Not wanting to start any religious battles over amplification however if your choice is constrained to those 2 I would choose the MC402 given life-like and organic nature of the sound and many other likeable qualities. You may also wish to consider Classe M400 monos or their latest stereo amps as they make a particularly good pairing with the N802s (and other B&Ws as well)...I don't know your price point or your music listening prefs so sharing a bit more info may help you... |
Also check out the VTL lineup. |
The most powerful amp you can buy and afford...B&Ws need juice! |
Dave_72 is right on the money, the more power the better, mine love their power. |
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I agree with Dave_72's comment. B&W will shine with lot of juice. I think Krell FPB amps, especially the monoblocks, are perfect match for B&W. |
Thanks! As to which brand...so many out there. But, get an amp that "doubles down." For example, 600W into 8, 1200W into 4, 2400W into 2.
You can't go wrong with these behemoths.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/power-amplifiers/1479-pass-labs-x10005-monoblock-power-amplifier.html |
Pass, LFD, Luxman 505, or the McIntosh 6300. All sound incredible. |
I support the Krell idea. I owned n802's and feel they didn't shine till I got a FPB300c that later I had upgraded to a 400c...even then I feel they would have benefited from more power. Would have loved to hear them with a FPB600c or FPB650m's....mmmmmmmmm!
Good luck! |
I drive my B&Ws with a Krell FPB 400cx and I find It to be a nice match. The B&Ws love power. |
I drive my B&W 802 Diamond by pair of Spectron Musician III monoblocks and all tube Joule-Electra LA-300ME preamp. These speakers LUV power but they love finesse may be more.... I am extremely happy with this combo and cannot recommend it highly enough. |
I would use a high powered Bryston. Would work great! |
I run my N802's with a Conrad Johnson CT-5 preamp into a C-J ET250s power amp. I think they sound great to my ears. Previosly had a pair of Marantz sm11 amps running in monoblock. I also thought these were great. Previous to that, had a MF308. Very good, but the last two set ups were a definite improvement.
My $.02.
Paul |
I do agree with Dancer on the Krell FPB 400cx amps. My experience with 801N went from Bryston 7BST, Classe M1000, PassLab 600, Macintosh MC501 and finally stopped at Krell FPB650mc.
QN |
OK, this was a L-O-N-G time ago but I was pretty spellbound at Woodbridge Stereo in NJ with their demo of the N802 and a Pass X350 (when the Pass X series was first introduced). |
Bryston seems like a good option. The 4BSST with Nautilus worked great. |
And if you look in their archives, there is a nice review by Wes Phillips in Stereophile from Jan. 1999 (I think) of the N801 with a Krell FPB600 when both were new. I think he used a Meridian 508 cdp. He talks about the live mono Dylan concert recording there. It's a pretty good read regardless. |
