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
matt_gf
How do I power my B&W 800D(3)s
You will need an amp the can deliver good current down to 2ohms with this sort of impedance and -phase angle in the lower regions. Think big Krell type amps with bi-polar (BJT) output stages, not mosfet or tube.

http://www.stereophile.com/images/616BW802fig1.jpg

Cheers George
It doesn’t matter what you connect to the 800D3, the stage will never become a deep and wide stage. I owned the best B&W loudspeakers and I know people who owned and own them.

We test each single part on properties, these properties you cannot change. It is the DNA of a brand or product.

In 2002 I auditioned a jazz concert. This was the first time that I ever audtioned a concert with a stunning level of stage depth, individual focus of instruments and voices. And also the diversity in height. And I thought; this is how an audio system should sound.

That time I owned the B&W 802N, which I replaced in 2005 by the 800S. I still had only one meter of stage depth. This started to irritate me more and more. I had the hope that the B&W 800D1 would solve this problem.

But when I audtioned them, it was still 1 metre of stage depth. That was the reason why I stopped with B&W after more than 8 years listening to their speakers.

Audio is a also a progress in knowledge and insight. I had the options to test and compare so many stuff in over 18 years of time. It is my living, but I never saw it as work. This is the thing I love most. I can compare and test all the time. In my world only the best counts, 2nd and 3th best does not add anything in my world.

3-dimensional audio has become my trademark. And the response you get from people is of a totally different level than the time I also sold 2 dimensional audio.

It has changed my perspective in audio and music a lot. It made music and audio so much more addictive than I ever had with any 2 dimensional system.

Since 2009 I only sell audio loudspeakers and components which can create a deep and wide stage. I will never go back to sell any kind of 2 dimensonal audio. That would be the time to look for another job.

The people who own a 3 dimensional system use their system so much more than they used a system in the past. This is how big the influences are when you go from 2D to 3D.

Even when you play a song wit only 1 singer and an acoustic guitar. And you compare it between a 2 dimensional system and a 3 dimensional system. The song has a totally different effect on your emotion.

When you play an acoustic song with a 3 dimensional system the singer becomes so much more intimate and tangible. The space around singers and instruments has a big influence on our emotion.

The problem is that most people have no reference frame in how music and instruments sounds in real. That is why we have ideas to use real instruments and voices to show people how small and direct they sound in real. Intimate sound is a part of our Tru-Fi what we use and want voices and instruments to sound like.

George is right that the 800D3 needs power and current to be controled and create a realistic low frequency.
Yawn more trufi speech by Bo.

I tell you Matt (op), you have great speakers, audition amps and buy what you like.  

I had a client with 800D1, he owned Mark Levinson H33. It sounded dull. So I adviced him Pass Labs X600.5. They are a great match.

The Pass labs Labs X600.5 can build a very deep and wide stage. But with the DNA of the B&W the stage was still not that deep. This is a part no one can change.

B&W need new developers who are able to create better crossovers and drivers with a faster response. This is what you need to create a bigger and holographic huge stage. This will always be an essential part of highend.

I know many people with an expensive audio system who don’t take a 2 dimensional system serious either. For them as for me this has nothing to do with ’real’ highend.


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