Harman Kardon Hk3490 and B&W 683 - What do you say ?

[afiltros]

Hi all!

It's my first attempt to build a decent system and after some searching googling and reading about technical stuff i - more or less - decided to move on with the above setup (Harman Kardon HK3490 and Bowers & Wilkins 683) which is close to my budget as well...

Your opinion will be pure gold 🙂

 

[CnoEvil]

What is your budget, what source are you using, and what other stuff have you considered?

BTW. Welcome to the circus.

 

[ear]

I say no to speakers.same some money and get something better diamond 155

 

[afiltros]

Lol that was quick!

So...my budget is around 2500$ or 2000€ for an amplifier, a pair of speakers, a turntable and the appropriate cables

Most of my music is mp3 @ 320kbps or losless flac which i use to airplay through an Apple airport express base station...i also have around a hundred LP's thus i will also need a turntable...

Moreover my music style is Rock - Hard Rock and Prog Rock

P.S. : It seems to me that a 3 way speaker with an extra bass drive will be a better choice... (regarding the diamond 155)

 

[matthewpiano]

I wouldn't touch the Wharfedale Diamond 155 with a barge pole until they get their act together with finish quality.

I do agree with ear, however, that it would be worth exploring other speakers beyond the B&Ws.

Try to audition the Q Acoustics 2050i and the Dali Zensor 5 - both very capable and great value floorstanders.

BTW, additional drive units don't necessarily mean better sound. It makes it harder for the designer to integrate the sound across the frequency extremes and involves more complex crossover set-up.

 

[afiltros]

BTW, additional drive units don't necessarily mean better sound. It makes it harder for the designer to integrate the sound across the frequency extremes and involves more complex crossover set-up.

Agreed but isn't it harder to setup a crossover when you are missing a dedicated medium frequency driver ?

note: my mistake -->The B&W 683 crossover actually splits the medium frequencies to 2 drives (and not the low freq.)

It makes me sound pretty old fashioned but somehow i think i should stick to 3 way speakers.

For sure B&W is a bit expensive solution and maybe they don't have enough value for money...however the other solution that comes to mind (regarding 3way speakers) is Acoustic Energy Aelite 3 which is an old design and i think it could be pretty hard to find them and have an audition...

Any other options for 3way speakers ?

 

[KidKomet]

Depending on how you wish to separate your budget (Personally I'd give the speakers the largest cut), The Tannoy Revolution DC6T/SE's might be worth an audition. Failing that, Mission's MX5's are excellent. Try listening to as much as you can in your price range, see what really stands out in your opinion.

 

[afiltros]

Depending on how you wish to separate your budget (Personally I'd give the speakers the largest cut), The Tannoy Revolution DC6T/SE's might be worth an audition. Failing that, Mission's MX5's are excellent. Try listening to as much as you can in your price range, see what really stands out in your opinion.

My budget is already focused on speakers than on amp, however Tannoy is pushing the limits 😛

As i realize it is really hard to find decent 3way speakers at this price range which is my main wish (3way instead of 2 or 2 1/2 way speakers)

Moreover i realize that there is no competition about an amp with the same specs with HK3490 at the same price (2 X120W @ 8ohm + digital inputs + sub out + phono in + receiver)

Connecting digitaly (optical out) my airport express to the HK 3490 will be enough or do i need a separate DAC ?

Thank you all for your responses...keep it coming!

 

[KidKomet]

I've not had any experience with the HK3490 so I couldn't be absolutely sure but I've generally found that a good DAC can never do a any harm!