Amplifiers for B&W 803D/802D

I have heard both the 802D and 803D with a C46pre and MC402 power combo, and IT WAS OUTSTANDING WITH BOTH!! IMO I would opt for the 803D's and spend the extra cash on the music! I didn't hear that much difference between the 802's and 803's. I also heard the 803D's with the McIntosh MA6900 integrated (200W) and it was pretty impressive as well, but I still would have bought the 402. For me the only difference between 802's and 803's was asthetics. As far as long term investemt and reliability I can't speak for Classe, but my father has had McIntosh gear for 30+ years and it works as good as the day he bought it; and that along with the sound quality is why I am buying it!
Happy Listening.

I have owned Classe and McIntosh with B&W 802D speakers.

I owned a Classe CA2200 amp and CP500 preamp and had it paired with Signature 805 speakers and really enjoyed this system, it was fun. (Unlike Arthur, I really liked the touch screens, a lot.) I heard the 803D speakers at my local stereo shop and it had moments of magic, which led me to purchase the 802D's. Unfortunately I could never capture that magic at my house with the 802D's.

This led me to sell the Classe gear and purchase a Musical Fidelity kW500 integrated amp, which I felt did a better job. I later purchased a McIntosh MA2275 integrated amp which obviously didn't have near the power, but this was a very nice piece, and better sonically. Lastly I purchased the McIntosh MC402 and C46 combination, which I feel was better than the Classe, per your question.

All this said and as mentioned, I never could get the 802D's to sound at a level I felt they should. If you decide to get 802D's, I'd suggest the mono-blocks, whether it be Mac or Classe.

Having heard the 802D's side-by-side with Wilson Sophia II's, at a dealer, I would recommend the Sophia's, although they are slightly more.

Thanks for the responses. Ltecyclist: I also didn't hear a lot of difference between 802D and 803D but they were being powered by 5 x 200W Rotel amplifier so I don't know if they would sound better with a higher power mono setup.

I'd go for the 803D. To me they're better balanced and can work off the lesser power amp but they still need plenty of power. I would recommend 803D with either MC501, bigger Classe, Pass X250.5 or X350.5 or the bigger Levinson amps.
I heard 803D and 802D and I honestly think 803Ds are a better choice, unless the room is gigantic.
Don't forget, 803D are capable of playing very loud very clean. All they need for that is a proper amplification.
Regardless of which of the 2 speakers you choose, I don't think MC402 is the proper amp if you want uncompressed dynamics and soundstage. MC402 would be fine for low level listening for 803D but it would not do the dynamics the way some of the other amps would.
With B&Ws, amplifier is the most important component.

Thanks for responding Audphile1. Please bear with me as I am new to high end audio and am still learning.... If the MC402 is 400 watts per channel and the Pass Labs is 250 watts per channel how does the Pass Labs outperform the Mcintosh? In other words how does a 5x250 outperform a 2x400? Is the Pass Labs simply a more efficient amplifier or does it just "sound better" because of its components...? The 500w mono Mcintosh sounding better is easier to understand for me. By bigger Classe , do you mean the 400w monos or is there a multichannel Classe that would do the job e.g the 5 x200....but again, how would a 5x200 Classe outperform a 2x400 Mcintosh? A multichannel would certainly give me more flexibility. Thanks so much; your patience is appreciated.