Receiver for B&W CM7

[Nerve]

Hi,

I finally decided on a set of speakers, the b&w cm7, but now need a good amp. Can anyone tell me if the Denon 2310 reciever will be sufficient to drive. My other option albeit more expensive is the yamaha 2065. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Quickley17]

I think you would be fine with that reciever.

 

[Quickley17]

I realized I was not very (not at all) effusive in that response... I am also considering the same speakers, and i've listened to them powered by the AVR-4310CI which I think is double the price. What you get from the more expensive one is ethernet connectivity, 25 watts per channel more, and more Pre-amp connections for if you want to use dedicated amps to power different speakers. I think this is a feature you might want to consider (you certainly dont need to spend 2k for it) if you want to have the most options for incremental upgrade of your system.

As for the power requirements of the speakers, I think you will get good results from the 2310, however, I think your speakers will be slightly limited by the reciever. What I mean by that is not that more power will improve the sound, but that at loud levels with that reciever, you may need to be cautious that the signal provided by the amplifier to the speakers is still clean.

 

[jamie2112]

1st off you will not gain any more volume with the 2065.25 watts is not going to be audibly different than the Denon.I myself would buy a cheap 2 channel amp and hook that to the peramp outs of the Denon and then you will have PLENTY of power and that WILL make a difference in your speakers output.

 

[AVRat]

Except the 2310 doesn't have pre-outs. They start showing up on the 3310.

 

[jamie2112]

Except the 2310 doesn't have pre-outs. They start showing up on the 3310.

Well then I am wrong and pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.....

 

[Nerve]

Thanks guys.

Mind my ignorance... pre-amp outs? Is it just a separate connection from the amp itself? Will Bi-amping with the 2310 also help to drive the speaker better?

The 2065 has pre-amp outs, but come's in at 2K (in rands) more!

 

[Nerve]

I've read the Denon 2310 does have pre-outs???

 

[Quickley17]

the 2310 has 3. What those pre-outs are used for is the subwoofer and a second zone. To contrast, the 4310 has 12, 8 for 7.1 HT and 2 each for two more zones. In other recievers that have pre-outs for the main HT channels, L, C, R, Surround L & R and Back L & R, those pre-outs will bypass the internal amp of a reciever if you have an external amp plugged in. What this lets you do, is, some day if you decide you want to upgrade your CM 7 to a speaker that is more power hungry, you can connect a 2 channel amplifier, or two one channel (mono) amplifiers to the L and R pre-outs, and thus meet the power requirements for your new speakers without having to buy a new processor for your whole system.

This is something that a lot of the people here do, but by no means is a requirement. I don't know for sure, but I think I've read a lot about Onkyo recievers in the same pricepoint as the 2310 that do have the pre-outs.

 

[AVRat]

Ok, it seems that the 2310 overseas models do feature the 7.1 pre-outs. So being in South Africa that's great.

 

[Quickley17]

Ok, it seems that the 2310 overseas models do feature the 7.1 pre-outs. So being in South Africa that's great.

Upon further review, AVRat is right, the Denon South Africa site links to the UK product line, and that reciever has pre-outs.

http://www.denon.co.uk/site/frames_main.php?main=prod&ver=1&MID=3&sub=1&action=detail&Pid=413

does that reciever cost the equivalent of 900 US dollars in the South Africa?

 

[WmAx]

I recommend being sure to use a receiver with pre-outs so that later on, you can use the outboard amplifier, an external active crossover/processor and dual subs. This should be your target. At that point, you will have much better over-all sound when you consider the extended bass capability and sound shaping potential using the external processor(Behringer DCX2496).

BTW, I think the CM7 is one of the best 'natural' sounding retail speakers within it's price range. Probably at least partly due to that superb mid-range driver(same driver technology as on the high end 800 series floorstanders).

-Chris

 

[Nerve]

Thanks guys.

I'm really looking forward to hearing them in my lounge...can't wait. But this choice of amp is killing me - Marantz vs Denon vs Yamaha. I've read Yamaha is good match for the B&W... but have not demo'd. The Marantz 5004 sounds good, so I'm sure the 6004 will be better. Well I would hope.

The 2310 sells for about R12000, well thats I can get it at. Thats an equivalent of ~1500 Dollars! Yikes! Yep things are more expensive here!

 

[fandango]

Hey nerve,

What did you end up getting to power your CM7s?

How did you decide? are you happy with the result?

thanks,

 

[grayster]

Thanks for this discussion, especially to understand the pre-outs and second zone.