2. home-theater
  3. 1037902794

Need more punch from my B&W802 III HT setup

My B&W 802 matrix S/III are lacking the punch that I had with my Mirage OM-6 setup. I assume the lower end is lacking in wattage as my OM-6 towers had a built in 150W amp. I am running the following gear:

Pair B&W 802 Matrix III main
B&W HTM-1 Center Channel
Klipsch IW250 Ceiling speakers (forced to go with in wall setup in rear)
Mirage BPS-400 sub
Klipsch SW12 sub

Adcom GTP-830 7.1 processor
Adcom GFA-7400 100wX5
Sony NS900V DVD/SACD

I assume that I need at least 200W high current amp for the 802’s to come alive in the bottom end so I am considering the following amps. Keep in mind that I am married and have to cope with the (WAF).

Adcom GFA 5503 200wX3 for the front
Adcom GFA 555II @ 200wX2 for the rear

Or

Possible looking into a Sunfire Cinema Grand 200X5 amp. If this will provide the punch that I am looking for this may be the best suited for the space in my current cabinet. The Sunfires 45lb’s is what worries me. I thought heft was a good thing in an amp?

My budget is limited to about $1,200-1,500 because I am trying to sell the wife on a Runco Projector.

Any help would be appreciated,

Michael
mrlabguy

Showing 1 response by steveaudio

steveaudio
331 posts
 
These are just my thoughts as I've owned B&W M802 SIII's for a few years. I'm more of an audio person than HT, altho I do watch/listen to DVD's with my CAL CL25, B&W M802's, ARC VT100 MKII, etc.

B&W M802's are not the easiest speakers to drive. They like lots of power, & IMO also sound great with tubes. The Adcom amps, I dunno, if you can get them used, cheap, would be worth trying perhaps. The VT100 MKII sounds great w/the M802's (only 2 ch. of course)......if you want SS amps, what about the C-J MF series? For SS, the least expensive I'd use would be Bryston.

The only problem w/M802's is that cheaper amps or pre-amps will drive you crazy; Adcom or NAD stuff that you could get away with with lesser speakers may not sound good. Just my 2 cents.


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