New B&W 686 S2 with Marantz Amp and CD Player?

[Bromiley]

I'm moving my 5.1 system to another room and want to invest in a new 2-channel system. I'd like one of my Bluray players and an Apple TV connected to the new system for the ocasional movie, but the main emphasis is on music.

I'm thinking of the new B&W 686 S2 speakers with a Marantz PM6005 Amp (as it has 2 digital inputs) and the Marantz CD6005. I don't have the budget for a Rotel Amp and CD Player.

Any thoughts as to how the B&W speakers will sound with the Marantz kit mentioned above or any other suggestions for a limitted budget?

Thanks

 

[manicm]

The only way to find out is to audition - and note the 686 is not a particularly sensitive speaker. But the 6005's power may be ample.

 

[matthewpiano]

I would suggest Marantz CD6005 with Rotel RA10. The Rotel is the better amp.

 

[ID.]

At this stage the 600 series S2 are so new that there probably aren't that many people around who have heard them yet.

The previous 686 was not very good, in my opinion. Flabby bass, power hungry. Poor sounds quality. It sounds like the S2 is an improvement on it, but I'd definitely want to audition them with the Marantz and other speakers in that price range before purchasing. My preconception is that the 685 is still going to be far superior even if the 686 S2 is a huge improvement over the previous version. I'd still be inclined to go for the 685 S2 if your space and budget can accomodate them.

 

[Ketan Bharadia]

Whether you decide to go for the 686s or 685s I think the Marantz pairing of 6005 CD player and amplifier is likely to be the best sounding combination.

 

[matthewpiano]

At this stage the 600 series S2 are so new that there probably aren't that many people around who have heard them yet.

The previous 686 was not very good, in my opinion. Flabby bass, power hungry. Poor sounds quality. It sounds like the S2 is an improvement on it, but I'd definitely want to audition them with the Marantz and other speakers in that price range before purchasing. My preconception is that the 685 is still going to be far superior even if the 686 S2 is a huge improvement over the previous version. I'd still be inclined to go for the 685 S2 if your space and budget can accomodate them.

Agree about the previous 686. I had a pair and they were pretty awful actually although the one time I've heard them sound really quite good was with a Rotel RA04SE which gripped them much better than a Marantz or Arcam could. I've never felt the Marantz/B&W combo to be a good one. I just don't think Marantz amps have the necessary grip. This goes right back to hearing a PM6002 driving 685s which was one of the least enjoyable set-ups I've heard, and has continued to remain my opinion as I've owned later Marantz amps and B&W speakers.

Still, the new 686 S2 looks substantially different so it could be an entirely different proposition, and the old 685 could be too much in some rooms so there is that to bear in mind too.

 

[Bromiley]

Thanks for all the input so far.

As a few people have mentioned, the decision is subjective until I and others have listened to the new 686 S2s. My local Hi-Fi store in Cologne (Germany) haven't received the speakers yet. I had a chat with the guys there and they also suggested (as I'm on a budget) that the new Marantz Melody Media M-CR610 (amp/CD combo) may be an alternative to the Marantz PM6005 and CD Player.

Both the PM6005 and Melody Media M-CR610 have digital inputs so that I can still watch the occasional movie with a Bluray player.

Any thoughts as to how these 2 options will pair with the B&W 686 S2s?

 

[ClarkNovember]

Have you considered using the blu ray player to play your CDs, then you could spend more money on amp and speakers? If you are using the DAC in the amp, I'm not sure you'll benefit that much from a standalone CD player.

 

[Bromiley]

Yes, I have considered using the Bluray player for CDs but assumed a seperate CD player would offer better sound for CDs.

Let's say I stick with the Bluray player for CD's, any thoughts on the the choice between the Rotel RA-11 and the Marantz PM6005 with the B&W 686 S2 speakers? Is the Rotel amp a step up from the Marantz?

 

[matthewpiano]

Yes, I have considered using the Bluray player for CDs but assumed a seperate CD player would offer better sound for CDs.

Let's say I stick with the Bluray player for CD's, any thoughts on the the choice between the Rotel RA-11 and the Marantz PM6005 with the B&W 686 S2 speakers? Is the Rotel amp a step up from the Marantz?

You'll need to listen for yourself, but IMO the Rotel is better than the Marantz and will suit B&W speakers better as well.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi Bromiley

Also consider used/discontinued amplification. I'll highly recommend that you should also look out for Rotel's still superb RA-1062 as it's quality of power and performance rock :rockout:

Btw, what Blu Ray player are you likely to use please?

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Bromiley]

Thanks, Rick. The Bluray player I 'may' use is the Panasonic DMP-BDT234.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Thanks, Rick. The Bluray player I 'may' use is the Panasonic DMP-BDT234.

Hi Bromiley

Thanks for your reply.

RA-1062 and pair with the DMP-BDT234. You can always add a DAC later on (yes, another box but i feel the quality of amplification will offset this) if you still want better performance.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Bromiley]

Thanks Rick.

My local Hi-Fi store now has the new B&W 686 S2's. I briefly listened to them yesterday and although I'm not expert, they sounded fantastic to me. They were connected to a Rotel RA-12 amp and Rotel RCD-12 CD player. As my source for music will be my bluray player for now, I'm going to ask them to connect a bluray player to a Rotel RA-11 amp so I can test the sound. I understand that the RA-11/12 use a very good DAC, so I'm hoping the sound will be what I want.

The guys in the store said they were very impressed with the sound of the new 686 S2's for this price range and definitely a big improvement over the previous 686's. I'd be interested in hearing other views when more people have had the chance to listen to these speakers too.

 

[ID.]

My local Hi-Fi store now has the new B&W 686 S2's. I briefly listened to them yesterday and although I'm not expert, they sounded fantastic to me. They were connected to a Rotel RA-12 amp and Rotel RCD-12 CD player. As my source for music will be my bluray player for now, I'm going to ask them to connect a bluray player to a Rotel RA-11 amp so I can test the sound. I understand that the RA-11/12 use a very good DAC, so I'm hoping the sound will be what I want.

The guys in the store said they were very impressed with the sound of the new 686 S2's for this price range and definitely a big improvement over the previous 686's. I'd be interested in hearing other views when more people have had the chance to listen to these speakers too.

Always good to hear back about people's experiences, but to be fair, other people's experiences don't count for much if you like them. I would have a listen to other speakers around the same price just for a bit of benchmarking, but glad to hear they seem to have improved them. The older versions struck me as afterthoughts which B&W thought they would need to include in the lineup to give buyers the option of some smaller speakers for rear speakers in surround setups.

 

[adamskihamski]

I'm in a similar situation mate. I recently purchased a PM6005 and CD6005 and I'm very impressed with them. I'm currently pairing them with a pair of Monitor Audio RS1, changing occasionally to an older pair of JBL XTi 40 floorstanders. The MA's are more articulate and tight, but lack depth of bass. The JBL's have the depth of bass... but it' all gets a bit sloppy when the pace quickend, The B&W 685 S2 are at the top of my wish list... I just need to find a B&W dealer within travelling distance that also sells Marantz.

I'd be happy to hear from anyone with a similar setup.

 

[GCE]

Here is review in german

:

>>> http://www.audio.de/testbericht/marantz-cd-6005

-pm-6005-test-1897680.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

PM 6004>>> http://www.audio.de/news/gewinner-

der-audio-leserwahl-2013-1479859.html

Platz 1: Marantz PM 6004 (34 %, Test in AUDIO 02/12)

Seinen sehr günstigen Preis von 450 Euro sieht man dem PM 6004 nicht an.

Die Frontplatte besteht, wie auch die beiden Drehknöpfe

für Lautstärke- und Quellenwahl, aus Metall.

Platz 2: Denon PMA-720 AE (27,4 %, Test in AUDIO 09/12)

Platz 3: Pioneer A-30 (23,3 %, Test in AUDIO 09/12)

 

[Bromiley]

I have pretty much decided to go with the new B&W 686 S2's with the Rotel RA-11 Amp.

For now I'll be using my Bluray player (Panasonic DMP-BDT234) as the source for playing CDs and movies. This will be connected to the Rotel via optical for audio.

I'd like to know which is doing the conversion? Is it the Rotel DAC or the Bluray player? I'm assuming that it would be better for the Rotel amp to convert the signal and not the Bluray player. Is this right?

The Bluray player instructions mention something about PCM being on or off. I don't really understand this. I'd be very grateful if somone has the time to take a look at the Panasonic DMP-BDT234 instructions (available for download as a PDF from the Panasonic website) and advise me what settings to make.

Thanks in advance.

 

[plasterman]

I have pretty much decided to go with the new B&W 686 S2's with the Rotel RA-11 Amp.

For now I'll be using my Bluray player (Panasonic DMP-BDT234) as the source for playing CDs and movies. This will be connected to the Rotel via optical for audio.

I'd like to know which is doing the conversion? Is it the Rotel DAC or the Bluray player? I'm assuming that it would be better for the Rotel amp to convert the signal and not the Bluray player. Is this right?

The Bluray player instructions mention something about PCM being on or off. I don't really understand this. I'd be very grateful if somone has the time to take a look at the Panasonic DMP-BDT234 instructions (available for download as a PDF from the Panasonic website) and advise me what settings to make.

Thanks in advance.

It's the dac in the rotel that does the conversion, set your bdp to output pcm 2ch audio. Pity you can't stretch to the ra 12 it's a good amp and it paired very well with my b&w 685 s1.

 

[manicm]

I have pretty much decided to go with the new B&W 686 S2's with the Rotel RA-11 Amp.

For now I'll be using my Bluray player (Panasonic DMP-BDT234) as the source for playing CDs and movies. This will be connected to the Rotel via optical for audio.

I'd like to know which is doing the conversion? Is it the Rotel DAC or the Bluray player? I'm assuming that it would be better for the Rotel amp to convert the signal and not the Bluray player. Is this right?

The Bluray player instructions mention something about PCM being on or off. I don't really understand this. I'd be very grateful if somone has the time to take a look at the Panasonic DMP-BDT234 instructions (available for download as a PDF from the Panasonic website) and advise me what settings to make.

Thanks in advance.

What stopped you going for the 685 S2 instead?

 

[Bromiley]

Thanks for this. I gather the only difference between the RA-11 and 12 is the power. I was told that the RA-11 is more than capable of powering the 686 S2s. I'm also on a tight budget hence the RA-11 and the 686 S's rather than the RA-12 and 685 S2's.

 

[newtohifijkt]

Marantz and BW are generally considered not bright. COmbining them might render the sound as dull. Do audition first.

Rotel and BW speakers are considered generally a better match.

 

[manicm]

Thanks for this. I gather the only difference between the RA-11 and 12 is the power. I was told that the RA-11 is more than capable of powering the 686 S2s. I'm also on a tight budget hence the RA-11 and the 686 S's rather than the RA-12 and 685 S2's.

Oh, ok, how much were the 686s?

 

[Bromiley]

The new 686 S2's are about 300 Euros less than the 685 S2's in Germany. Plus the 686 S2's are smaller and will be a better fit around my furniture.

 

[manicm]

That is a heck of a lot of money. Why so expensive in Germany?