@8thsin
I’m not a fan of older Rotel 10xx series gears myself but the new current 15xx series class AB amps from Rotel such as the RB-1582 Mkll amp, RB-1590 amp, RMB-1585 five-channel amp or the RA-1592 stereo integrated amp are awesome. These amps have been vastly improved over the older 10xx series Rotel gears.
If you go with the B&W 804 D3, the Rotel RB-1582 Mkii power amp + Rotel RC-1590 stereo preamp/DAC will pair well with these speakers. Or the Rotel RA-1592 stereo integrated amp (has DAC) will sound pretty good on the B&W 804 D3. When it comes to electronics and amp this will be your cheapest option for these B&W 804 D3. I wouldn’t run these off an AV receiver if I were you.
Of course there’s a lot of room for improvements when it comes to electronic choices for these B&W 804 D3. If you can find a used Classe Delta CA-2300 class AB stereo power amp and a used Classe CP 800 stereo preamp/DAC in used after markets these will be a great choice for the B&W 804 D3 and will be a step up sonically from the new current Rotel but Classe cost lot more than Rotel. The CP 800 preamp is optimized for use with its USB DAC input.
Classe and B&W 800 series D3 are meant to be paired together. The B&W 800 series D3 speakers were voiced using Classe amplifications. They sounded very good together.
Or alternatively you can also get a PS Audio Direct Stream DAC and connect it directly to the Classe CA-2300 power amp and use a built-in volume control in the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC.
The PS Audio DSD DAC is spectacular and is highly regarded by many and is a better choice than the Classe CP 800 stereo preamp/DAC.
But if you’re willing to spend lot more yes you should go with the Wilson Sabrina. Sonically these are way superior to the B&W 804 D3. They aren’t in the same league IMO. But if you go with the Wilson Sabrina I probably wouldn’t go with the Classe amp. I would look elsewhere. Classe amps are perfect match for the B&W but I don’t think it will be a good match for the Wilson.
Frankly speaking, B&W, even the latest 800 series D3, aren’t my to go choice for music. IMO there are way way better more musical and more natural sounding speakers than the B&W 804 D3 that cost much less than the retail price of these B&W 804 D3. Even sub $5k models from Herbeth, Spendor, Acoustical Engineering, PMC, ProAc, ATC, Sonus Faber Olympica line, Vienna Acoustics Bach, KEF are better choice and will sound more musical than the B&W 804 D3. Focal Sopra line is better than the B&W 804 D3 IMO.
However, the latest B&W 800 series D3, and the new 700 series S2 are quite a bit better than the previous 800 series D2 models or the CM series, which has been replaced by the new 700 series S2 since B&W finally stopped using kevlar for their mid-range drivers. They now use a new material called continuum for their mid-range drivers.
But again, when it comes to speaker choices it’s all about personal preferences and tastes as well as musical tastes. I’m not bashing B&W.
As a matter of fact, I do own all B&W 800 D3 speaker surround system in my dedicated home theater room. B&W 800 D3 series are one of my favorite high end home theater speaker system but not for music. For critical listening to music I would go with something else other than B&W. Just my 2 cents.
I’m not a fan of older Rotel 10xx series gears myself but the new current 15xx series class AB amps from Rotel such as the RB-1582 Mkll amp, RB-1590 amp, RMB-1585 five-channel amp or the RA-1592 stereo integrated amp are awesome. These amps have been vastly improved over the older 10xx series Rotel gears.
If you go with the B&W 804 D3, the Rotel RB-1582 Mkii power amp + Rotel RC-1590 stereo preamp/DAC will pair well with these speakers. Or the Rotel RA-1592 stereo integrated amp (has DAC) will sound pretty good on the B&W 804 D3. When it comes to electronics and amp this will be your cheapest option for these B&W 804 D3. I wouldn’t run these off an AV receiver if I were you.
Of course there’s a lot of room for improvements when it comes to electronic choices for these B&W 804 D3. If you can find a used Classe Delta CA-2300 class AB stereo power amp and a used Classe CP 800 stereo preamp/DAC in used after markets these will be a great choice for the B&W 804 D3 and will be a step up sonically from the new current Rotel but Classe cost lot more than Rotel. The CP 800 preamp is optimized for use with its USB DAC input.
Classe and B&W 800 series D3 are meant to be paired together. The B&W 800 series D3 speakers were voiced using Classe amplifications. They sounded very good together.
Or alternatively you can also get a PS Audio Direct Stream DAC and connect it directly to the Classe CA-2300 power amp and use a built-in volume control in the PS Audio Direct Stream DAC.
The PS Audio DSD DAC is spectacular and is highly regarded by many and is a better choice than the Classe CP 800 stereo preamp/DAC.
But if you’re willing to spend lot more yes you should go with the Wilson Sabrina. Sonically these are way superior to the B&W 804 D3. They aren’t in the same league IMO. But if you go with the Wilson Sabrina I probably wouldn’t go with the Classe amp. I would look elsewhere. Classe amps are perfect match for the B&W but I don’t think it will be a good match for the Wilson.
Frankly speaking, B&W, even the latest 800 series D3, aren’t my to go choice for music. IMO there are way way better more musical and more natural sounding speakers than the B&W 804 D3 that cost much less than the retail price of these B&W 804 D3. Even sub $5k models from Herbeth, Spendor, Acoustical Engineering, PMC, ProAc, ATC, Sonus Faber Olympica line, Vienna Acoustics Bach, KEF are better choice and will sound more musical than the B&W 804 D3. Focal Sopra line is better than the B&W 804 D3 IMO.
However, the latest B&W 800 series D3, and the new 700 series S2 are quite a bit better than the previous 800 series D2 models or the CM series, which has been replaced by the new 700 series S2 since B&W finally stopped using kevlar for their mid-range drivers. They now use a new material called continuum for their mid-range drivers.
But again, when it comes to speaker choices it’s all about personal preferences and tastes as well as musical tastes. I’m not bashing B&W.
As a matter of fact, I do own all B&W 800 D3 speaker surround system in my dedicated home theater room. B&W 800 D3 series are one of my favorite high end home theater speaker system but not for music. For critical listening to music I would go with something else other than B&W. Just my 2 cents.