Biamping B&W 802 with Musical Fidelity and Bryston

Hi Alexv

I biamp my 801Ns with Mac tube and solid state amps, and am very happy with the results. That being said, I think that if your system sounds bright to you, adding more power to the bottom end won't change the way your current amp comes across in the mids and highs. The brightness is what you really want to address. Another amp on mid and high frequencies might do the job for you. Also, as Cxintx suggested, another source might be the answer.

Bill

Hi Bill,
I think that the major problem is the amp. I have Cornwalls and Aleph 3 and SD9200 does not sound too bright with them.
I agree with Electroid neither Bryston no Musical Fidelity are nice on the top, both sound metallic. I want to try CJ and may be Classe with my B&W. Im also thinking about trying Rega Apollo after I sort out the problem with the amp. People say it sounds very decent and its not too pricy.

Everyone thanks for your input.

CJ is any thing but bright and I think you would be happy with any of thier amps 250 watts or more that you can afford, old or new models. Thier SS amps are very warm sounding in my experience. I like to put tube pre on the SS amps,

beerdraft

Hi Bill,

After trying different apms with my 802 I concluded that your solution- biamping with tube and SS is optimal. I have very little experience with tube gear and I'm thinking about VTL ST 85 or 150. Can you tell me what tube amp are you using?

Thanks.
Alex

Alexv- Unless your amps have identical gain and sensitivity, your frequency response is going to be skewed. Anyone that understands freq. response will understand that it will be skewed in favor of the section receiving the higher gain. IE: If your mid/high section's amp has higher gain/greater sensitivity than your low's- You'll end up with a "too bright" or "thin" sounding response. It takes very few DB to sound wrong, especially when the disparity leaves a notch at the cross-over point. Find out the power output of the tubed amp you intend to use, and it's sensitivity(IE: 100W output @ 1.75V input) and find a SS amp to match, one with adjustable gain(a lot of studio/pro amps have that feature), or obtain a passive level control to attenuate it (http://www.creekaudio.co.uk/products/product_downloads/instructions/obh22.pdf).