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Is it Amps, Preamps, cables, etc. OR Technology???

Hello--over the past 3 years, I have spent well over $150k on various audio / video equipment beginning with Meridian and currently with:

B&W 800ns as mains / 802ns as rears / HTM1D center / M&K 150s sides / Onkyo 905 receiver (yes---only this 905) / middle level cables / Bly-Ray and HD-DVD player / Sony VPL-VW100 projector / M&K hign end Sub

Prior to the above, I had 5 Bryston monos, a Lexicon preamp, a Krell KPsc CD player, Cardas Golden Ref balanced cabling.

I met a tech consultant while purchasing a phone through Craigslist---he had a much simpler system than mine in his home--AND IT SOUNDED BETTER than mine. He came to my home, convinced me into buying the Onkyo 905 with HDMI capability (my Lexicon did not have this). I did this---he came over---disconnected everything else---simply hooked up my speakers directly to the Onkyo 905, used HDMI hook ups for the other equipment---AND IT ALL SOUNDS WAY BETTER THAN the original MUCH MORE ELABORATE AND EXPENSIVE system.

So---am I really missing something, or is it actually possible that all these extremely expensive amps, preamps, cables, etc. are just "ego" boosters, and do not give us the great sound and video that really is what we are all after????
djones1915
kyomi_audio's avatar
kyomi_audio
63 posts
 
You can not drive B&W 800 series speakers with a receiver and get what they are capable off.
They are very sensitive to amplification and show the limitations of the built in amps of your 905. Onkyo is a good unit, but not good enough to drive power hungry 800 series. Get yourself some decent amps and use the pre outs of your receiver, you will be in much better shape. Or even better, get the Onkyo pre/pro which has much lower noise levels then the receiver.
Let me know if you need recommendations. Even though I do not sell B&W , I owned them and know them very well.

Great amps are not the "ego" boosters. Even Bryston monos do not do the 800ns a justice.

You have the best processing technology in Onkyo. Pair it with great amplifiers and you will have it all.

Dealer disclosure
djones1915 OP
53 posts
 
Kyomi--thanks for your advice---I too find it very difficult to believe that amps do not make a "noticeable" difference which is why I started this thread--my tech guy absolutely did not want to hook the amps through the pre-outs due to it "not making a difference in the sound quality."

My reading indicates that Classe and McIntosh are the best amps for B&W's---any other thoughts?

Also, it seems that you agree that a preamp is not that critical as long as it has the latest processing technology---correct?
redkiwi
1,092 posts
 
I gave found the Cardas cables can sometimes totally destroy the life in a system. Perhaps that was happening for you. System synergy is a funny thing.

For example, I have been using the Altmann Attraction DAC driving Altmann BYOB amp in one of my five systems, which sounds nice. Herr Altmann insists nothing will drive his amps better than his DAC. I tried a transformer pre in between and it sounded terrible, as did a decent C-J preamp. Then I put my daughter's very humble Qinpu A-1.0X between them, using just the preamp section (the Quinpu is a cheap integrated amp) and the sound is fantastic, with more life and a larger, deeper stage than without it in place. Wierd, but it worked. It has set me off to find a 'better' preamp to do the same trick.
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