Amplifier Recommendation for B&W Nautilis 804

Brianmgrarcom,

Unfortunately, there is no standard procedure to determine this! Nothing in the spec will show you this either!

It will be determined by the listener him/herself. If the store you are auditioning the B&W has a number of amp brands try on the smaller ones & then some of the bigger ones. You will hear the sound diff. The bigger amps will lend more authority & weight to the sound + they will sound "right".

All these terms are fuzzy & each person's ear is diff. so the definition of "authority", "right" is all subjective & I cannot exactly define these for you. I can tell you that the bigger amps sound much better w/ B&W.

Sorry for such a non-commital answer! It's very subjective.

I agree with you Bombay, the Nautilus speaker do need good clean power and a lot of it. I will also second, or third, the Sound Anchor stands, big difference.

I have been very happy with Cary SLP 2002 & V12 driving my N804s in triode @50wpc in my 11'x13'room. N804s are made for small rooms like mine. For tweaks, remove speaker and tweeter covers. Tweeter covers are magnetic attached. The Sound Anchor stands tighten bass.

Jeff,
I agree with Bombaywalla on Pass Labs amps. I had N802's and drove them with a Pass X250. It was a great match. I also had N804's prior to getting the N802's. I drove the N804's with a Krell FPB200 and a McCormack DNA2. I was never disappointed in the bass of these amps with the N804's, but the Pass X250/N802 combo was very special from top to bottom.

How 'bout just buying a new house with better acoustics? Cheaper than upgrades..? ;-)