Denon and Power Amp
I recently upgraded my front speakers to Monitor Audio Gold (GR60's) and felt these were more than the 3805 could handle. Not that they sounded bad, just not as clear and detailed as I had heard when auditioning them. I had been looking for a power amp to compliment the Denon and finally decided on a Sunfire 200 5.1 that I found on AudiogoN. The difference is amazing. The speakers opened up and now give me the sound that drew me to them in demo. I did not believe that more clean power could have such a dramatic effect on the speaker’s performance.
I actually did a listening test with an SPL meter just before installing the Sunfire and recorded my observations. Not exactly scientific but just a reference point for me. As I said, the difference in clarity at all listening levels is noticeable. When it gets loud, the differences are the most noticeable.
If you have large 2.5 or 3 way speakers (like the B&W's) and are driving them with an AVR you are missing something. There are a lot of other factors (I have a large room) and use the kit for HT as well, but for me the price of the power amp was definitely worth it. I bought the 3805 B-stock off of Ubid for $780 so using it as a pre amp with the Sunfire is less (from a price prespective) than had I purchased a separates pre amp with the power amp. Just my O.
