B W Nautilus 802 - How much power?


I have been told that the 802's require a lot of power.
I have an Audio Research D300 (solid state) - 160 watts into 8 ohms. Do you think it can handle the 802's without straining?
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Showing 1 response by mdorsam

The N802s are listed as 8 ohms, nominal, yet actually spec-out at about 6 ohms. More importantly, a significant portion of there LF is in the 3 ohm range (there are significant peaks to 12 and 13, at certain frequencies). As such, your more important amplifier statistic is the 4 ohm power.

Also, an amplifier's 'slew rate': how quickly it can get from one signal to another, is very important: the N801s and N802s are that good.

There are any number of excellent amps out there: the Brystons, Theta Digital, Levinsons, et al. My only recommendation is careful audition anything that could be bright, such as the Krell. For the money, the Bryston is my first choice, either the 14 / 7 B-ST or the 4B-ST (250wpc). The N802s are rated at 91SPL, so you need a sophisticated amp (those named about or equivalent), not necessarily an extremely powerful one.