Denon AVR-X1300W and B&W 685 S2

[Nav360]

I currently have a pair of B&W 685 S2, and am wondering if the Denon AVR-X1300w is sufficient enough since it provides 80W per channel, and B&W 685 S2 have 100W peak power. I am running only the pair of speakers for now, but will expand later. I bought the receiver for around $500 from BestBuy. I would like some recommendations for receivers found on BestBuy.com for around the same price, and include same or more features.


Info

B&W 685 S2 (Pair) Link

Denon AVR-1300W Link

Audio Quest Type 4 Cables (Pair)

Room Size: 11'3" x 14'


Other Questions


1. Did I waste my money on these speaker cables? Link ($70 for 10ft pair)


2. What’s the "best" brand to go with nowadays for AV receivers?


3. Would I benefit Bi-Amping B&W 685's which are strictly used as 2.0 ch?

 

[lovinthehd]

Without knowing the spl levels you wish to achieve, hard to say. The wattage spec is fairly meaningless, use the sensitivity spec and the distance to your seat to calculate how much power for the spl level you want. Probably the avr will be just fine. I'd get a subwoofer with those speakers, though.

1. Yes, Audioquest is just silly audiophool stuff intended to take as much money out of your pocket as possible. At least you didn't get the more expensive ones. If you want to read about speaker wire, try this http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm

2. Yamaha is cited for better reliability but otherwise they're far more similar than different, I like Audyssey XT32 in my Denon very much, an improvement over XT like the 1300 has...

3. Passive bi-amping is a waste of time/money/wire.

 

[Nav360]

I should've clarified this in my first post, but I'm a completely new to all the home theater stuff as of right now. I have somewhat knowledge of all this stuff from reading up articles on the internet from time to time.

What do you mean by spl levels?

Any specific brand cables you would recommenced that have banana plugs at the end of them?

Any receiver you would recommend around $500 that supports most features that come with Denon X1300?

 

[everettT]

Look at www.accessories4less.com

 

[Nav360]

Probably going to return the Type 4 Audio Quest cable after reading all the "snake oil" stuff. I'm gonna bite the bullet, and buy some Monoprice 12AWG or Audtek 10AWG. Any other brand of speaker cable you guys recommend, also still tempted to try passive bi-amping for the heck of it.

 

[lovinthehd]

I should've clarified this in my first post, but I'm a completely new to all the home theater stuff as of right now. I have somewhat knowledge of all this stuff from reading up articles on the internet from time to time.

What do you mean by spl levels?

Any specific brand cables you would recommenced that have banana plugs at the end of them?

Any receiver you would recommend around $500 that supports most features that come with Denon X1300?

No problem. SPL is sound pressure level, normally measured in dB (decibel), a logarithmic unit of meaurement (measured with an spl meter or a measurement microphone/appropriate software like many of us use). Takes a doubling of amp power to gain 3dB in spl is one quick guideline (and 3dB is not a hugely significant gain in volume, usually 10dB is considered a doubling of subjective volume level, which takes 10x the power).

Amp power relates to spl level via the sensitivity rating, nominally a dB reading of the speaker at 1 meter distance powered with 1 watt (2.83V at 8 ohm generally). Use an spl calculator so you can fill in the various parameters of the speaker/amp you're interested for the distance to your seat (with some consideration for room boundaries). While not perfect for its assumptions, try this one http://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html

 

[Nav360]

Are MediaBridge cables any good? also gold or silver banana plugs?

 

[lovinthehd]

Are MediaBridge cables any good? also gold or silver banana plugs?

I have several of their interconnects and hdmi cables no problems. I just make my own banana terminations for speaker wire, usually Sewell Silverbacks but recently used the Sewell Pro Maestros. I buy Monoprice 12g speaker wire in bulk (300 ft reel last time)

 

[Nav360]

I would make them myself, but my OCD would kick in for clean cables.... lmao

 

[lovinthehd]

Might consider Blue Jeans Cable for some aesthetically pleasing and very well made cables....

 

[j_garcia]

Nearly all of my cables in the last 5 years or so have come from Bluejeans, though I have been buying stuff from them for many years.

 

[Nav360]

Which one Denon AVR-X1300w or Denon AVR-S920w or Marantz 1607? Will be using this with the B&W 685's

 

[lovinthehd]

Which one Denon AVR-X1300w or Denon AVR-S920w or Marantz 1607? Will be using this with the B&W 685's

Pick one unless you have a reason to choose one over another, Personally I'd aim at better speakers rather than worrying about the avr.

 

[Nav360]

Ok cool, really just couldn't decide on which would be the best bang for the buck.

 

[lovinthehd]

Ok cool, really just couldn't decide on which would be the best bang for the buck.

Which avr has all the features you want/can afford at this time? Have you ranked your needs?

 

[Nav360]

To narrow down everything I'm looking for an AVR that has most bells/whistles, but also want advice from someone more experienced than me on which to pick.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

I would go with a receiver from either Marantz, Denon or Yamaha that has all the features you will need. If there are multiple receivers with spec I would go for the cheapest. As for speaker cable bare wire OFC will work just as well as cable with banana plugs, just be sure to get thick enough cable (12awg will be good for example).

As for bi-amping, there are more changes to mess things up than get any improvements. I wouldn't risk it for the minimal improvements if any.

 

[PENG]

I currently have a pair of B&W 685 S2, and am wondering if the Denon AVR-X1300w is sufficient enough since it provides 80W per channel, and B&W 685 S2 have 100W peak power.

Those speakers won't play very loud anyway, but I would bite the bullet and get the X3200W, same price as the 1300's list price.

https://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-X3200W-7-2-Channel-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B011HNXIAM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1470912919&sr=1-1&keywords=avr-x3200w

 

[Nav360]

Marantz 5010 or AVR-3200? Getting them for the same price at $400

 

[PENG]

Marantz 5010 or AVR-3200? Getting them for the same price at $400

The Denon is heavier, but if you have use for the multi-channel analog input then go with the Marantz. Otherwise go with the one that looks better to you.