavy with 6 series speakers.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

RA-1520 without a doubt.

 

[Nas88]

Thought I'd bring this topic back to life rather than starting a new one.

I demoed the B&W 684s with the RA05se and loved the combo. Then later after another demo at Richersounds, I thought I had given the B&Ws a chance to shine. So the shop where they are selling an ex-demo RA06se for £450 fell into my budget perfectly so would this be best? Or would you say the RA1520 is so much better, I should save up and possibly wait till the end of next month to spend another £250 on an amp. Bear in mind I had initially set myself a budget of £1000.

 

[Cypher]

If you can, buy the RA-1520.

If not, the RA-06SE will have enough power to drive the 684s properly.

 

[Anonymous]

Both Rotels will work supperbly but for me I'd have to go for the RS1520

Superb amp and when I heard it with the B&W 684's and 683's as well as the MA RX6's it really shined

 

[Nas88]

Well today was a hectic day. Decided to have a proper comparrison between the Aviano 6 + A-A6 MKII combo and the B&W 684 + Rotel RA06se.

I'm not going to deny that the Aviano's sounded good, they worked with every genre but my God! MY GOD! When you push those 684s, they really do like to let loose! Detailed, not too over-bearing on the mids, and amazing bass response. Everything was very well griped by the Rotel I thought. So I did it, my first ever hi-fi system is due to be collected end of the month!

Oh I did want to ask your opinions on 1 thing, speaker cables? They only sell QEDs in this shop, and he suggested the QED XT Evolutions? Would these go well? I only ask so, because these are the only cables I heard in the store.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you had a good demo session

In my opinion, for that system I would look at the likes of the QED Revelation or Chord Odyssey 2 speaker cable at a minimum

Both are great cables and would well in the system; for the QED Revelation speaker cable is very good indeed

 

[Nas88]

Good demo session? It was AMAZING!! Spent over an hour falling in love with these speakers! Went through every genre possible, and was rather creeped out with the vocals on Simple Things album, sounded like she was singing right in-front of me.

On the cable issue, I managed to get a deal where I can get the Evolutions for £4 a metre, so to £12.50 a metre for Revelations is a big jump, but would it be worth it?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes it is; believe me

It really IS a better cable; a much more fluid and open sound but with great, taut bass weight which the Rotel & B&W 684 speakers will just lap up!

If you dont want to go for it brand new have a nosey on eBay!

If still a bit OTT for your budget I'd look at the likes of the Chord Carnival Silverscreen. This would be the absolute minimum; a much better cable than the QED Evolution

 

[Nas88]

Ok, I will see if the budget permits this

Another thing, since I'm still new to hifi and eager to learn a few things. I had read about bi-wiring and such and was told about the benefits of extra quality. But when discussing cables with the dealer from Canterbury hifi, he suggested that yes you can maybe notice some seperation but not a huge difference to spend double the amount on wires.

So, do I go for bi-wire Evolution or no bi-wire Revelation? Is there a way in which I can just buy 2 x 2m of Revelation now, and then buy another pair to make it bi-wired later on?

 

[Anonymous]

Personally I think the 2 - 4 formation is very good for connecting the speakers but yes, you'll need bi-wire for this.

If you just want to stick to normal sigle run cable then get what you need length wise and ask for an extra meter that you can use to replace the standard jumper bars on the rear of the speakers

OR you could look to buy a set of the Chord Speaker Cable jumper cables but they're pricey sometimes!

 

[Nas88]

Sorry mate, a little confused being a newbie to all this. What do you mean by "ask for an extra meter that you can use to replace the standard jumper bars on the rear of the speakers"?

Also, what are jumper cables?

On another point, the store where I've bought my hifi from have run out of QED Revelations. So looking online, I found QED Genesis Revelation....same thing? And am I ordering this correctly on www.futureshop.co.uk

I've put in for Quantity - 2

Length - 2m

Plugs - QED banana airloc

Termination - Both ends

Total £94!?!??!

Thats twice the amount I was going to spend on QED Evolutions bi-wired!

 

[Anonymous]

Order it here (or Google it and you'll see a lot of other places that sell it

)

http://www.qed-cable-shop.co.uk/Speaker+Cables/QED+Spk+Cables/Revelation+Speaker+Cable.html

The speaker jumper bars are on the rear of the speakers; they connect the HF terminals to the LF terminals. They're usually made of cheap metal and can seriously hinder the sound quality

By removing these and either using some of the same speaker cable you've got/you're getting or some specific speaker cable jumper cables (i.e. Chord) you'll improve the sound quality