How do I power my 800D(3)s


Hi folks

I am new to this, but trying to learn fast!

I have long been a fan of Bowers and Wilkins and I am lucky enough to buy a brand new pair of 800D(3)'s.  I have recently built a new house, so now have enough space for this very special purchase, which I plan to make in the next month or so.

I want to run a two channel system in our living room so it's a pretty simple layout.  Can anybody give me some advice, so that I get the best out of the speakers.  Will a Pre-Amp, and an Amp be enough with a Streamer?  Do I need two amps?  

Can you also advise on the best brands to look at.  I see that B&W tends to show the speakers off in thier demo's with Classe?  Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Matt
128x128matt_gf
I don’t think that it is bad to manufacture audio in China when you use good parts. When you start to use cheaper parts the sound and quality is different.

I just spoke a person today who uses AudioResearch, he said; that the new pre amps uses cheaper parts and he didn’t like the sound and quality either.

In my world you need better materials instead of cheaper and inferior parts. You need to give people more quality, we already have too much quantity in audio.
Matt,

i seldom participate on the forums, but you asked about Linn.  I have a pair of 802D2s (and a matching center HTM) that I originally paired with a Mac MC303.  They sounded great -- I thought. Then I acquired a Linn Sondek (my digital side is all Meridian), and my friend told me I wasn't hearing the full potential from the 802Ds. He convinced me to trial the Linn Klimax Solos.  Game over.  I ordered 3 of them within a week. They ain't cheap -- you can find older ones with the old power supply, but get the Dynamik'ed ones. So fast, so sharp, so transparent.  It was like a bought a new set of speakers. 

So to sum up, I've run 802Ds on Mac and on Linn, and if you can afford them, get the Linns (Klimax Solos).   You won't regret it.  
My system is: sources: McIntosh MCD500 CD player & Marantz TT-15S1 Reference Belt Drive Turntable (Audioclear, made in Germany); Preamp: McIntosh C50; Amp: one pair of Balanced Audio Technology VK-1000; Speakers:B&W 801D (last 801 version with Diamond tweeters and 15' bass driver); cabling: CD to Preamp & Preamp to Amps: two pairs of original NBS Black Label II; true bi-wire speakers cables: two pairs: Transparent Audio ULTRA MM1 & ULTRA MM2; Power Cables: 6 NBS Black Label II ( 4 for BAT VK-1000s, 2 for CD player MCD500 & Preamp C50).
I compared multiple times with the 800D2 system of Magnolia (in BestBuy). Mine performs much supperer in every aspect! Even my VK-1000s are almost 20 years old!

Audiophile guys know Magnolia carries McIntosh CD player and Preamp and monoblock McIntosh Amps
bo1972 the only thing you can pick on is stage depth? In my experience, I sold and installed high end audio for 9 years, the perceived sound stage of a system, depth, width and height, was much more a product of the environment and set up than the actual speaker design. Physics is a science that you cannot overcome, a two channel stereo system only has two point sources, they are generally set up in the same plane so as to give a balanced image to the listener. For the purpose of this conversation we will limit the comments to speakers that radiate in one direction, when you get into dipole and planar speakers it is an entirely different conversation. That being said any perception of stage depth, width or height is an illusion painted by the speaker. 

Most people are best advised to purchase a speaker for the tonal characteristics and range they can reproduce. Then, with competent professional help, get them set up properly in their room for their particular desires. Everybody has different experiences and references they use when comparing systems. For example take two audiophiles that have tickets to the same symphony, in the same hall and the same night. One has tickets in the third row of the orchestra section, the other at the rear in a balcony. What they hear and what they find critical to reproducing that live concert experience will require different home stereo systems. Consider they most likely have different home listening environments and budgets, their respective home systems will not be the same. 

Speaker manufacturers go to great lengths to insure phase and time alignment of their products so the signals from each of the individual drivers making up a speaker system arrive at the listeners ears at the same exact time. B&W designs their products to be more forgiving in the various environments they will be used, no two rooms are the same. My experience has shown me that outside of speakers that can be adjusted for the environment, like Wilson Audio, B&W are more forgiving of their environment than other brands. In regards to sound stage I have found that adequate distance from the wall behind the system is critical when tuning the system to the room. 

Regarding power amplifiers, the others on this forum are correct, B&W speakers are relieving enough that every amplifier, and I don't just mean different brands, but each model within a brand, will sound a bit different. In addition the upstream components and cabling are also factors that will influence the sound. My experience is that B&W speakers like as much power as you can give them, no matter how loud you like to listen. You can easily justify the cost of mono block power amplifiers as well as bi-amplification if you so desire. You might like the sound of two 300 watt mono amps better than a single 600 watt amp in your system. 

Please keep in mind, when dealing with high power amplifiers the electrical system in your house can be a limitation. If you live in the USA, with 120 volt service, you would a dedicated 20 or 30 amp outlet/breaker for each amplifier. Some companies even recommend 240 volt service for their larger amplifiers, e.g. Mark Levinson and McIntosh, and offer 240 volt/ 60 Hz versions for sale in the USA. there is nothing more frustrating than a few of hundred of dollars of electrical work limiting your $100,000 system.

Classe and B&W are part of the same corporate holding company, and B&W uses Classe electronics when developing their speakers. I have heard it said B&W "voiced" (like a concert piano will get fine tuned) with Classe electronics. Because of their corporate kinship Classe would certainly be a great starting point. 

I once sold 4 B&W 802S with McIntosh electronics to a well known concert pianist. He wanted a speaker in each corner of his conservatory at his house where he practiced. I can here the collective gasp form all you purists.  He wanted to achieve the illusion of being in the middle of the orchestra, just like he experienced when he was performing. that was the way he was used to hearing himself. He also had his piano "voiced" to compliment the speakers. I had a chance to hear him play with the system as accompaniment, it was an unforgettable experience.

One last piece of advice to Matt, the home listening experience is all about emotion. You should try to have your system bring back the emotional component of the experiences you are trying to recreate or simulate. Striving to reproduce music exactly as it is experienced live, particularly in acoustic performances, with different point sources for each instrument will drive you to drink, abuse drugs, and end up in a unstable emotional state like bo1972.