Which amp for B&W 805 D3 and HTM2 D3 speakers - Rotel RMB-1555?

By the way, I am driving my 805 D3 bookshelves with 1000 watt monoblocks.  You don't really buy high power amps because you are gong to use all that power.  You buy hi power amps to get the largest power supply.  This ensures smoothest and strongest sound even at low to mid listening levels.

So, that being said, the 1585 would give you a little bit beefier bass/midbass response when compared to the smaller 1555.  It could also have a smoother response in the mids as well and could give you extended depth of soundstage, but you are spending considerably more.  It all depends on your budget point.  Both are Class AB amps and have a very nice sound.  The Rotel Class AB is voiced just very tiny bit on the warm side, but still has excellent response.

If you wanted a more neutral high resolution amp, maybe look at ATI AT4005 (retail $4495).  It is considerably more expensive, though.

Rotel will still be extremely good and very pleasant to listen to.

The smaller 1555 could start to run out of gas on movies when you start turning up the volume pretty high.

If I were doing it, I’d look at: Classe (used), Bryston (21B) or Maybe even 2 Pass Labs XA30s (Bi amp the center channel).

First, DON’T buy an Onkyo. Their reliability is atrocious, and worse, they’re now owned by a hedge fund or private equity firm that will only make it worse going forward. Next, and this will be a bit of a surprise because it sure was to me, I worked for Magnolia and demoed 804 D3s with a Yamaha RX-A2080 AVR and I gotta tellya, the sound was STELLAR. I’ve got a $30k stereo at home, and this pairing gave up very little to my home system when listening to my best reference music. I’m not a B&W fan nor an AVR fan, but I can tell you I could’ve easily lived with that pairing. My recommendation — buy a used 2080 or 3080 or, even better, one of their newer versions and see if you even need a separate amp. You might be very happy and will save you $$$. Plus, Yamaha’s reliability is top notch, and there was a synergy between the 2080 and the 804 D3s that was pretty special and utterly unexpected.  FWIW, and best of luck.

+1 for what @soix says in the Mid-Fi/ HT realm Yamaha is great gear.

They make a decent Bass to and their dirt bikes are a hoot.

I was originally thinking of Denon. Got tilted towards onkyo TX-RZ50 because of DIRAC Live.

No.  Just...no.  Yamaha better tan Denon.  Listen to me!!!

I’ve owned an Onkyo HT receiver since 2008. It is great and still going strong. I understand Onkyo (and other players) were getting bum HDMI boards from the same factory resulting in the black mark on quality. Also heard this problem was resolved.

The retail on the Onkyo TX-RZ50 is $1400.  Other receivers (Yamaha, Marantz, etc.) are also in the same price range.  You are better off stretching your budget and going for a used Anthem AVM-60 processor in the $1900-2200 range.  Much better power supplies and analog stages, especially if you are going to use an external amplifier such as the Rotel. 

Don't bother wasting money on a receiver.  The power supplies and audio stages are nearly as good as a dedicated processor.

Thanks soix, auxinput, dweller and jerryg123.

Eager to hear thoughts from others as well.

I am still thinking onkyo TX-RZ50 ($1400) to allow use of full range DIRAC Live along with Rotel RMB-1555 ($1100 used) to power center HTM2 D3 and biamp 805 D3 L & R channels. Onkyo could power the M-1s for the surrounds, rears, and ceiling speakers. SVS 2000 (already have it) to handle the low frequencies/  

I am still thinking onkyo TX-RZ50 ($1400) to allow use of full range DIRAC Live 

I certainly get that, but think of me when your Onkyo’s HDMI board fails and you’re in a quandary as to how to get it fixed.  I’m sure the hedge fund owners will go out of their way to improve customer service.  Kinda like Eddie Lampert did with Sears.  Ehem.  Good luck with that!