8-10k budget suggestions please
Hey guys,
been out of the game about 10 years, got a new wife, new house, and plugged in my old B&W 804's. Connected them to a Denon receiver expecting to want to do surround sound.......But forget it! I really want to maximize my 804's for 2 channel listening.
My room is 15ft long by 13 by 9. not very big but I need amplification and streaming capabilites. Will add TT later as I do have vinyl. Room tx is on it's way so let's just assume it's already done.
Thanks for all your help!
@laaudionut The new Duo XD amps are warm and very smooth. @asmithkash My Krell K-300i integrated drove a difficult to drive Thiel CS3.7 nicely, not all the amps I tried it with drove them well. The Thiel should be more difficult to drive than the B&W. |
Transparent cables are what I use with my Lumin/Gryphon/804 system. My 804s are the latest version and measure comparatively poorly AND present a tougher load to the amplifier than your 804s, yet they were my choice for my tastes/room/budget etc. Auditioned lots of other speakers like Sonus Faber Totem Focal Spendor etc. Don't let other people tell you that your 804s are going to be a weak link, there are too many people in the hobby who love to tell others what kind of sonic profile is ideal. That Krell is going to be a fantastic match for your 804s, and yes buy good cables, and a good power conditioner (I use a Puritan PSM156), clean power is a must if you want the best out of all the upgrading you're doing. |
I've never listened to B&W speakers, but it seems lots of people here are not very fond of them. You may have a nostalgic attachment to them? If the speakers are not that great, no matter how much you spend, they will never live up to the potential of the amp...I would go and audition other speakers to gauge if your speakers are worthy if a $6K+ amp. |
