+1 Almarg. the 801s should be just fine in a 1000 sq. ft. room.
B&W 801 vintage speakers in small space
I have vintage 801s (1979) powered by a similarly aged Stasis II, both still awesome with no service issues. All of my other components are history. I have downsized to smaller space, with an open great room listening space of no more than 1000 square feet and need to revamp my system. Seeking suggestions for whether I should trade for something else or complete my system building on these. What other components should I consider? I am a novice here, just love the sound these old friends produced, even bi-amped with my old Beomaster and Beogram (both long gone). I need and welcome advice.
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Thank you, Erik, Al, and Swampwalker. I will consider what you have recommended, and will check out the CJ. I listen to vintage LPs and CDs, and just started listening to streamed material. The space has hardwood floors, area rugs, wood in the kitchen and DR furniture, and a few upholstered pieces. The windows have double pleated shades, and the ceiling is peaked at 12'. I consider the entire great room my listening space and will have to determine the sweet spot. The space definitely is live. Any recommendations for a turntable and CD player? I know these are key to sound quality. Budget will allow ~$1000 max for each component I add. I live in western Colorado in a small town, which limits my sources to Denver visits. |
YW, lawlass (perhaps an attorney of the female persuasion?).
Unless I missed something, you will also need a pre-amp (with phono
stage if you want to spin vinyl) to switch sources and control volume. Rather than drop $1K on a CDP, I would go with a music streamer. Neal Van Berg of Sound Science is in Castle Rock, I think, and he often has trade-ins. His Music Vault streamers are set up to rip CDs and also can access streaming services like Tidal, Roon, Spotify, etc. They store the files with an auto-back-up and I think they sound fantastic. I've been a customer for about 10 years now and cycled through 2 upgrades to my original unit. Very pleased with his products and first rate support via phone, email and log-me-in. |
Lawlass, in the event that you prefer a CD player rather than an approach such as the one Michael (Swampwalker) suggested above, among a great many possibilities in the listings of used players that are presently being offered for sale here the one that particularly catches my eye is the following listing for an Ayre CX-7eMP. Although the $1595 asking price exceeds your stated budget somewhat, you would be getting what was originally a $3950 component produced by a company that is extremely well regarded not only for the quality of its products but also for its support, should a problem ever arise with the unit which would make that necessary. https://www.audiogon.com/listings/cd-sacd-players-ayre-acoustics-cx-7e-mp-2018-01-21-digital Scroll down about 1/3 of the way on the following page to see a summary of Stereophile’s comments, extracted from various reviews they have done of this player and its predecessor versions: https://www.stereophile.com/content/recommended-components-2017-edition-disc-players-transports-medi... I have no knowledge of or affiliation with the seller, but I see that he has feedback which is both excellent and extensive. Best regards, -- Al |
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