B&W 685 with budget amp?

[admin_exported]

Hi, I've got a marantz pm 4001 paired with some elipson horus speakers (small ones).I'd like to upgrade and think it obviously be better to buy good kit bit by bit, spending more over time, than buying a cheaper set up in one go .

My question is will the 4001 be enough to make the 685s sound half decent in the interim (in the reviews it says they'll work with a budget amp - but is mine too budget- its 30w per channel). Or should I be thinking about changing the amp first?

Has anyone tried anything similar or even better listened to them together - any ideas appreciated. Thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, in the interim it'd sound OK, though a better amp will clearly bring out more in the Bee and Wubbleyous in the future.

 

[JamesPart]

I've been using the RA-04 with my 685's for ages now and I love it, thinking of a new amp though.

I like the slimline amps, and the Nait 5i is on ebay for 500 buyout, and another for 300 bid with several days left.

My question is would the Nait be a big step from the ra-04, damn i miss a remote....

I wana lie down and relax, not get off my feet every time a new track strarts 😀

 

[Andrew Everard]

JamesPart:My question is would the Nait be a big step from the ra-04

Yes, huge.

 

[JamesPart]

And the pairing is good?
Using QED Silver XT.

Thanks for the help

Anything else to consider for the 400-500 range price?

 

[d_a_n1979]

The 685's would pair well with the Naim but for more 'bang for your buck' so to speak id look at running Chord Carnival Silverscreen speaker cable instead

 

[Andrew Everard]

JamesPart, yes.

d_a_n1979, agreed.

 

[JamesPart]

Added the Chord to my bookmarks, Isn't too pricey at all will defiantly consider if i get the new amp.

Sorry for the hijack of the thread picknmix, maybe you could purchase my Rotel RA-04 from me if i decide to replace it, hehe.

Not sure what the PM4001 is like though, might be better than the Rotel for all I know 🙂.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew, I'll probably go with the 685s if they are not going to sound too dead but just out of interest do you think they would sound better than diamond 9.1s (given that the 9.1s are more suited to this amp)ÿ

 

[Andrew Everard]

Yes, they'll sound better than the 9.1s

 

[matthewpiano]

The 685s are definitely the ones to go for if you are building a better system but I don't think you'll want to hang on to the PM4001 for very long once you've got the B&Ws.

When I purchased my system I auditioned the Marantz PM6002 with the 685s and also tried it with a pair of Wharfedale Diamond 9.1s that I have now given to my Dad. The PM6002 sounded much better through the Wharfedales. The B&Ws were just revealing the inadequacies of the amp and will do so even more with the PM4001. I had a PM4001 for a couple of weeks but it ended up going back as I found it totally gutless. The 685s really need an amplifier with plenty of grip to control them. The PM4001 (and PM6002) don't have enough of it!

I'd be looking at pairing the 685s with a NAD amp. The outgoing 325BEE would sound FAR FAR better than your PM4001 with the 685s. If you can pick up a C352 or C355, even better.

Speaker cable wise I'd totally concur with Dan - Chord Company Carnival Silverscreen is much better than the QED. If you can stretch to Rumour 2 its even better. With Silverscreen I'd use Chord Crimson interconnect. With Rumour 2 I'd opt for Chord Chameleon Silver +.

 

[Anonymous]

matthewpiano: The outgoing 325BEE would sound FAR FAR better than your PM4001 with the 685s. ÿ+.

ÿ

Agreed, NAD & 685 sound great to meÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Pmaninit:

matthewpiano: The outgoing 325BEE would sound FAR FAR better than your PM4001 with the 685s. +.

Agreed, NAD & 685 sound great to me

I disagree. I've tried the C352 within my system and found the sound to be flat and lacking in detail (majorly), and that's in comparison to the Arcam Alpha 9!

 

[d_a_n1979]

Id say thats down to what music you listen to

Ive had the full Arcam Alpha 9 set-up (integrated, power and CDP) as well as the NAD C352/NAD C355BEE integrated amps paired with the B&W 685's and they all sounded superb, IMO