Upgrade the Amp or the Speakers? B&W 683 or Roksan Kadny K2?

[admin_exported]

I have a pair of B&W 603 driven bi-amped (not bi-wired) but the Onkyo SR-805.

A Marantz DVD player which I use as CD-transport with the Onkyo DACs and a Project Genie 3 with a Campridge Audio Azur 640p phono stage.

The reason I seek for an upgrade is because A) my room is very big and the 603s don't fill the whole room when I have guests, especially on the lower octaves. The B) reason is because the 603s I don't think are a very good match with the SR-805. I used to have a Yamaha DSP A1 and I liked the sound better. I can't place it but I just liked it more.

I know there is room for improvement in every direction for my system and now that I'm investing in Vinyl I'd like to boost my sound and make it sound more "live". Like I'm there, at the Jazz club, when it all happens.

The question is: If I was to upgrade the amp or the speakers, for under £1000 what would you recommend?

That I get the B&W 683 or a power amp to pair with the Onkyo's pre-amp - something like the Roskan Kandy K2?

Also, would an amp like the Roksan have less or more power than the Onkyo (being bi-amped)? Not sure if I'm losing something there or will the Roksan simply be superior in every sense? And more importantly, can I get such a big sound different from the amp change that I would get from the speaker change?

Note1: I would buy a second hand Amp, but only buy new speakers - so please advise accordingly price-wise.

Note2: I don't care much about Home Cinema anymore. Just want great Stereo

Thanks!

 

[jaxwired]

I'd skip the 683s and save up for some CM7s or CM9s. That would truly be an upgrade.

I'd upgrade speakers before the amp, but you need both. The K2 is excellent and among the best at that price. I love the K2 sound.

 

[matthewpiano]

Upgrade the amp and get the best out of your existing speakers, then upgrade the speakers to get the best out of your new amp!

 

[shooter]

If its the lower octaves that are missing, how about adding a sub?

Is that an option?

 

[Anonymous]

I've demoed the 683's but they were too big for my room - I needed less bass rather than more.

I would start with a s/h pre-power from a Cyrus or Naim. Perhaps get a Cyrus prevs2 about 300 quid and a smart power plus for about 3400 quid. When you have the money get asecond power amp so you can either biamp or preferably mono the speakers (I can do that with my Cyrus power amps but I prefer the biamp solution). You'll get a lot more out of the speakers before you need to upgrade them.

I would certainly consider the CM7's or CM9's when you have the money to upgrade.

 

[eternaloptimist]

I have the B&W 683s with Cyrus amplification. I actually preferrred them to the CM7s even though the latter is more expensive.

The 683s certainly have the potential for big "wooly" bass (which is not pleasant) if the amplifier does not have enough grunt to control them - hence why I went from the Cyrus 8vs2 to the XPower. With enough power the bass is controlled and fun! I have them in a big room which is definitely necessary, otherwise they would be overwhelming.

Just my 2 cents

D

 

[WishTree]

arisrock:
The reason I seek for an upgrade is because A) my room is very big and the 603s don't fill the whole room when I have guests, especially on the lower octaves. The B) reason is because the 603s I don't think are a very good match with the SR-805.

Speakers wise - 603 to 683 is more or less like a version upgrade and 603 to CM7 / CM9 is more like an actual upgrade. The CM series gives a very good improvement in the mid and high frequency range and a tighter controlled lower range. However it seems this is not what you are looking for

Your point A) can be done effectively and economically by adding a Sub than a speaker upgrade and for point B) it kind of obvious that you like that sound of 603 but not the way it is sounding with 805. Hence an Amp upgrade + a sub should get you sorted out. Especially since you are open for a used amp (which I would do too) it can be more economical at the same time.

And again, if a Jazz Club is the expectation, I doubt 603 can do much justice.

 

[shafesk]

Why dont you use a seperate amplifier for music? The Roksan Kandy would be much better than your Onkya no doubt, have had a 1000 pound Yamaha amplifier for my speakers about 3 years ago. I changed them for a CA340...and even this entry level amplifier is better by no strech of the imagination. Second thoughts would be to upgrade your speakers. Rather than the 683 maybe you should look at the CM7....found the 683 too woolly.

Finally, if you wanna keep both the amp and the speakers the easiest way would be to get a matching subwoofer. Surely would add the much needed bass you crave and if you already like how your system sounds a matching sub will just add bass and nothing else