How to Power a New Pair of B&W 683's?

[SteelyTom]

Hi all-- I'm for now a two-way audio kind of guy, with designs on HT and an HDTV upgrade in the not-too-distant future. I've settled on a pair of B&W 683s and am trying to decide between two options to power them:

An Anthem 225-watt integrated amp; or
a Rotel combination: a less powerful RMB-1565 with 100 watts/five-channel, coupled with a Rotel RSP-1570 preamp.

Destination of the system is the main room of a loft-style apt., 650 sq. ft. and ample ceilings, if that's a factor.

The Anthem sounded great at the store. But do I need that much power, and will the Rotel combo suffice?

Thanks!

 

[AVRat]

Welcome to the site Tom. Having some decent power to push the 683s is probably a good thing. Is the 650 sq. ft. the main room or the entire apt.? Will your audio listening be more critical or somewhat casual? Would you be willing to consider some other options since you’re heading toward an HT setup? The Anthem Integrated is probably a little restrictive for HT. And the Rotel 1565 may not be enough power. If you have a budget in mind, I’m sure we could come up with some decent options.

 

[JesseP]

I think for Stereo the Anthem Integrated 225 is a much better way to go but if your going to end up upgrading to a 5.1 system soon anyway then I think you should be looking at getting a Preamp and power amp that can do 5.1 and just set it up in stereo for the mean time.