Best Surround Receiver for B&W XT series

[TKratz]

I have been looking for a surround receiver for some time and came very close on buying the Yamaha RX-V1900.

Then I realised that B&W XT speakers were going out of the market in Denmark and priorities changed.

Now it is time to re-visit the receiver considerations. I thought that new speakers could change the situation. Any recommendations for surround receivers matching these speakers?

My budget is 1.000£, but out of curiosity I would like to hear about the optimum fit.

 

[TKratz]

I had a word with the local Hifi dealer. You can unfortunately only get NAD and Denon this place, but anyway the advise was to get Denon 3808 at least! Otherwise there wouldn't be proper amplification.

Well, that got me a little worried. Will the RX-V1900 be too small for the XT-series? Should I rather go for the RX-V3900 or perhaps Denon 3800, Onkyo 906 or Pioneer LX71?

Please let me have your thoughts.

 

[d4v3pum4]

I've seen B&W speakers being driven by pretty much anything from Onkyo, Yamaha, NAD, Denon etc. As Rotel and B&W use the same distributor and Rotel appear in a lot of B&W's promotional material, I would have thought the new Rotel RSX-1560 would have been the obvious choice. The XT's have low sensititivity so they need power. I'm sure you realise that the bulk of the cost of the XT's is for the design as they use drivers from the soon to be discontinued 700 series AFAIK, so better sounding speakers can be had for a lot less money. They do look nice though.

 

[TKratz]

Yes, I know you pay a lot for the design. Luckily I got some demo set's with a good discount. It was mostly to please my wife, but at the same time I wanted something with good sound. So the XT series was the compromise, and I still think they sound nice. But I can tell my aging Denon 2802 are not completely up to the task. I therefore need a new receiver.

I am not familiar with the Rotel, but is also over my budget I am afraid. Originally I thought to spent aroudn 1000£. Now I realise that I need to spent more, but I can't go higher than 1500£.

If I should buy a surround set without considering the design it would be Dali Ikon 6. I just gave them an audition with my brother today. They are awesome! At this audition I also found out that B&W don't go well with NAD. At least the B&W 683 sounded very dark with a NAD receiver in my opinion. You really need to be careful when pairing the equipment.

 

[Anonymous]

The Onkyo 876/906 is the one I prefer, a lot of amp for the money when you take a careful look at the build, class A design and components.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi

The yamaha rxv1900 is not powerful enough. I have heard it with the speakers and it is not.

The yamaha rxv3800 is powerful enough for them. If i were you I would go with this amp instead.

 

[TKratz]

Thanks for the response Gel. Exactly the hands on experience I was looking for! And also the response I feared somewhat. The RX-V3800 seems like a good choice. Actually the RX-V3900 is similar priced around here. Gues I might as well go for that one?

Well, looking around earlier I also saw the excellent review of Sony 5400ES. This receiver is actually very favorably priced i Scandinavia. You can get one for below 1300£. Very tempting as I am at the same time considering the Sony 5000ES, also favorably priced below the grand, and finally a Blu Ray player that seems musical as well.

Would this receiver be sufficient for the XT series?

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi

In the reviews of the sony it says it can be a bit lean at the top end you definitely don't want an amp to partner these speakers that is a bit lean.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi

Definietely stay with the yamaha rxv3900 the perfect partner. then go for the pioneer blu ray players ie 51fd or the 71 or the denon 2500bt and you will have a brilliant setup. go buy

 

[TKratz]

Thanks gel. I really appreciate your input!
I am not so sure about the Blu Ray. I will give that some more thoughts. I need one that can work as a DVD and CD player as well. It has to be musical and at least as good as my old Denon 1600.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

Hi No problem, my dad has the B&W XT series so I have heard them closely before he brought and afterwards and know all about them. They are very lively speakers and need an amp to match that agggression the yamaha is the perfect partner ie rxv3800/3900.

With the blu ray player the pioneer bdp-lx71 is really good with dvds as well blu ray and cds don't pay over the odds for others not necesarry.

 

[TKratz]

Sorry to pick up the thread this late... I have been, and still am, abroad with only limited internet access.

I just realised that the Sony receiver probably have been mixed up with the STR-DA2400ES. The review of this receiver says it can be a bit light at high frequences. I can find no such comments in the STR-DA5400ES review.

Other reviews praise the high frequence performance: http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-audio/receivers/sony-str-da5400es-503066/review Only downsides seem to be the tricky set-up and the lacking ethernet connection.

Priced below 1300£ it is a tempting offer.