If your worried about the price spread, buy a pair of used Bryston 7b ST's for under $3K. I run a pair of Signature 800's with them and have no plans of changing amps.
Here is a comparison from the B&W forum (Although most there say that the Classe are superior to the Brystons):
My local dealer had a couple of Classe CAM 350 monoblocks for sale and was kind enough to allow me to home trial. The only reason I trialed them was the loyal Classe following in this forum. Many of you maintain that Classe and B&W are an excellent match. I have also seen a few posts elsewhere saying that Bryston and B&W are a bad match. I was keen on improving my sound and thought that the Classe might do the trick.
Note that I am happy with how the Bryston performs. However, like most audiophiles, I wondered if I could be happier.
My current system:
B&W 802N
Bryston 14B ST
Supratek Sauvignon pre-amp
Cary 303/300 CDP
Chord Chorus & Pure Note Paragon IC
Acoustic Zen speaker cables.
Pure AV power conditioner for the pre-amp and CDP
The Bryston was swapped out for the monoblocks. It was immediately apparent that the Classe was a lot smoother in the top end. There was no harshness whatsoever. The background was blacker (quieter) and there very little hiss coming from the speakers when the music was not playing. My friend who helped with the transport of the monoblocks was very impressed. I quote - 'A different world'.
My own first impression was not favourable. Despite all the positives stated above, on the whole the system didn't grab me. The Classe's bass was definitely bigger than the Bryston but this was due to it being a more flabby rather than deeper or louder. Furthermore, the Classe lacked the attack of the Bryston. Stevie Ray Vaughn's guitar on Tin Pan Alley didn't have the realism and bite that it did with the Bryston.
The Classe seemed to filter out some detail as well. You couldn't hear the 'venue' the way you could with the Bryston. There was no reverberation there on Tin Pan Alley or the Carpenter's 'Yesterday once more' or during the intro to Iron Maiden's 'Number of the Beast'.
When the girl on Pink Floyd's 'One of My Turns' in 'The Wall' walks into an adjoining room to get a drink of water I can hear her voice echo differently to when she was in the main room. When she then moves to the bathroom, her voice again echoes differently again. This detail was lost when the Classe was used. The introduction to 'another Brick in The Wall - part 3' is explosive with the Bryston but polite with the Classe. Nevertheless, thanks to the Classe's smoothness and warmth, 'The Wall' album was generally more enjoyable with the Classe than the Bryston.
With the Classe each instrument and the vocals seemed bigger in the soundstage. Each instrument and vocals occupied a larger space than with the Bryston. The soundstage size on both were identical.
The Classe was brilliant with female vocals. I found that the Bryston portrayed female vocals more realistically but the Classe made them beautiful to listen to.
Clearly the amp of choice is going to be a matter of not only taste but the type of music played. I can see why a lot of people favour the Classe.
It would be interesting to do a survey of the participants in this forum to find out what music they listen to, their speaker type and the amp. We may be able to pick up some trends. For instance, do those of us with 802 and 800 models prefer the Bryston over the Classe since these models have bigger woofers? Do those of us who listen to jazz prefer the Classe over the Bryston?
