FWIW, I used to have B&W CM4 (the previous line) with Rotel RB1080 amp and RC1070 pre and sounded very good to me. I later discovered B&W aluminum tweeters work really well with tubed amplification, again, to my ears (and now with B&W 804S).
Integrated for B&W CM7s?
Hello,
My current system consists of B&W CM7s, a Rega P2 turntable, and lossless music streamed via iTunes and an Airport Express. At the moment this is all running through an Onkyo TX-SR804 AVR w/ the Airport Express connecting via toslink.
I'm looking for an integrated amp and a separate DAC to replace the Onkyo (unless I find a decent integrated with a DAC). Analog is important and I'll eventually upgrade to a P3. I have no plans to go back to a dedicated CD player and will continue to use the lossless iTunes solution for digital (may eventually move to a Mac Mini connected directly to a DAC).
An obvious choice for B&W is Rotel RA-1520. However, I'm also interested in either Naim Nait 5i or the Rega Mira 3. The challenge is finding a Rega dealer that also has B&W to try the CM7 -> Mira 3 combo. Anyone have opinions of the Naim or particularly the Mira 3 with B&W? I've listened to both with the Rega RS3/5 and various Totems, but never the B&Ws. I've also demoed the Rotel/CM7 combination but not in the same dealer - so comparisons are difficult. Any other combinations you'd suggest with the CM7s?
Room is 12 x 20 feet. I'd like to keep the integrated to < $1500 USD and another $500 - $1000 USD for a DAC. Music is quite varied with the focus being acoustic jazz.
My current system consists of B&W CM7s, a Rega P2 turntable, and lossless music streamed via iTunes and an Airport Express. At the moment this is all running through an Onkyo TX-SR804 AVR w/ the Airport Express connecting via toslink.
I'm looking for an integrated amp and a separate DAC to replace the Onkyo (unless I find a decent integrated with a DAC). Analog is important and I'll eventually upgrade to a P3. I have no plans to go back to a dedicated CD player and will continue to use the lossless iTunes solution for digital (may eventually move to a Mac Mini connected directly to a DAC).
An obvious choice for B&W is Rotel RA-1520. However, I'm also interested in either Naim Nait 5i or the Rega Mira 3. The challenge is finding a Rega dealer that also has B&W to try the CM7 -> Mira 3 combo. Anyone have opinions of the Naim or particularly the Mira 3 with B&W? I've listened to both with the Rega RS3/5 and various Totems, but never the B&Ws. I've also demoed the Rotel/CM7 combination but not in the same dealer - so comparisons are difficult. Any other combinations you'd suggest with the CM7s?
Room is 12 x 20 feet. I'd like to keep the integrated to < $1500 USD and another $500 - $1000 USD for a DAC. Music is quite varied with the focus being acoustic jazz.