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Is a Denon 5803 too much for B&W CDM 1NT's?

I have just recently really taken up getting into my system. Over the last few months I have been through a whole bunch of different equiptment some of which I really have liked and others I haven't. My question is, I now am running B&W CDM-1NT's as my mains along with a M&K subwoofer. I have been using a Denon 4802R for the last two years with no problems what-so-ever. I recently purchased a Denon 5803 to give it a shot. I figued that it has some of the features that the 4802 doesn't have, which I might enjoy....But is this too much power for the cdm's? They have a raiting of 120 watts, while the denon 5803 puts out a whole 170 watts. Is this just going to give me more headroom, or should I really worry about damaging the speakers.

Thanks for any assistance you can give. I will appreciate anything you can offer. I have been looking for information regarding this topic on the forum, but have not found anything that really addresses this specific question.

Ben
bearotti
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Alot of folks use pre-amps with HT bypass, mostly tube pre-amps seem to be desired (best of both worlds)
joeylawn36111
574 posts
 
Gonglee is right. When low power amps go into 'clipping' - this happens when the output signal voltage is equal to the power supply voltage - this produces many high frequency harmonics which are routed to the Tweeter by the speakers' crossover, burning it out. It's a lot harder to clip a big amp - higher power supply voltages, etc. Your personal set of transducers would probably burn out first (time to turn down the volume once the bleeding starts) :>0 ;)
gonglee3
304 posts
 
I would read a lot on hifi before putting in any more of that kind of money - you would end up with better sound for sure.

You can start here. Also www.hifichoice.co.uk is a good place for reviews of products.

If you really want good music, I would set up a dedicated 2-channel music system. For movies, your present system will do.

You might want to hear pre/power amps from makers like Krell, audio research, and mark levinson. I would buy them used however - you can get them here and other places like www.audioweb.com

This way, you will save a lot of money - also you can resell them without losing a lot if you don't like them.

Since you just got the 5803, I would just enjoy it for a while, before upgrading. Your wife will prabably agree. In the mean time, if you should desire a even better music system, I would try to hear as many systems in hifi shops as I can - before upgrading.

You can also chat alive on www.audioasylum.com and ask questions.

Denon is not bad at all - I would have kept the 4802 for movies, and gotten a dedicated one for music - used to get more quality for the same money.

Welcome to this exciting hobby, but do read a lot before spending that kind of money - your ears will thank you.

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