Power amp needed for B&W 805s?

[Bernard L]

Dear all,

Another question in my quest for my perfect system.

I am leaning towards either B&W 805s/Dali Helicon 300 as mid term front speakers in a 2 loudspeakers set up to be built around a Denon 4306.

I read in various places that a receiver like the 4306 alone would probably not be powerful enough to drive the B&W 805s well. I have some rookie questions about this:

0. Does it make any sense to associate the B&W 805s to the Denon 4306 without pre-amplification?

1. Is this related to how loud you intend to listen to music? In other words, will the 4306 be powerful enough to use the B&W 805s to their full potential in terms of quality when the expected sound level is pretty low?

2. Is it possible to associate a power amp to the Denon 4306? If yes, will the pre-amp work only for the 2 front channels (most important for me now) or for all the 5/7 channels the 4306 supports?

3. What would be a good recommendation for power amp to associate to the Denon 4306? The price range would ideally be max 2000 US$.

Thank you in advance,

Regards,
Bernard

 

[mike c]

what reasons did you choose the 4306? (it looks like you haven't purchased a 4306 receiver yet)

if I were you, I'd buy a separate pre-amp (Rotel is going to come out with new HDMI models by next year) and buy either a Rotel RB1090 or RB1092 (2k price). now, the 805's don't need that much power, but your future speakers might.

if you really need an interim receiver/preamp, go for a cheaper receiver. harman kardon 235, 240; yammy rx-v 659 and many other models have pre-outs to connect an external amplifier.

1) it looks like the 4306 can run the 805's no problem. but if you are buying a high end 4306 for the power only and then going to buy an amp anyway, it isn't worth it in my opinion.

2) yes. the 4306 will act as pre-amp for how many channels you like: 2,3,5,7

3) my suggestions above.

 

[Bernard L]

Hello Mike,

Thank you for your kind answer.

I am leaning towards the Denon 4306 because:

1. I currently use a lower end Denon amplifier and do really like the sound,
2. It seems to be a great compromise between features, power and sound quality,
3. It seems to be compatible enough with HD standards to remain usable for a long time with possible future items (like 1080p LCD,...).

If I understand you well, the 4306 can be connected to a pre-amp, but it doesn't make sense to have a power pre-amp connected to a received that is itself pretty powerful, right?

Regards,
Bernard

 

[mike c]

Hello Mike,

If I understand you well, the 4306 can be connected to a pre-amp, but it doesn't make sense to have a power pre-amp connected to a received that is itself pretty powerful, right?

the 4306 can be connected to a POWER amp
the 4306 will be acting as the PRE amp in that case.

yes, if only for the 805's, I don't think you need a power amp.
but since it looks like you are gonna move the 805's to the rear and buy better fronts, you can just buy the POWER amp anyway and decide for yourself if there is a difference in sound.

 

[Bernard L]

Mike,

OK, things are getting more clear. Thank you for your patience and explanations.

You got me confused though... I have started to check Rotel products, and they seem real nice too... the World of hi-fi is a dangerous one, at least for my wallet...

cheers,
Bernard

 

[Tomorrow]

Mike,

OK, things are getting more clear. Thank you for your patience and explanations.

You got me confused though... I have started to check Rotel products, and they seem real nice too... the World of hi-fi is a dangerous one, at least for my wallet...

cheers,
Bernard

Hahaaaa....welcome to the club of the poor and the pitiful. At least I have my wife to keep my indulgences 'in check'.

 

[Bernard L]

Hahaaaa....welcome to the club of the poor and the pitiful. At least I have my wife to keep my indulgences 'in check'.

You might have just given me the best reason ever to get married...

Cheers,
Bernard

 

[mike c]

bernard, sorry if I got you confused if you have questions please don't hesitate to ask. though I am a newbie myself, there are lots of people here that can help.

it sure is dangerous to the wallet. But, I've been way past drawing from the wallet and instead drawing from my checkbook which is much more dangerous.

btw, the reason I suggest Rotel is because there's a lot of feedback that Rotel amps are the best bang for the buck amps that a lot of people use in combo with B&W

 

[Bernard L]

bernard, sorry if I got you confused if you have questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Mike,

Thanks a lot, as you guessed I was just kidding.

The complexity of the whole thing is a bit scary, I wonder what people did when sites/forums like this one didn't exist...

Cheers,
Bernard

 

[mike c]

... I wonder what people did when sites/forums like this one didn't exist...

I would have bought Bose. (and be ignorantly blissed)

 

[BostonMark]

peanut butter and jelly

I would also suggest a Rotel amplifier for your B&W speakers. They go together like Peanut butter and jelly.

Heck, pick up any B&W catalog, whose amps are pictured in it? Rotels

Pick up any Rotel catalog, what speakers are shown? B & Ws.

Your Denon should work fine, but when you do get upgraditis, it seems that Rotel and B&W are made for each other.

If you look around you can find Rotel amps used too. Then you can use your Denon as Pre (as mentioned above) and the Rotel as the Amp.

Good luck!

 

[cornelius]

Hey Bernard - Those 805s are some serious speakers, my local B&W dealer pairs them with Classe and McIntosh with nice results. A pair of speakers like thos require more than the ol' receiver to get the most out of them! Same for the Dalis. Since your budget is 2K, I'd recommend the used market, lots of great deals out there...

 

[Bernard L]

Cornelius and Mark,

Thanks a lot for your informative replies. Besides a few skeptical comments, most of the folks I have asked are saying that the Denon should work fine like you do.

I have started to look more into Rotel also, but it seems that - although it is a Japanese brand - their A/V line isn't widely available in Tokyo. They should be selling somewhere though, I'll contact the head office later on this week.

A major electronic store (Yodobashi camera) bluntly refused to connect a 2 way Rotel 1080 + ??? set up that was no more than 2 meters away from the B&W 805s... strange, it seems that selling Rotel isn't a very high priority for them...

Regards,
Bernard

 

[jcPanny]

Receiver options

If you plan to use an outboard amp, you might save money and get the Denon 3806. The only advantage to the higher model is an extra HDMI input, network connector and a little more power. Both should work great as a pre-amp.