Primare I30 and B&W 803D, enough power??


I am putting together a new system, going with a set of 803Ds bought from another audiogoner, and I am now looking into a integrated amp or separates, looking to spend around 1500-2000. I am reading very good reviews of the I30, but, on the other hand, many people mention that the 800 series are "power hungry" and many suggest 400 watt monoblocks for them....despite having a 90db sensitivity. Will I be fine with 100 watts (180 @ 4 ohms) for them? I am not looking to get ear bleeding levels, I dont crank it up since I live on an apartment and listening room is only 20 m2. My other idea is to go with some rotel power amps (1080 or 1090) but I think that the Primare will be in another league, sonically speaking.
Thanks in advance
demianm

Showing 1 response by knownothing

Hmmmm... Primare I30 will be very nice with the 803D at moderate to low listening levels for Jazz, chamber music and vocals, and will suffice for louder listening if not completely capable of convincing recreation of a full orchestra or the Who live.

For what it is worth, I think Dyn's are hungrier than B&W's. THat said, even though Classe electronics are distributed and often demo'd with B&W and the combination produces a very nice midrange, Classe's separates are really better suited for smaller scale music with the big B's, lacking some bass umph. I have not heard the 803D's with any Macintosh gear, but think that unless you want to go to some beastly integrateds like the Krell FBI, Plinius Hiato or a used Musical Fidelity KW, you are only going to get marginal improvements over the I30 with other 100 to 200 W Integratged solutions. The I30 is a really beefy little amp.