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Dynaudio vs B&W help...

Hey everyone... curious on your thoughts between a set of Dynaudio Focus 600XD vs B&W 804D2 speakers. The Dynaudio are obviously amplified, the 804's would be run off my Cambridge CXR200 (170 wpc). 

Over all, which would be a better set up for music and HT fronts? Thanks!
manofsteelpt
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

@toddcowles - The B&W D2 is going to be a slightly warm/soft response in the midrange because of the Kevlar.  The B&K 200.7 is an great amp with high current, but it is extremely warm sounding (I had this exact amp in the past).  I can totally see where the combination of these two items would sound very lackluster.  The McIntosh would probably do better, but still the McIntosh is not a very fast amplifier - McIntosh will lean toward a full and warm midrange (but probably not as extreme as B&K).  The D2 series would do much better with amps such as Krell, Classe (new stuff), or Bryston or Plinius.

The B&W D2 series really needs a high current amp with very fast resolution.  The Cambridge CXR 200 should be just fine as the Cambridge has a faster and more dynamic sonic signature.

hifineubee
56 posts
 
B&W 800 series would be a poor pairing with most AVR.  In order to get the proper sound out of them you need high current amp which can double down power from 8ohm to 4ohm and ideally another double down to 2ohm.  Without going into math science, above is primary reason why @toddcowles experience great improvement when switching to Mcintosh (besides the factor that its a great amp).  I agree with other's suggestion that you'll need a dedicated power amp besides your AVR to pair with B&W 804.    To offer you my own experience, I tried using my B&W 805S with Marantz SR7011 160W AVR and I got thin bright sound with poor oomp.  This is primarily because the 800 series speakers start dropping in ohm (higher resistance) as the frequency range drops (midrange to bass), the Marantz AVR doesn't have enough current in 6-4ohm range to keep up so the result is that the higher frequency (less resistance at 8ohm and above range) stand out causing the bright sound.   Switch to a 'high current' Marantz HD AMP1 that has 35watts 8ohm and double downs to 70watts 4ohm brings the speakers to proper level of performance.  Sorry if too much technical info, bottom line, B&W 800 series speakers are current hungry and AVRs don't have enough current to drive them properly.
toddcowles
140 posts
 
@auxinput Unfortunately, I never listened to them on the amps you’re referring to.  I think I may have auditioned them on a 600w Classe 2-channel and A/B’ed with the McIntosh, if my aging memory is serving me right.  But, by that point, I was a McIntosh fanboy and blinded by the blue meters. No one could tell me otherwise and this was long before I had even heard of Audiogon.  
mtrot
804 posts
 
Focal 1028 BE is a great option.  I think I'd go Focal over either the Dyns or B&W.  My Dyns seem to start hurting my ears after listening for not all that long.  Also, the new(ish) Focal Aria series are getting great reviews.  Also look for a nice used set of Revel F208.
manofsteelpt OP
18 posts
 
Hey everyone... I just realized I made a newbie mistake... The B&W I am considering are the 804 D3, the newest version. NOT the D2 version. Idk if the above comments will still apply to both the D2 and D3 versions.

I apologize for wasting your time for those that helped me!

I’m still contemplating the 804D3’s and the 1028’s. The Revel are a little too tall (I need a tower 43" or shorter).


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