Bi amp or bigger amp

[Rob139]

I recently purchased a new pair of B&w 804d3. I currently have a McIntosh mc8207. Which would be most cost effective, bi amp with mc8207 or purchase new stereo amp maybe mc302 or mc452?
Any one else tried these combinations and have any advise?

 

[j_garcia]

biamp is useless unless you are going full active, so bigger amp. At 200W, I can't imagine one needing more than that. You'll need to double that to achieve a significant jump as well.

 

[lovinthehd]

Most cost effective is a single connection to the speaker from your current amp....takes the least amount of wire Sounds like you're worrying needlessly about amplification since you don't seem to realize passive bi-amping is near useless and that it takes a doubling of amp power to gain merely 3dB....

 

[Swerd]

I recently purchased a new pair of B&w 804d3. I currently have a McIntosh mc8207. Which would be most cost effective, bi amp with mc8207 or purchase new stereo amp maybe mc302 or mc452?
Any one else tried these combinations and have any advise?

If you want to know "which would be most cost effective", it would help if you provided links to these items, and told us what prices you have been quoted. Here are the links:

B&W 804D3
Their recommended power is 50-200 W as measured while driving an 8 ohm load. These speakers do go as low as 3 ohms, perhaps somewhere in the bass range. If we could see an impedance vs. frequency curve for these speakers, we would know for sure.

McIntosh MC8207
Seven channels at 200 W at 2, 4, or 8 ohms

McIntosh MC302
Two channels at 300 W at 2, 4, or 8 ohms

McIntosh MC452
Two channels at 450 W at 2, 4, or 8 ohms

Without knowing prices, we can still guess that the 8207 amp you already own is powerful enough to do the job. Those other two amps will cost plenty more, and are unlikely to make an audible difference. You would need to increase power by a full log (10-fold), or at the least, a half log (square root of 10-fold, ~3-fold) to hear an audible difference.

This would be true whether you bi-amp or not. In short, don't listen to that salesman – he just might be influenced by the size of the commission he could make if he sells you one of those stereo amps.

 

[Rob139]

Thanks for the responses it's helps me understand these things a little more clearly. So am I correct to say that the Mc452 or mc302 will not give more "clarity" in these speakers?

 

[Rob139]

I realized in my first post I said most cost effective. I meant to ask for best clarity, and dynamics.

Thank you for you alls help.

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks for the responses it's helps me understand these things a little more clearly. So am I correct to say that the Mc452 or mc302 will not give more "clarity" in these speakers?

At what spl? Might want to define clarity in terms of amplification, too.

 

[j_garcia]

If it sounds clear at the loudest levels you intend to listen at, more power won't make them sound better.

 

[Rob139]

The volume on the preamp reads in the 80s "set from 0-100" is the loudest I would ever listen and it sounds great at those levels.

 

[mtrycrafts]

The volume on the preamp reads in the 80s "set from 0-100" is the loudest I would ever listen and it sounds great at those levels.

Then you have nothing to worry about and just use what you have.

 

[Rob139]

Thanks for the insight! It always helps to hear it from people other than salesmen when you don't completely understand all the specific aspects.

 

[Swerd]

Thanks for the responses it's helps me understand these things a little more clearly. So am I correct to say that the Mc452 or mc302 will not give more "clarity" in these speakers?

I agree in general with what the others have said.

Do your new speakers lack clarity to you? What speakers did you have before? If lack of clarity is a problem, I'd more likely blame it on the speakers and not the amplifier.

I haven't heard those new B&W 804D3 speakers, but the 800 series has a good reputation (unlike the other B&W series), and the new 800s, without that problematic yellow Kevlar mid range driver, are said to sound better than the older models.

It's time to enjoy those new speakers . And stop worrying about other expensive audio gear that you don't have and don't need.

 

[Swerd]

Just because I was curious, I looked for reviews of the B&W 804D3. Specifically, I was looking for reviewer's comments that addressed the 804D3's power requirement.

Home Theater Review.com said (on page 2):

The impedance of the 804 D3 is low, with almost all of the band between 85 and 800 Hz running between 2.5 and four ohms. The speaker is rather optimistically rated at eight ohms impedance, but I don't recommend using it with any amplifier that lacks a published four-ohm output spec. Sensitivity is decent at 86.4 dB (measured at one meter with a 2.83-volt signal, averaged from 300 Hz to 3 kHz), which means the 804 D3 can hit about 100 dB with 30 watts. A good solid-state amp rated at 100 watts or more should be able to get maximum performance from the 804 D3.
​

The review included an impedance curve:

This curve alone may not mean much to you, but when compared to the impedance of the older B&W 804D from a Stereophile review, shown below, the new D3 has a more benign impedance profile, and should be somewhat easier to drive. Driven by a potent 200 wpc McIntosh amp, which is stable at impedance loads as low as 2 ohms, you should be just fine.

 

[MrBoat]

You study up on, shop for new gear, make the decision, then the purchase. You then uncrate it, set it up just so, plug everything in, all high on anticipation and suddenly, all there is left to do is just listen to it. More often than not, it sounds great without much help from us. There should be more to it than that.

I dust my speakers and my other gear every few days. I now collect a lot of music that I have never followed before. Thankfully, there's the DIY aspect. Something I can genuinely fail at and fix.