What amp for B&W 685 s2?

[Reijer]

Hello there.

I'm looking for a new amp.

I have B & W 685 s2 as monitors. As a source I use a WD MyCloud, my Samsung 32 inch Smart TV and my Panasonic DMP-BDT 500. My wife and I enjoy the neutral sound of the B & W monitors but also love the vocals / melody in music. My current amplifier (NAD 3020 1980) has trouble controlling my monitors, seems to lack power. I must crank far to hear the complete soundfield.

I hesitate between a pure analog intergrated amp (Arcam FMJ A19, NAD C356BEE) or a built-in DAC (Rotel RA-12).

Our taste in music varies from jazz (sublime fm), Agnes Obel (www.youtube.com/embed/6h9XUYj96ho) to classical (Canto Ostinato for example).

Which amp fits here?

Gr.

Reijer

Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

 

[Vladimir]

Rotel RA-1520

Roksan Kandy K2

:wave:

 

[ISAC69]

Hello there.

I'm looking for a new amp.

I have B & W 685 s2 as monitors. As a source I use a WD MyCloud, my Samsung 32 inch Smart TV and my Panasonic DMP-BDT 500. My wife and I enjoy the neutral sound of the B & W monitors but also love the vocals / melody in music. My current amplifier (NAD 3020 1980) has trouble controlling my monitors, seems to lack power. I must crank far to hear. Complete sound

I hesitate between a pure analog intergrated amp (Arcam FMJ A19, NAD C356BEE) or a built-in DAC (Rotel RA-12).

Our taste in music varies from jazz (sublime fm), Agnes Obel (www.youtube.com/embed/6h9XUYj96ho) to classical (Canto Ostinato for example).

Which amp fits here?

Gr.

Reijer

Dordrecht, The Netherlands.

Heard your speakers with NAD 356BEE and loved it : deep sound , good sounstage and balanced bass . IMO a very solid choice .

 

[Esra]

Arcam FMJ A19 is a nice and matching choice as a Peachtree is too .I would go with the Arcam but as always try yourself.Have fun,nice speakers.

 

[Gatorbait]

Hi there! I have the Arcam FMJ A19 and love it. The sound is so clear! Have had it for a month now with RS6's. Listen to Jazz ie.. Acoustic Alchemy. I just bought some Sonus Toy Towers and wondering is thats a good match.

 

[MaxD]

Rotel RA-1520

Roksan Kandy K2

Do you think is there really any needs for a over € 1000 amp for a € 500 pair of speakers?

Do it really could make the difference compared to a NAD 356BE or a Rotel RA-12?

 

[ID.]

Rotel RA-1520

Roksan Kandy K2

Do you think is there really any needs for a over € 1000 amp for a € 500 pair of speakers?

Do it really could make the difference compared to a NAD 356BE or a Rotel RA-12?

Need? I suppose there isn't. Make a difference? Yes, it will. When I sold my series one 685s, the shop tested them out on the end of several thousand pounds worth of Accuphase amplifier, and boy did it make a difference. Overkill for sure, but the speakers will be capable of showing a difference.

 

[MaxD]

NAD 3020 1980) has trouble controlling my monitors

If you like that 3020 legend, why you wont give NAD D 3020 a try? it is just 30 + 30 over 8 Ohm, then it can really do 42/45 + 42/45 in real life becouse it is generous like typical NAD amps?

It could look underpowered then in my experience it can make a lot of noise and it as a decent DAC integrated, USB, optical, coazial, line inputs and the best look in an amp this days.

 

[stavvy]

I have the Pioneer A50 powering a set of 685s and absolutely love it. Plenty of power to drive the speakers and costs about the same as the speakers did.

 

[KidKomet]

Another vote for the Pioneer A50. If you can find an ex-dem A70, I'd audition that too. Incredible amps for the money,

 

[TrevC]

Yamaha AS500 is a nice sounding amp. Remote controlled and high power too.

 

[ErwinC]

Rotel RA-1520

Roksan Kandy K2

Do you think is there really any needs for a over € 1000 amp for a € 500 pair of speakers?

Do it really could make the difference compared to a NAD 356BE or a Rotel RA-12?

I use the 685 S2 in combination with a Naim UnitiLite and i think the combination is really good.

 

[Vladimir]

Rotel RA-1520

Roksan Kandy K2

Do you think is there really any needs for a over € 1000 amp for a € 500 pair of speakers?

Do it really could make the difference compared to a NAD 356BE or a Rotel RA-12?

I don't see a budget limit specified by the OP so I kept it under €1000. From experience I personally would go for amp over 100W per channel in 8 ohms for B&W speakers.

 

[saga]

yamaha s-s1000

melody h34s(I don't know whether this tube amp can be bought in britain.)

 

[stavvy]

Rotel RA-1520

Roksan Kandy K2

Do you think is there really any needs for a over € 1000 amp for a € 500 pair of speakers?

Do it really could make the difference compared to a NAD 356BE or a Rotel RA-12?

I don't see a budget limit specified by the OP so I kept it under €1000. From experience I personally would go for amp over 100W per channel in 8 ohms for B&W speakers.

thats a good point the B&Ws do need a fair bit of power to make them sing. The pioneer pumps out 90W per channel if I remember correctly which is plently, but no where near as much as the Roksan

 

[hifikrazy]

It makes no difference which amp you choose since they all sound the same, so say the "truth sayers" on this forum. As such this thread can now be closed.

 

[davedotco]

It makes no difference which amp you choose since they all sound the same, so say the "truth sayers" on this forum. As such this thread can now be closed.

Who says such things, name names........ :read:

 

[hifikrazy]

What's the point? They know who they are, and I'm not the only one here who observed that these pathetic bunch of losers only think speakers make a difference. If any newbie audiophile wants to kill their passion for this hobby, this is definitely the place to come.

 

[davedotco]

What's the point? They know who they are, and I'm not the only one here who observed that these pathetic bunch of losers only think speakers make a difference. If any newbie audiophile wants to kill their passion for this hobby, this is definitely the place to come.

But I do not, spill....... :doh:

 

[Electro]

What's the point? They know who they are, and I'm not the only one here who observed that these pathetic bunch of losers only think speakers make a difference. If any newbie audiophile wants to kill their passion for this hobby, this is definitely the place to come.

But I do not, spill....... :doh:

But make sure the names are level and matched and written in braille or people will be expecting the list of names which would invalidate the answer .

 

[Vladimir]

Amplifiers don't "sound", they amplify. Transducers on the other hand make electric energy to acoustic energy - sound waves (speakers) or vice versa (microphones) thus they do "sound."

The job of the amplifier is to make small electric signal bigger, with least added distortion, noise or change in frequency response due to interaction with speaker impedances.

In audiophile speak an amplifier has a particular "sound" because it has a combination of factors that deviate from the ideal wire with a volume knob, therefore making its own sonic imprint later in the hifi chain.

If we want to see the way the amp interacts with the speaker and ignore the different engineering pathways taken in the design (input sensitivity and gain) we level match them +/-0.1dB. This way we eliminate the chance one amplifier "sounding" louder on the volume knob early and creating the illusion of power, clarity, livelyness and presence.

What is left is output impedance, capability to deliver current and maintain voltage, bandwidth, slew rate, THD, IMD etc. Basically the amplification part. Now tests have shown we are not that good at differentiating quality of amplification as much as difference in loudness.

The exception are extremes like solid state amps vs tube amps. The low damping factor of tube amps, their low current delivery, microphonics and soft clipping all give the illusion of richer midrange, more texture and timbre in bass, even holding a note. This is because they don't control the drivers well, distort and create reverb.

So yes, there are differences in how amps amplify or in audiophile speak, how they "sound." However, they have to be radically different technologies like valve vs solid state so you can hear the difference in amplification when level matched.

 

[Vladimir]

...

If we want to see the way the amp interacts with the speaker and ignore the differences in loudness* (input sensitivity and gain) we level match them +/-0.1dB. This way we eliminate the chance one amplifier "sounding" louder on the volume knob early and creating the illusion of power, clarity, livelyness and presence.

...

*edited that bit since its meaning came out different than I intended. Carry on.

 

[nima]

Clearly we have a case of this kind of nihilism here:

These are views put forward by trolls and anti-hi-fi people. The latter spent huge amounts of cash in the past only to be dissatisfied with the result. These days they only have nihilism and negativity to offer any discussion and seek comfort in objective evidence in place of their own (poor) judgement. They also refuse to accept that some people can be reasonably successful with this hobby in terms of deriving satisfaction and building on such success.

Everything sounds the same to a nihilist, except maybe speakers and turntables.

 

[nima]

GEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Some poeple are smart!

But somehow their recommendations contradict their own wisdom. Or is ti that they havent been fully initiated?? They want to become part of the gang, but are not full members yet.

To the OP: forget forums, this one in particular, and just listen.

 

[Reijer]

It makes no difference which amp you choose since they all sound the same, so say the "truth sayers" on this forum. As such this thread can now be closed.

I do think different amps makes my speakers sound different so I don't close this topic. I want the opinion of others to help me find an amp that fits my demands and budget.

I want an amp that make my speakers sounds best, IMO. It's all about taste and budget.