Home Theater Receiver recommendations for B&W 803S?

@auxinput - I do.

And haven't received the fuse just yet...will report back once I have a chance to drop it in. I've also been talking with James at GIK Acoustics... working on a plan to add some absorption panels and bass traps. I'm optimistic that's going to make a big different in the spatial issues.  Onward!

Ok, a tip on the fuse install.  Since you have a multimeter, you can test the fuse clip points.  Remove the fuse.  In most cases, one of the fuse clips will connect directly to one of the blades on the IEC inlet (usually the hot A/C conductor).  The other fuse clip will connect into the transformer.  When installing the fuse, you want the arrow on the fuse to point AWAY from the fuse clip that connects directly to the IEC plug.  If both fuse clips appear to connect to IEC blades, then you need to figure out which of the points connects to the HOT A/C blade.  You can google IEC to figure this out.

I had heard the fuses were directional, and was wondering about that, since the circuit board isn't marked. Good tip - thanks!

@awilder Did you upgrade the fuse?  Just curious if it made a difference.

I finally had some time to upgrade the fuse today, and to spend some time listening before/after.

I must admit, I was highly skeptical that a fuse could noticeably change things. But...I do think it’s an improvement! I’m not sure how much is placebo effect, but if I think it sounds better, than it sounds better, right? ;)

At first, I found that the presence and forwardness was improved, but at the cost of clarity - it felt a bit muddy, with less instrument separation and musicality.

I then ran the Audyssey setup again, and the clarity is back!

Now music feels a bit more forward - I don’t have as strong an urge to lean forward in my seat. It’s still not as present and "punchy" as I’d like - but I think it’s likely the room acoustics and layout more than anything else at this point.

I also upgraded my subwoofer recently -- went from a puny Energy 8" to the Monoprice Monolith 10" (nabbed a Cyber Monday discount - woot!)...and have enabled it for 2-channel mode. I think that’s also improved the punch a little bit, filling out the low end just a tad.

Next up: I’ve got some panels on order from GIK - going to add a few bass traps and some of their 242 absorption panels around the room. I’m optimistic that’s really going to help with the imaging and presence. The biggest challenges in the room are that the listening position is right up against the back wall - and my left speaker is about 6" from the left wall, which has a big sliding glass door between the speaker and the back wall... So the first reflection points on the left wall are pretty bad, and I can’t hang a panel in front of them. But I’ll do what I can around the rest of the room.

In the meantime, I’m already listening to CDs that have so much more detail than I have ever heard before... I just played Rhythm of the Saints and I swear there are four or five more musicians playing on each track than I ever noticed before. ;)

So - I’d say the fuse is definitely a worthy upgrade! Thanks for pushing me to do it, @auxinput!