I picked up a B&K Reference 5 s2 pre for $400.00, used and a B&K Reference 200.2 s2 amp for $650 used. I think it works quite well with my Paradigms, but don't know how it would do with the B&W, but I imagine it would be pretty good.
integrated or separates...on a $1200 price point?
I am running B&W 685s and a HSU sub in a 2.1 system, and I need to upgrade my 15 year old Yamaha receiver. I have been advised to purchase a high-end integrated rather than separates in my price range, which is around $1200 or so. So I am looking at: Creek 5350SE, Exposure 2010s, Parasound Halo A23/P3 (used), or used NAD gear (like the 2200 power amp). Looking for great sound reproduction across several genres, not all of which are easy to reproduce: rock, classical, some dense IDM, and other heavily layered music. I am wondering if the lower wattages of the integrateds leave enough head room to punch through the entire frequency spectrum.