Cary 805 vs 211 amp

Joey, I think that the 211 is a push-pull design, right? If so, it's no surprise that Cary sees a better match for that speaker load with the 211 than it sees with the single ended 805.

IMO, the Cary 805 is an excellent amp (I've owned mine for a decade+) and it can easily drive semi-difficult speakers like my Verity P/Es. However, I'd agree that the B&W's load looks like SET amps need not apply.

Joey,

I'm just speculating because I've never heard the specific combination. There's a tough combination of steep phase angle and app 4 ohm impedance between 1khz and 2 khz on the graph so kindly linked by tls49. I'd personally be concerned because that's in a place where the ear is very sensitive. Therefore, an audition would be important for me.

As to the Cary 211, I have no experience. I own Cary 805s and 300Bs and think very highly of both amps. The 805 is probably suitable for use with a greater variety of speakers than all but a few SET designs, but they're still not for every application. I'd proceed with caution.

Just MHO.