Which amp should I use for my B&W Nautilus 805?

A friend of mine is selling a Simaudio Moon. I heard it and was quite surprised by its sound quality. Knowing of the Sim Audio Products, I was not particularly surprised in the sense that it was high quality, just the magnitude of its clarity and poise, with great bass extension, as well as soundstaging. He demo'ed it to me on a pair of Tylers, quite good, then the Merlin, top speaker, and it was very good. Not good for the price, but good. I recommend it highly. It does not give false euphonic colors, but great control. The B&W's are a little 'friendly' in the bass, and this amp can help control them very well. He has the product, I think listed now, though it may be gone by now.
Anyway, at about 1150. it makes for a steal of a product. Any of the moon products are quite good. Tubes will be too soft and euphonic for MY taste. Also the Jolida, if you are into tubes, makes very good product, worth checking into. They also make hybrid, tube/solid combo pieces.
Good luck in your search.
Larry

Great input Steve. I was just shopping for something to drive my 805's and our advice confirms my suspicions.

I'm on the road back to TUBE world again (not particularly fond of the ss stuff -- it's just not for my ears.

Jim.

Really depending on what kind of music you generally listen to. For pop/rock, A300 may be a better choice (especially for the money). For jazz/classical, Classe would be best. My buddy used to drive his N805 with the Classe CAP 151 with great results, until he upgraded to a Cary preamp/AR tube amp combo. If you want a lush and warm tube-like amp to balance the slightly bright N805, Classe would be a great choice. No comment on the Arcam since I've never auditioned it, but heard good things about it too.

For your price range, you can consider the following used integrated:
Solid State
- Musical Fidelity A300
- Musical Fidelity A3.2
- Classe CAP 151
- Creek 5350
- Primare I20

Then again, you may want to look into tube integrated too. I was on the same boat a couple months ago looking for a solid state integrated, but ended up getting a tube one. Check out the following:
- Conrad Johnson CAV-50
- Jolida 502B
- Manley Stingray
- VAC Avatar (slightly more expensive)

Happy Auditioning...

Steve

Well what you might consider revealing I might consider ruthlessly bright. If you were asking for my opinion on the tonal balance of the Nautilu sspeaker you have I woudl say it is a bot bright. *I* would prefer to match it with a smoother sounding integrated. Classe is pretty smiooth, but the Classe power amp was so smooth to be tasteless and kind of bland. I prefered the Rega integrated amp to it as long as you have a small room. Rega gear in general is well priced and since I feel your speakers like some juice maybe the Exxon monoblocks would be a good idea. I think you may need to go and do some audtioning. There is only so much info you can gather from these boards.
All the best,
Vik

Thanks.
I would have to try Cary.
About Classe, is Cap 101 and 151 very different in sound?
Also, I am a little bit worried about the lower rating in audio review.com.
Thanks guys!

Vikvilkhu,
Do you regard 'revealing' as a bad feature for these speakers?

Of the ones you mentioned I prefer the Classe, especially with your speakers which are quite...revealing.

A beter option would be the Blue Circle integrated. If you wait around you can find one realy cheap and send it in for upgades or remote etc. Check out www.bluecircle.com
Vik

I use a AES (CARY) Superamp DJH with my 805's...I had it wired to be able to switch from triode to ultraliner on the fly. I think for the money ($1200) this sweet combo is hard to beat!