I own a pair of Matrix 802's. When I auditioned them, they were hooked up to a Bryston amp/pre-amp. I owned Krell and Threshold, and found the sound to be far too bright for my taste. I recently purchased Cary gear, and have never heard the B&W's sound better. They are warm and smooth and a joy to listen to. In your friends price point I would recommend the Cary SLI-80 integrated, which I just saw on this site for $ 1,750. I like Kimber hero interconnects and 8TC speaker wires. I wouldn't worry about the power rating, as I am using a Rocket 88 amp rated at only 20 wpc in triode mode, and find the power to be more than adequate in my 19 x14 room. I also heard the SLI-80 driving a pair of CDM-7's and found that to be a nice combo. Give it a try, you've nothing to lose.
B&W 804 Nautilus help
Have a friend who wants to build a system around B&W 804 Nautilus'. He has a rather awkward room, a bit on the small side with many varying dimensions which don't permit equall distances or surfaces to the side walls, little distance to the rear wall and a requires a near field listening postion. The room does have quite a few openings to adjoining spaces how ever.
Now to the heart of the matter, any thoughts on complimentary components. B&W indicates that these speakers drop down to 3 OHMS and suggest 50 to 200 watts per channel. First prioroity, power amp and line level only pre-amp (remote would be nice, but not absolutley required). Would like to keep these two units under $2500. Second priority is the digital source. He is interested primarily with CD playback but has some interest in DVD and digital recording. Would like to keep this under $1200. He currently has some single ended and balanced Wire World Eclipse interconnects and Wire World Polaris speaker cable. He is willing to consider other cable options after the first and second priorties are resolved.
He has requested a warm yet detailed sound and has eclectic taste in music.
As always thanks in advance for your help.
Now to the heart of the matter, any thoughts on complimentary components. B&W indicates that these speakers drop down to 3 OHMS and suggest 50 to 200 watts per channel. First prioroity, power amp and line level only pre-amp (remote would be nice, but not absolutley required). Would like to keep these two units under $2500. Second priority is the digital source. He is interested primarily with CD playback but has some interest in DVD and digital recording. Would like to keep this under $1200. He currently has some single ended and balanced Wire World Eclipse interconnects and Wire World Polaris speaker cable. He is willing to consider other cable options after the first and second priorties are resolved.
He has requested a warm yet detailed sound and has eclectic taste in music.
As always thanks in advance for your help.