2. amps-preamps
  3. 1033360326

What would improve the soundstage of my B&W 802s3

Just purchased B&W Matrix 802s3. Upgraded from Polk Monitor10-B. Driving with B&K EX-442 200 wpc, dual mono, And Audio Research LS-7 tubed preamp. Audioquest Indigo speaker cable and AQ Ruby interconnect from pre to amp. Would it be better to go to monoblocks i.e. B&K M200's or a better amp like Mark Levinson or Classe' Or Better cable? Maybe even a tubed amp. I dont know much about bi amping. Tried bi wiring but no big difference. These speakers do double duty as home theater speakers, I unplug the bananas from the 2 channel system and plug in the bananas from the surround system for movies, so bi wiring is kind of out of the question right now. I'd really like to get more depth in the sound stage although placement of voice and instrumentation are very good, though limited to between the speakers. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
128x128poloman
bufus
149 posts
 
I can't answer about the electronics but I was wondering if speaker placement / room acoustics could be hurting your soundstage depth. I found that pulling the speakers further from the rear wall really increases depth. Cardas recommends the distance of the speakers from the rear wall to be: (Length of rear wall) x 0.447

My rear wall is about 14 feet wide so my speakers are over 6 feet from the rear wall. If I start pushing them back towards the rear wall, the soundstage depth starts to diminish.

http://www.cardas.com/insights/index.html
aball
2,016 posts
 
Speaker placement could be an issue as Bufus said. Also classe and mcintosh are good on the N802s. I had a pair for a while (got them as a great deal) and found mcintosh worked well with them. They are frequently auditioned this way to tame their brightness. They can have really good soundstage when the system is just right but part of getting that is luck/trial and error. Arthur
nikkidanjo
26 posts
 
As a suggestion to make it easier to go between HT and 2 channel, if you receiver has preouts you could connect the receiver into your preamp. The preamp acts as a pass through to your main amp. If your preamp doesn’t have a volume bypass (my Classe doesn’t) set the preamp volume to say 50% then adjust the level controls on the receiver to balance everything out. Instead of switching wires you set the preamp to the receiver input and set the volume to 50%. After that it’s just like using the receiver.
The reason I suggested all this is it would let you bi-wire the 802’s without having to mess with changing the wires all the time. Of course if your receiver doesn’t have preouts…
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