new amp to drive B+W 603

signs · 2 May 2019 at 12:26

Recommendations for a new amp to drive my new B+W 603 please, budget is tight as I've just splashed out on a new monitor sub and a onkyo amp.
the speakers are for music only and happy to go down the used route

cheers

signs · 2 May 2019 at 12:31

using the Onkyo 9010 at the moment and i'm not sure if its a little under powered ?

hornetstinger · 2 May 2019 at 12:31

I'd go for warmer amp when I had bw speakers they didn't sound great with audiolab

hornetstinger · 2 May 2019 at 12:34

That onkyo is 44w but that's with inflated power output figures

hornetstinger · 2 May 2019 at 12:41

If that amp had pre out you could try using a power amp is borrow one and compare them.

hornetstinger · 2 May 2019 at 13:32

What about a big rotel amp they seem to be paired up a lot probably because same distributor

signs · 2 May 2019 at 13:41

hornetstinger said:
What about a big rotel amp they seem to be paired up a lot probably because same distributor

cheers , are they integrated ?

a1ex2001 · 3 May 2019 at 21:25

Have a look for a second hand arcam I think they complement b&w speakers really well.

mid_gen · 3 May 2019 at 21:36

I used a NAD amp with B&W 600 series in the past, complemented each other well,

I've got a 9010 atm which is great, but it's driving some Quad 11Ls which are pretty warm sounding. I think the 9010 might be touch bright with metal dome B&Ws.

lucid · 4 May 2019 at 15:57

"budget is tight" is a bit of an open-ended phrase.

ARCAM is a good shout to keep the budget low. Alpha 3 or Alpha 5 pop up occasionally under the £100 mark. They'll have enough power to take control of the B&Ws and make them sing.

NAD and Rotel carry a bit more of a price premium unless you go for the lower powered- or much older- units.

Where the budget is a bit more open (and you have space to accommodate the size of them), there are a couple of left-field choices from Yamaha that would provide you with almost bottomless power and huge scale.

signs · 7 May 2019 at 13:18

lucid said:
"budget is tight" is a bit of an open-ended phrase.

ARCAM is a good shout to keep the budget low. Alpha 3 or Alpha 5 pop up occasionally under the £100 mark. They'll have enough power to take control of the B&Ws and make them sing.

NAD and Rotel carry a bit more of a price premium unless you go for the lower powered- or much older- units.

Where the budget is a bit more open (and you have space to accommodate the size of them), there are a couple of left-field choices from Yamaha that would provide you with almost bottomless power and huge scale.

thanks for the reply , i'm thinking £300 /£400 used ?(stacks of space available)

crinkleshoes · 7 May 2019 at 14:29

B&W are very sensitive to amp choice

Only amp I like with them is McIntosh, but they’re a bit over budget.

Definitely go warm... marantz should do a good job in your price range

lucid · 7 May 2019 at 20:28

signs said:
thanks for the reply , i'm thinking £300 /£400 used ?(stacks of space available)

Where abouts in the country are you? Just nearest town/city will do.

signs · 8 May 2019 at 09:36

lucid said:
Where abouts in the country are you? Just nearest town/city will do.

between Derby and Birmingham

sHo0sH · 8 May 2019 at 12:03

I have a Rotel RA-1052 powering my B&W CM9's - I think I paid £220 for it from eBay - It's been a great pairing for my ears.

lucid · 8 May 2019 at 12:45

signs said:
between Derby and Birmingham

Ah, probably a bit too far to be practical then.

signs · 8 May 2019 at 13:57

sHo0sH said:
I have a Rotel RA-1052 powering my B&W CM9's - I think I paid £220 for it from eBay - It's been a great pairing for my ears.

Right , thanks for the reply

signs · 8 May 2019 at 13:58

lucid said:
Ah, probably a bit too far to be practical then.

what were you thinking ?

lucid · 8 May 2019 at 21:18

I have a friend with a humongous Yamaha amp. It weighs nearly 20 kilos! The power on tap from it is very very conservatively rated at 200wpc. What's more impressive is the dynamic headroom. I've looked at Krells up to £5,000 that can't match it. But he's in Hazel Grove.

signs · 9 May 2019 at 12:01

lucid said:
I have a friend with a humongous Yamaha amp. It weighs nearly 20 kilos! The power on tap from it is very very conservatively rated at 200wpc. What's more impressive is the dynamic headroom. I've looked at Krells up to £5,000 that can't match it. But he's in Hazel Grove.

well thanks for the thought