2. amps-preamps
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Hegel H300 and B&W 803 Diamond

Recently bought B&W 803 Diamond (maybe the last batch) and matched with my existing amplifier Hegel H300. Preliminary observation is that:

1) Great sound stage and high/mid level performance, transparency is awesome, the vocals are airy and sounds wonderful.

2) Bass... heard this is the most difficult part to drive 803 Diamond, well I must say so far I didn't find the bass meet my expectation yet, kind of thin and hollow. Just burn in the speaker for 10 days so it may take time, but it may not improve that much;

3) I recently tried Divalet 200, it has some improvement but not significantly. People are recommending Pass 350 to really open up 803D. The question: can I use my H300 as preamp or have to use Pass own pre? Anyone ever tried it?
loire
4 responses Add your response
mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,479 posts
 
Most integrated amps do not make for good pre amplifiers. Do not skimp on this piece, it is critical to get right, and when you do it will bring your whole system together, you could even go with a tube pre amp? Of course a Pass labs pre would be awesome as well. good luck checking out pre amps :-)

Matt M
theothergreg
222 posts
 
The H300 has a pre-out, so you can definitely use it as a pre amp.  If you like the sound stage as an integrated, you will most likely enjoy it as a pre-amp as well since the only thing you are doing is bypassing the internal amp.  Since you already have it, you might as well give it a try with the amp first before investing in another pre-amp.
toneranger58
126 posts
 
Have you done anything further? I have a H300 and would be interested on your findings. I demoed my H300 with the new Sopra No.2 speakers and the bass was tuneful and very full, no issues with the Focal's.
extravaganza
373 posts
 
bass of sopra's much better than B&W803D,these paticular B&W needs I would say power amp and tube preamp,to sound full and engaging
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