Bowers & Wilkins Speakers - Synergy with Amp/SACD Player?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by George P, Apr 19, 2021.

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  1. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Curious if people have experimented with synergy and Bowers & Wilkins speakers. I own the 704 S2s.

    I am thinking of brands like Yamaha, Marantz, Denon and the like.

    Thanks!
     
  2. Erik Tracy

    Erik Tracy Meet me at the Green Dragon for an ale

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    Musical Fidelity gear pairs well with B&W speakers, imho, of course. :wave:
     
  3. Calvin_and_Hobbes

    Calvin_and_Hobbes Music Lover

    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    I've heard the 704 S2. To my ears, they are a very articulate speaker with a "fast" sound. The only downside is a bit of harshness in its high frequency response.

    What is your budget? What other components do you need to connect? If you don't need the AVR functionality of the mass-market Japanese brands, the Parasound Halo Hint 6 is a nicely warm sounding integrated amplifier that should match up well with the more forward nature of your 704 S2 speakers. It sounded good with Monitor Audio Silver 300s, but was too relaxed and lacking pace with a warmer, softer sounding pair of Paradigm Reference 95F speakers. Your 704 S2 are even a little more forward than my Silver 300 speakers so I imagine the Parasound Halo Hint 6 would also pair well with your speakers.

    It might be good to see what some shops recommend. It would be ideal to do an in-home demo.

    For my current speakers, I brought my fairly small integrated amplifier to shops so I had really good certainty of synergy before I bought those speakers.
     
    George P likes this.
  4. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    I find that shops can be biased, as they often recommend Rotel due to them being affiliated with B&W. But yeah, it would be wonderful to have a shop I could call/visit for unbiased recommendations.

    The component I am now (maybe) considering is a new SACD player. I now have a Denon DCD 1600NE. I tried the Yamaha CD-S1000 and found it to sound a lot like mine, so I returned it.

    What is my budget? I'd say budget is fairly open, provided it makes sense give that my amp is a Yamaha A-S801. I have wondered if something like the $4,000 Marantz SA-KI Ruby would result in a considerable difference in sound, given the rest of my system, you know?
     
  5. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Thanks, do they make SACD players?
     
  6. SonicCzar

    SonicCzar Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    I have the same speakers and think they are great! They sounded great out of the box, and even better after a week. I use a Rotel RX-1052, which is about 12 years old, 100 wpc, which is plenty for my room size. I can definitely hear clear differences in sources and formats with this set up. Kimber 4TC does the trick for my relatively short 6 foot speaker wire run. The 4TC jumpers were worth every penny, so replace those stock jumpers with something else!
    I am getting an early case of upgrade-itis for my amp though, so I'm interested in this thread to hear from people with the same speakers. Tone controls a must for me.
    I'm using Node 2i with analog output for streaming Tidal, Oppo 103 for the occasional SACD/CD, and streaming my ripped CDs in iTunes via a Jolida Glass DAC with tube outputs. Each source has it's nuances, lately the Tidal has been the primary source, mostly because it's great for finding new(to me) music.
     
    George P likes this.
  7. George P

    George P Notable Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    NYC
    Cool, I think I read somewhere that the 700 series was voiced with Rotel amps, so it is no surprise they sound great with them.
     
  8. Erik Tracy

    Erik Tracy Meet me at the Green Dragon for an ale

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    They used to, but were higher tier/cost players.

    I had some nice synergy with my MF (int amp), B&W bookies, and Marantz SACD player.
     
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