Yes!
best budget amp/preamp for B&W 805 D3s
I don’t mind getting used equipment. Please, give me suggestions also for budget amp/preamp combos.
I very much appreciate your willingness to help. I am new at this and not an engineer.
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It's not going to be possible to get a good integrated or a preamp/amp combo for $1k that will satisfy your needs. If you really want something now, TMR Audio (on audiogon) has a used Classe Sigma Amp2 for $1084. Then just use the pre-outs on your Rotel to connect to the amp. The Classe Sigma is Class D 200 watts per channel into 8 ohms, which is a significant increase from your Rotel. It's also incredibly clean sounding and will not have any of that congestion when you turn up the volume. You can then upgrade to a better preamp sometime in the future when you have the budget. If you want to wait and save up to get a better integrated, it's like going to be $2-3k plus. Some ideas are below: Kinki Studio EX-M1 Hegel H160 or higher Classe Sigma 2200i integrated amp Luxman There could be others, but those are ones that come to mind for a good match to B&W D3. |
Great speakers. get as much power as u can. 300+ RMS minimum. you will need it for crescendos, ending blast. just to make sure there is no clipping. All these mini 5W and 120W amps are a waste. it will sound fine, sure, but more is always better. ive not had less than 300W rms in years. The ease of the amps, adds air, and a spaciousness when listening. My lowest watt amps are 370W rms at 4 ohm. Don’t short change yourself. |
There’s a NuPrime IDA-16 available here now for $1195, and if you’re after clarity and detail — along with a lot of other positive attributes — you should be very happy. And 200Wpc should help your 805s wake up and get rid of any congestion at higher volume levels. It’s also got a very good internal DAC that may well be better than your Modi, and if so you can sell it and offset some of the cost. If I was you I’d jump on this ASAP. |
For quality sound, B&Ws need to be driven by very low output impedance (aka high damping factor), and high max output current amplifier (> 50A), which rarely can be found in integrates ($$). Less costly option could be an appropriate Power Amp, and then finding better preamp. Class A, with minimal load of 2 Ohms is a good start to look for amp4bws. It could be A-70 Accuphase, or Pass alike. |
thanks for your post, westcoastaudiophile, I am looking at Hegel H390 integrated. here are its specifications. If I understand your post correctly, it seems that this integrated amp meets the requirement. Technical Specifications Power output: 2 x 250 W into 8 Ω, Dual Mono |
petar3 OP Stereophile: I would for budget amps look at the Schiit Aegir Class-A if you don’t listen at really loud levels, or the Schiit Vidar if you do. And mate it up with a $49 Schiit Sys Passive or Freya preamp for extra$$$ https://www.schiit.com/products/aegir https://www.schiit.com/products/vidar https://www.schiit.com/products/sys Cheers George |
You may try Schitt Freya pre and Crown Xls 2502 to drive your speaker. I drove power hungry Raal Sr1a headphone by Crown Xls 2502 with good result. It sounds very fast and exciting without hot edge. But Freya will give some warmth to the sound. You can also tune the sound by tube rolling in Freya. RCA gray bottle 6sn7 will give warmer sound while Sylvania GTB made in 1950's give more neutral sound. Even with the cost of Nos tubes, total will be around 2k$. |
petar3 OP As I mentioned above, is in your price range new. And you can send it back after a good week of listening if not happy. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/best-budget-amp-preamp-for-b-w-805-d3s/post?postid=1934241#19... Cheers George |