2. home-theater
  3. 1166575116

multichannel amplifier for B&W 805 S

Hi
I have a pair of B&W 805S speakers and would like to buy a multichannel pre/amp for them. I would like to build a home theater system later by including more speakers.
Can you please suggest a suitable equipment. My budget is 2,500$ for the amp( including second hand,demo,etc equipment).I donot want to compromise on the music quality.

Thanks
Bob
babbu9
babbu9 OP
1 posts
 
Thank you for the response. I have done some research and have narrowed down to Bryston 9b sst (used) or Arcam 350. These seem to be the best of the breed. Arcam seems to outperform Rotel/NAD and the like.

What are your opinions on this?

Thanks
Bob
Post removed 
jmpwme
106 posts
 
If you can find a Cal Audio MCA 2500, it is great with the 805's. I ran that exact set up previously and even in a bright room it was fantastic. The Cal is a beast though, be sure you have adequate space.
sacman
125 posts
 
I agree with Jmpwme. I have a complete CAL 2500 setup and the amp is a beast once you have a dedicate 20amp circuit for it. My setup is 804N(F) HTM1(C) and 805N(R). For the price, I think it's totally a steal for MCA2500 at $2500 used. It litterly will drive anything. To give you an idea, i've owned Bryston 4BST, 7BST, Citation 7.1, Adcom, Sunfire and Krell and nothing comes close to the MCA2500.

QN
ckoffend
684 posts
 
I too run the B&W speakers, currently running the 600 series, but also listened with a friends 802S.

I went with a receiver vs. separates, but one that is upgradeable to separates, the B&K 506 S2. LP $3,500 is, used about $2,200-$2,500.

Previously ran Rotel and also Denon, but always had to use a separate amp for the mains (for music listening) to get close to what I wanted. I actually ran tubes in this situation. Now with the B&K I am only using tubes for my second zone.

I went with the B&K for music listening, but got a decent bump from the HT side to boot.
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