B&w685 theater and Denon avr-x2000

[burgeyburg]

Hi there I would like to know if the Denon avr x2000 will be powerfull enough to drive the B&W 685 Theater speakers.

I need to upgrade my system to these speakers but I want to get the right amp. The reason for this amp is the price that I can get it at.

If this amp isn't powerfull enough, which one in the £350 bracket will be good enough for these speakers, even discontinued model AV amps will do me.

 

[wj731]

If the Denon does perform to its stated 95w per channel then this is plenty and also should go very well with your 685s.

Unless you want to listen at reference level volumes (very rare and unlikely - nice neighbours and a forgiving wife etc) then you may want to consider other options and speakers. A list of high SPL speakers is available in this thread http://www.avsforum.com/t/1387083/list-of-reference-level-high-sensitivity-spl-speakers

For the average listening volume a 20w amp should easily be capable of driving most speakers and produce decent sound levels. Classic example of this is my Marantz PM7200 - it easily drives my 685s in both class A (c.20w) and Class B (95w).

Long story, short....... above Denon is more than enough, imo.

 

[chrisup]

I use an Onkyo 905 with my B&W 685 Thratre and it works fantastically!

Best Wishes

Chris

 

[burgeyburg]

Thank you for the reply.

WJ730, I probably will hardly ever listen to the system at reference levels, seeing that I have a 16 month girl and my wife wont be so forgiving of me satisfying my own desires. Its just that the amp is still rated at 95 watt and the speakers at 20 - 100. It is my understanding that it is better to drive the speakers with a over powered amp as a underpowered one to avoid distortion. I guess I am paranoid but I wuldn't wnt to take any chances.

What is your experience with this? Does it really matter for the average joe's listening level?

Thanks Chrisup, I will have a look at the onkyo, I have a onkyo tx-nr 307 which is way underpowered and blown on the rear channels. I have 5 x BMW M1 speakers and B&W AS2 sub at the moment and want to get the amp renewed and upgraded. I hope to get better sound out of my current system but still want to upgrade my speaker package, so I want to buy to be future proof.

By the way, what do I do with my broken amp? How and where can I get rid of it?

Regards

 

[wj731]

Burgeyburg,

Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. Your amp is more than capable of driving your speakers and don't read into the 20-100w rating for your speakers and having to use an amp which kicks out 100w+

It's very rare your amp will need all of its power - for the majority of listening it'll be working way within it's limitations - the only times it may need more power is peaks of activity where all your channels are being used at once and the sound level is at reference or above - at this point you'll hear clipping and before this a definite detoriation in sound. Think of it like a car in 2nd gear trying to do 60+ mph.

B&W's 685 speakers are easy to drive. My personal advice - sit back and enjoy your amp/speakers and whatever it is you've got on the box!

 

[burgeyburg]

Thank you for your advice WJ7310

I am not that much in a hurry to buy a new one right away. I will wait for a while, I might be lucky to get the AVR x3000 for a better price than wHat is on offer at the moment instead of the 2000, otherwise, if all else fails. I will go for the 2000 which I have researched and wanted

Hope you are online again for more advice sometime.

 

[burgeyburg]

Thank you for your advice WJ7310

I am not that much in a hurry to buy a new one right away. I will wait for a while, I might be lucky to get the AVR x3000 for a better price than wHat is on offer at the moment instead of the 2000, otherwise, if all else fails. I will go for the 2000 which I have researched and wanted

Hope you are online again for more advice sometime.