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Nautilus 801's- Cheaper Amplification

Hello all. Would appreciate your help with the following situation. Recently purchased b&w nautilus 801's at a great price but still cleared out much of my budget. Wondering if anyone has any ideas regarding more affordable amplification for these brutes (like 3-5k for 2 used amps with at least 100 watts power ss)
from everything i have read they really do sing better with bi-ampliciation and so i am attempting to go that route.
the speakers are serving a dual role 50% ht and 50 % 2 channel
i have a sf line 1 with upgraded nos tubes
acurus act 3 with abm
rega planet cd player
thanks for your help in advance
dp37
avnut
153 posts
 
Without a doubt, look into Balanced Audio Technology.
Start out with one vk500. They sell used for around 3k max.
I own the vk1000 monos and the vk50se. I am still, after 2years with my set-up very happy with my overall sound. The vk500 truly is a sleeper bargain in my opinion. I'm sure there are other great choices also.

www.balanced.com

http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/2896.html
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porschecab
336 posts
 
I would choose one of the two best 5 channel amps in the world, either the California Audio Labs CL-2500 or the Theta Dreadnaught.

Excellent 2 channel and of course aweseom surround!!

Dan
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ivanj
35 posts
 
Try a pair of bel canto 200.2 bridged mono - you can get a pair around 2600 or so, wonderful precise sound.
avguy
106 posts
 
Dp37 - you have got what I have. I also have a pair of N801s, with HTM, and N805 in a five speaker home theater set up. My audio habits are also 50/50 home theater vs. 2-channel listening. I have a Krell KAV-1500 which does the job quite well. It is a 5-channel at 300 watts/channel. I use 4 channels to biamp the N801, and the fifth channel for center channel HTM. The 1500 is a very musical amp, while it also provides consistency across the front three speakers. I use a cheaper 5 channel amp to bi-amp the N805 surrounds. You can get a used Krell KAV-1500 for just a shade below $4000 on Audiogon. Good luck!
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