Best Amplification for B&W 802D

Take a look at a Rotel's RMB 1095, or the RB 1090 to add to your Denon, to name a couple of choices to look at.

Its very difficult situation, indeed. I am afraid that buying multichannel amplifier not at the level of your 802D will be waste of your money only.

I own 802D but I never use surround system for the reasons somebody else stated (sonically better invest the given budget into the 2-channel then 5-channel)

If you can sell your central and rear speakers and your current amplifier then for this money "plus" look for used Classe, McIntosh, Spectron (I have it), BAT, Plinius.

Best Of Luck!

Oh, it's easy! Get a Wyred 4 Sound Multi Channel amp.
No heat, lots of power to drive all speakers and great sound all in your budget.

I agree with Koestner. For your budget the W4S amp will be an excellent choice. I use an ST500 with my N802's and it has plenty of bass with excellent control, and it is not at all bright with the N802.

B&W 802D's need lots of power, and since they dip down into 2ohm region, lots of stable power down there too. I would recommend at least 200wpc into 8ohms, but doubling power at 4ohms and 2ohms.

The Anthem will definitely sound better than the Denon. Almost any standalone amp will, but it is far from the best match for these speakers, even in that price range. The Integra is a nice unit, great for HT, OK for music, but will also sound much better than the Denon.

Couple of questions we need to know: are you interested in music as well as movies? What's the split (whats more important?). What are your room dimensions and how far is everything (spkrs to back and side walls, listening position to spkrs)? Are you willing to spend more to upgrade later, or is this it as far as budget?

You have lots of great options:
1) keep the Denon as a preamp, and put as much money as you can in a great amp. The difference in sound quality will blow you away. You can do this several ways: buy a great 2 chnl amp for front mains for music, and cheap 3 chnl amp for ctr and surrounds, or buy a good 5 chnl amp. You can always upgrade preamp/processor later.

2)Get the new Integra processor and a good new multi-chnl amp.

3)Get a good used processor and/or used amp here on Agon and get much better bang for your buck.

If it were me, I'd probably get the new Integra processor and a used amp from here. There are some excellent multi-chanel amps available, including several Sunfire amps that deliver strong stable power, and it runs cool. W4S amps are really good, as are Parasound (an A51 5 chnl amp is on sale on agon right now). Classe, Plinius, McIntosh, etc are all great amps, but much more expensive.

If you get the right amp with enough power, you will be very happy with the sound improvement. It will be huge!

Good luck.

(PS- you will still need a sub for the best HT movie experience if you watch lots of explosions, etc).