B&W Matrix 805's, need amp, pre-amp, or integrated

You should investigate the Emotiva line of products. Their XPA-2 amp ($799) along with their USP-1 preamp ($449) would probably work *very* well with your B&Ws and are within your budget.

If you do not need as much power as what the XPA-2 offers, Emo has a smaller amp, UPA-200, for $349.

All emo gear comes with 30 days trial and a 5-year, transferable warranty...

-RW-

Pretty big room for M805's, but what the heck. Usually an integrated is a more efficient solution on a smaller budget, like an older Classe' or Plinius for maybe $1000.

OR: Try to find a used Mccormack .5 amp for around $500. You could add an older used tube pre-amp, like from VTL or Conrad Johnson for $800-$1000-ish.

When buying used, a lot of it just depends on "what you find", & opportunity. There are tons of possibilities, & no one "best way" to do it. Oh, & you may want to budget for a better CD player also......

Musical Fidelity A5 is a good choice but certainly not the only one.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you want to get the most from your Matrix 805s you will need to double your budget. Look for a used Levinson amp and preamp the same vintage as your 805s.

Classe'.

Levinson

Thanks for the input/recs. Havn't been able to locate these on this site but will keep checking.

I did notice the following:

Conrad Johnson 2250 amp
Conrad Johnson PV-12L pre-amp

Any thoughts on these in combo with the Matrix 805's?

Musical Fidelity A300 integrated and two small subs to fill out the bottom end

Not a big fan of CJ and I do not know how it would match with 805s.

Bada DC-225. $1200 from Pacific Valve. 30 day money back and one year warrantee. I had the earlier version of this amp while I was waiting for my Viva and it was incredible for the money. Full remote control too - meaning input switching. I've heard the 805s many times and I believe the Bada would mate beautifully with them. IMO. No relation to the seller, of course.

fwiw - I've paired my B&W CDM1NTs with a Musical Fidelity A5 Integrated - pretty sweet synergy, imo. The A5 is smooth on top, grips the B&Ws down low and has plenty of oomph for clean dynamics w/ headroom to spare.

The classic recommendation for 805s is big solid state power. Emotiva is a good recommendation in your price range. An Adcom GFA 555 II would be very affordable. The Wyred 4 Sound amps might fit, too.

*Conrad Johnson 2250 amp
Conrad Johnson PV-12L pre-amp
Any thoughts on these in combo with the Matrix 805's?*

I own an MF2250, & the PV-12L has an excellent reputation. Very high quality components. I can't imagine them not sounding very nice with almost any reasonably efficient speakers. If anything, you might want to upgrade the M805's at some point.

At some point, buying used gear, you have to take the leap. I owned Matrix 805's, & I'm pretty sure there are lots of combinations of high quality amps & preamps that could serve you well.

Thanks for all the responses. I ended up purchasing a Clear 5350 Evolution integrated amp. I'm also trying out the Pure I20 with Apple Loss Less files from my Ipod to see if that suffices for CD quality...the primary source of my music.