How do I power my 800D(3)s

@soundsrealaudio

A preamp is a system at a high level is very important. When you would use a DAC with a volume controle you will loose a lot of stage depth and width. Beside this you will loose resolution as well. 

I played with the Meridian 800Daxv4 with an inbuild pre amp. When I bought a set of Pass Labs XA100.5 in 2009 I first connected it to the Meridian. The sound and stage was great.

But I decided to borrow a XP-20 within 2 weeks. And mannnn that makes a huge difference. The stage became wider and deeper. More dynamics and more details. What was the biggest difference was that instruments and voices became a lot more physical. 

From this moment I know that a pre amp is very important. The biggest problem in audio at this moment is the DAC.

USB but also with other ways to connect a networkplayer you loose a lot of diversity in the whole frequency range. I made the remark a few weeks ago. We went to an audio show with 30 rooms. We were with a group og people of many work in audio as well. We all agreed that all the sets had no diversity in sound.

In the week after this I spoke with clients and other people in audio. They all made the same kind of remarks.

- all the systems had no emotion.
- everything sounded dead
- We only autioned a clean sound.

When this is the level in audio you see how limited the knowledge is in audio and also in music. Without diversity there is no emotion. This way audio does not make sense at all.

Matt-

give us an update.  Happy Listening!

Matt - I would imagine that you've probably lost interest in this thread, but in case you're still following, I wanted to add my own thoughts.

There's been some interesting discussion here, but as a N800 owner I thought it might be helpful to share my own experience.

First of all, I should note that my 800s are a previous generation, but I've heard them all and the differences between model years is very slight.

One thing that hasn't been directly addressed here is the fact that (at least in my case) there's really only one main reason why someone would buy a pair of N800s - and that is that we want to as accurately as possible replicate the exact sound that was created in the Abbey Roads mastering studios.  I auditioned many other speakers and actually preferred the sound of some others (Wilsons, for example) but at the end of the day, the goal of reproducing the sound that the mastering engineers intended was my focus.

With that in mind, you almost HAVE to power these with Classe monos if you want to achieve that goal.

However - I went in a COMPLETELY different direction after hearing at least a half dozen different amps behind these beasts and here's what I ended up doing and why:

I'm using my 800s as part of a 2CH and HT setup (with N803s as surrounds) and therefor I needed a multi-channel setup with plenty of power.

What I ended up with is a 7 Channel Class D amp from D-Sonic (Dennis Deacon's company) which is based around 7 B&O licensed ASP-1000 Ice Power units.

Each channel puts out ~1000W at 4 ohms and is stable down to 2ohms which isn't outside the realm of what the 800s can reach.

In my setup, I have each 800 bi-amped with 2 ASP-1000s per speaker.

While I loved the sound of the 800s with the Classe, the 800s being driven with this amp takes them to an entirely different level.

In particular, the instantaneous modulation that this amp provides enables you to drive the 800s at any level and the only difference that your volume control makes is simply that - It changes the SIZE of the image.  Even at levels where your ears might be bleeding, you can literally have a conversation with the person next to you in a normal voice - it's something that I couldn't say for the Classe's

Also- (sorry Bo) you will have absolute control over the size and depth of the soundstage - In fact at higher levels, the soundstage can easily exceed the room size by a large margin if you wish.

Sorry for the long-winded reply, but wanted to at least offer up another perspective.

If your goal is to reproduce what the studio engineers at Abbey Road intended, then the Classe's are your only option.

If, however, you want to drive these beasts to their fullest, have a look at the Class D option - Having listened to the 800s with this setup, I couldn't possibly consider driving them with anything else and being satisfied at this point-  In fact, I can't imagine why any 800 owner would   consider powering them with any amp that can't deliver at least 1000W at 4ohms.

My $.02

Take care and congratulations

Greg

Hey Guys 

Sorry I have been enjoying the holidays with my family so I am sorry for ignoring all of this sage advice.

I have been told that Classe are bringing out updated product in March 2017 so this could be an issue.  I wouldn't want to make a purchase and then regret it when they come out.    I have also listened to:

Naim  NAP 500's 
Lynn Klimax solo and Twin
Existing Classe CA-M600's
Rotel RB-1590

I am going to continue to explore when the kids go back to school at the beginning of January.

Will keen you posted.  For reference I really like the Lynn product, but it is VERY expensive 

Matt

What's your budget? Essential to receive valuable advice.