Given a pair of B&W 703's, what to do with them?

[davidtwotrees]

I would buy a used Denon AVR 5.1 receiver on ebay. I am selling one today, in fact. I paid $125 delivered for it. It is a fine unit, and here is a link to a recently completed auction on ebay......AVR1801

That would leave you money for a center channel, or a subwoofer.

 

[Vortex]

Thanks again for the info guys. What do you think of this NAD T752 receiver listed on E-bay. I'm asking the buyer at the moment if it at least works, he doesn't say in the listing. If it works, what do you think it's worth bidding on?

I also found a T753 listed for $300, not sure if that's a good going rate for these.

Looks like they both have pre-amp outputs, so the future expandability is there when I need it. I'll just have to run the HDMI directly from the DVD/Cable into the TV still, then run the Audio from there to the receiver.

 

[Guangui]

Thanks again for the info guys. What do you think of this NAD T752 receiver listed on E-bay. I'm asking the buyer at the moment if it at least works, he doesn't say in the listing. If it works, what do you think it's worth bidding on?

I also found a T753 listed for $300, not sure if that's a good going rate for these.

Looks like they both have pre-amp outputs, so the future expandability is there when I need it. I'll just have to run the HDMI directly from the DVD/Cable into the TV still, then run the Audio from there to the receiver.

Stay away from the T752, the guy doesn't know the condition, and he is clear about that in his bid post.

T753 has a good price, to give you an idea a refurbished one goes for $549.00

Call Saturday Audio to see if they have a demo unit. I bought a C315BEE amp from them, new, for $275.00, $75.00 from the least expensive in the net. They will cut you a good deal for demo unit (www.saturdayaudio.com), or customer trade ins.

 

[Vortex]

Hello, me checking back in. Thanks again everyone for your help before, now I need some more and would be grateful for any help you guys can give.

I've sold the Bose system (suprisingly made $500). My brother also gave me his old receiver that he used to power the B&W's, it's a Yamaha RX-V870, an old 5 channel receiver but it was top of the line in its day (80 watts x front l/r/center, 25 watts rear l/r), and his center/rear speakers that will work for now, (I will avoid naming the manufacturer to avoid ridicule, let's just say they rhyme with nose).

So, a new conundrum. Knowing that I have a pretty darn nice set of speakers, and only $500 to spend -

The existing receiver powers the B&W's pretty well, but obviously it is lacking a lot of the options a newer receiver would give me (the owners manual doesn't even talk about the .1 in 5.1, though it does have a low pass out for a sub). Do I sell that receiver (probably wouldn't make more than $50), and purchase a newer one (used nad or maybe the new rx-v663 when it comes or the v661 now) and wait on a subwoofer, or do I drop money on a sub for around $500 (if so, which one?) and keep the old Yamaha, or do I try to do both, get a cheaper receiver, and a cheaper sub? The B&W's put out nice base (to my untrained ears, listening to music is awesome), but I'm worried that I am missing that deep punch when watching movies that a sub would give me.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

If your speakers have the same bass extension as the current 703s, then IMO you don't need a sub. Of course, I am not the kind of bass hog that some here are.
I checked, and the entry-level Cambridge receiver is $100 over your budget. Too bad, as the NAD is likely about the same, and either of those would give you fantastic performance/price.
I still think that the quality of sound from a pair of such excellent speakers outweighs the benefits of the level of surround that you can likely afford soon, so getting a good 2-channel integrated is another option.

 

[Vortex]

Thanks for the info Joe.

After much searching, here are the Matrix 804 stats -

D e s c r i p t i o n
2 way vented-box system

Drive Units
1 x 26mm metal dome - high fre q u e n c y
1 x 165mm Kevlar® - midrange
1 x 165mm Cobex - b a s s

Frequency Response
39Hz – 20kHz ± 3dB on reference axis

Sensitivity
89dB spl(2.83V 1m)

Nominal Impedance
8 ohms (minimum 4 ohms)

Still think that's low enough for no sub?

 

[rlj676]

You'd bee missing a good deal of the LFE track from movies, but are probably good for most music.

I'd probably get a nice sub first, and then upgrade to as nice of reciever you can get down the road. For $500 now I don't believe any reciever is going to give you a power upgrade that'd be noticable, but a sub WILL BE for sure.

Look in the sub forum for some advice there. SVS, HSU, and the AV123 MFW-15 all get good reviews in that price range.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Still think that's low enough for no sub?

It would be for me. As I said, though, some consider the really deep bass more important than I do. It takes a pretty good sub to reach much deeper than that in any event.

 

[jamie2112]

I would keep the receiver for now and buy a used sub on audiogon. There are plenty good subs for music and movies on that site. I have seen really good subs, like svs, velodyne, rhb the list goes on for 300 and less. A receiver with 20 more watts per channel I don't think you will notice any difference. Save up and buy a good tube power amp and those B&Ws will sing....

 

[pzaur]

Lots of good items on Audiogon. I just clicked the top ad and came to this Athena subwoofer deal for $149.00 (plus shipping?).

-pat