Pass INT-250 for B&W 800's

but i can tell you that a bipolar amp will be better with b&w speakers but i also can tell you that the b&w speakers are volume limited so huge power may not be required in a normal room

So correct, also the bi-polar Gryphon Diablo 300 is not a huge 500watt, it’s 300watt amp similar to the Pass, but it can just do "current delivery" far better into low impedances with combination of -phase angle that the 800’s have better. So it controls better and delivers dynamics better with no strain into those loads. And it sounds typically Gryphon Class-A’ish without the heat penalty.

Cheers George

jeffreyw


All the above recommendations will sound fine, but you bought the B&W 800 because they are B&W’s flagship speaker, why settle for an amp that is "fine" with them.
The Pass won’t have amperage ability of the Gryphon, and many say have the "Mosfet haze" to their sound, and the "transformer coupled" SS Mac’s, will have even less control. But they both will sound "fine".

Get the Gryphon Diablo 300 which will control them far better than any other mentioned here, and have the magic transparent class-A sound they have also.

Cheers George

The Maggies are just a straight benign resistive 4-6ohm load, nothing like the B&W800’s
And the Gryphon will give even more of that Class-A sound.

My friend a very good tech, has the 800’s and owned my NC500’s (Belcanto ref600m copies) monoblocks with linear supplies, and they could not drive the 800’s to his satisfaction, now he drives them with this like I have also, and it does sound so much better. As an integrated for your speakers you won't go passed the Gryphon Diablo 300.
https://ibb.co/4V9GPwy
https://ibb.co/56WcSqh

Cheers George

jeffreyw

The more I look at the Gryphon Diablo 300 the more it’s the amp for you, it sticks out 300w into 8ohms and still belts out 950w into 2ohms!!! For an integrated this is unsurpassed from what I’ve seen, and should mate perfectly with the B&W800’s and their heavy load.

The extreme high current capability of the Diablo 300 allows it to double its output to 600 Watts in a 4 Ohm load and deliver a massive 950 Watts into 2 Ohms.

https://gryphon-audio.dk/shop/integrated-amplifiers/gryphon-diablo-300-integrated-amplifier/

Cheers George

jeffreyw


The 800’s are very current hungry, earlier ones even more so, look more towards large "bi-polar" (Gryphon) integrated ’s they will give more current into those demanding loads, rather than large "mosfets" (Pass).

There are minima of 3.15 ohms at 91Hz, 3.1 ohms at 620Hz, and 3.67 ohms at 21kHz. Given that there are current-hungry combinations of 4 ohms and –52° electrical phase angle at 62Hz and 5.3 ohms and –39° phase angle at 8.6kHz

Cheers George