Help me build my system to match my "new" B&W Nautilus 804's

Awesome system! I bet those B&W sound phenomenal. And the Bronze cart + tube pre must make the whole system very detailed and sweet. Congrats.

 

Vintage Marantz was on your list. Marantz 2330 or for more tube sound a 2270. Any new high power class D amps sounds great too.

 

@allied333 .

Mate. Surely, you are in the business of floggin' the class D amps?

 

Yes, the few Class D amps I heard was better than Class A/B. Close to tube sound, but makes a lot more power for low sensitive speakers.

 

Congrats on your new setup! Enjoy it. Love it. Don't forget to stop worrying about it all now, and just LISTEN to it

 

That would be the first time I've heard Class D amps described as "tube like". While I'm sure the vintage high powered Marantz receivers sound nice, I doubt they sound better than my Rogue Hybrid preamp and Parasound A21 amp.

 

Well this didn't happen. This past weekend I picked up a Parasound Jc3 Jr. Phono preamp. Early impressions are that it is a substantial improvement over my Lounge. Have been listening for 5 days and the improvement is dramatic. As I'm learning more about my speakers, I'm learning that these speakers continue to reward upgrades. The sound I'm getting is very pleasing. More of everything, midrange, bass, high frequency extension. It's all there. This preamp is dead silent. Yet alive with sound. I've twice upgraded my phono preamp, and both times I've been surprised by the improvement in sound. I read once on this forum that "there is magic in those phono preamps". I concur.

 

We did warn you!

 

Looks like you are liking Parasound a lot. As you already know, I am now using 3 parasound a23. I did not go with Parasound preamp as I wanted a preamp that does room corrections for my 6.1 setup. I decided to get a used Marantz av8801 instead. Like it more than my Pioneer SC 95.

I missed out on the local B&W 804. It was sold quick. : ( But I just got something that are at the level of 805 (at least this is what the dealer told me) delivered yesterday. I got a pair of used Paradigm Signature S2 v2. I am telling myself this will be my last purchase for a long while.

 

Well it took me a year and a half to finally take a chance on an L17 SE. I'm finally done with my RP-1. It's a fine sounding preamp but it drives the NOS tubes too hard and uses them up in a matter of 4-5 months. I've heard Gold Lions can handle the load better but I'm going to move on from the piece. I also get balanced connections from the ARC unit, which allows me to get more gain from my Parasound Jc3 Jr. As I am now using a LMOC from my Rega P6, the extra gain will be useful as its only a 60 db gain from the Jr. I'm still convinced the A-21 is a perfect match for the 804's. Looking forward to hearing my first piece of ARC gear in my system. My expectations are high.

 

Congrats! I’m sure you’ll be very happy with the LS17SE, please let us know what you think about it when you’ve put it in to your system.

 

Rogue always runs the tubes in their amps hard. I am assuming, this is because they make powerful tube amps?

But I don't get why they have to run their preamp tubes so hard.

I have a tube preamp which uses two 6SN7 tubes and I am only on the second set of tubes, since I bought it new, back in 2013.

And, after the first couple of years, I leave it on all the time.

I would definitely agree with you on the A21 with the 804's. I would do the same thing. Great amp, maybe someday, there will be one in my future?

I know that you do it, because you "I wanna rock"!

 

Could you please describe the differences you noticed? We have a pretty similar system going and I'm curious what other sonic characteristics are available via the LS17SE. I like the LS17SE but I find it a little lean in the bass. The soundstage and midrange are excellent. But I'm not sure its the right preamp for my setup. I would describe the current sound as analytical.

 

I've an ARC LS17 and I haven't had the chance to listen to a LS17SE so I don't know if there are any differences soundwise when compared side by side. My guess is that they probably are very similiar in their respective sound character. IMHO the LS17 is far from analytical, when I added those "Soviet super tubes" the bass and midrange got more prominent and the soundstage widened. I'm sorry but I find it very hard to describe my sound perception with words but as a whole I got "more" of everything when I added those tubes. I believe it's worth to try a pair of 6H30 DR tubes before you make a decision what to do with the LS17SE.

 

Just read this thread from start to finish, first time poster here! I have a 3.1 setup, B&W 804N and an HTM1 center channel. Just bought a SVS-4000 Sub to replace my REL Strata III. The Rel was just too small for our new home. As you can see from the photos, the space is enormous, bottom end help is extremely necessary.

My current setup is an Anthem D1 processor, Emotiva XPA-1L amps and an Oppo-105D. I had Rotel amps RMB1075 , then a RMB-1077 (Class D not for me), and Rotel processor. I felt the sound was a bit veiled, I didn't really care for the setup. The Anthem made it quite brighter, a bit too bright. The introduction of the Emotiva amps made a huge impact with some real power at hand finally.

However, the greatest attribute in all of this is Anthem ARC room correction. It made such a huge difference to correct the sound, it's simply unbelievable. I am surprised no one suggested you look into room correction?

So why am I browsing the web? Same reason as you I'd like a warmer sound thinking of trying other amps these but wondering if I should try replacing the preamp first. I defintely need one with room correction. Here are the amps on my list and some photos of the space I am dealing with

Butler Audio 3150 Butler Audio
Vincent Vincent: SP-331
Mcintosh McIntosh MC205 Home Theater Amplifier
Classe CA-3200


My son works at Best Buy Magnolia which is why the Mc is on the list. For $4400, it may be the the lifetime purchase. Obviously I'd rather spend a lot less but I too agree, these 804's need the right type of juice to drive them and the right processor to make them sing!

 

Welcome to the Forums!

OK,

1. knock out all the windows and replace with solid walls;
2. add bass traps and absorption/diffusion to walls;
3. knock out kitchen and add diffusion (live end/dead end);
4. sign divorce papers;
5. add amplifier and bigger speakers of choice;
6. order home delivered pizza;
7. sit back and enjoy some sounds!






Nice home you have. Is it open on the left side that we cannot see? You might want to consider multiple subs. if you can not achieve the bass levels you desire.

If you want a warmer sound, I don't think Classe is your answer (I use their monoblocks). McIntosh would be an obvious pick, but I think you would want one of their large tube amplifiers in that case, and they are more costly.

A solid-state solution that has the power to drive your speakers and warm things up a bit would be one of the larger Pass XA amplifiers, but they are spendy. Used model perhaps?

Alternatively, given the size of your combined rooms, maybe you should move up to the B&W 802s?

Can you tweak the EQ in the DSP to change the sound to your liking?

 

I hate to be that guy but... Man, wouldn't a pair of Tannoy Kensingtons look great in your decor! Easy to drive, so you can use any 25+ W/Ch amp you like best, instead of pushing further into hundreds of Watts of monoblock power amps just because B&W likes to design that way.

And with those Tannoys you'd have roomfilling sound with solid bass and a natural sense of scale too.

Just saying it could be interesting to investigate speaker brands with higher sensitivity.

 

I have experienced quite the opposite. Which class D amps did you hear that rewarded you with "close to tube sound"?

 

I like the nice large open space that your room affords.

In a large open room, it is easier to get that nice relaxed open sound that is difficult to achieve in a smaller room.

 

Tried to convince the wife to put the sub to the left side of the front channel, not happening as it would be 1/2 in the walkway. A second sub, not happening, 802's?? Not happening! Had a tough time going from 805's to 804's, electronics is all I am left to play with. All my music is on a NAS streamed lossless to the Oppo. Maybe that's where I should be looking to as my weak link?

Thanks for the compliment. Yes, it's a completely open floor plan.

 

I stumbled across a Pass Labs X3 amp, thoughts on that?

https://www.passlabs.com/sites/default/files/x3_om.pdf

 

Firstly, thanks for the extra photos. You certainly have a great home, just not ideal for home audio (that's a large volume).

Secondly, would the wife really notice if you slipped in some 802s?

Thirdly, I'd forgotten about the X3, if I ever really was aware of it. It seems to be a 3-channel version of the X-150. Would certainly be worth auditioning, but will not have the Class A warmth of the XA amps. However, you will save on purchase price and running costs -- I see that the X3 idles at 200 W, rather than the 700 W of Pass's bigger amps (both X- and XA- series). I would have bought X-600s for my 802s, but 1400 W of idle heat dissipation would not have worked in my home (no airco). So, I went for Classe monoblocks instead (they have a plateau biasing type arrangement, so idle power draw is around 100 W per amp.).

 

Nice room and nice set up you've there,

Have you tried to move your 804's out from the rear wall? These speakers really shines if they get some space behind them, the sound image gets bigger and the 3D depth increases. Nowadays I've my 804's around 4 feet from the rear wall and IMHO they have never sounded better. Please give it a try if possible.

By the way- IMHO the B&W 800 series really sound at its best when combined with tube gear somewhere upstream. Have you ever considered to get an used Audio Research LS17 or LS17SE? I believe this would be a quite affordable way to get the sound you want.

 

Thanks all for the compliments

In regards to the LS17, I am lost as to how I would add this into the chain with my D1 processor Oppo and subwoofer. I will reach out to AR and have them explain versus hijacking this thread

 

Speaking as someone that went from an Anthem processor (older AVM20) to an LS27, I don't miss the Anthem at all.

Note, I'm probably a special (nut)case though having gone more for 2 channel audio and treating the room for 2 channel with a sub. Two years after selling the Anthem I still don't have an AVR in the mix for movie watching. Even though I intended to buy one, and still think I might, but I haven't.

Note, I went on a long arc of changing priorities. Going from...
music with AVR to,
AVR with music to,
dropping rear speaker and focusing on music as a priority to,
dropping the center speaker and only doing 2.1 with music as a priority and movies an after thought.