B&W vs Dyn's ?!

Brian Ferris New member Username: Ilovemalta Post Number: 2 Registered: Aug-06	Posted on Sunday, August 20, 2006 - 08:42 GMT Hi guys ... Being a music lover too and an amateaur where it comes to hifi equipment, I am in the process of furnishing my appartment and can not miss out on an expressive sound system in my living room. This same room which measures approx 5 X 9 metres will be my open plan which will be also hosting my tv and home theatre surround system. To avoid duplicating costs, other enthusiasts have suggested to install a Harmann Kardon 5.1 amp & surround speakers for my home theatre, however replace both front speakers with 2 B&W 601 or 602 s. In this way I can carefully listen to Pink Floyd's detail (using 2 front speakers) whilst enjoying my wine, without compromising the occasional movie. The TV and hifi unit will be set on the 5 metre wall facing the 9 metre length. My questions are the following: a. Do the HK and the B&W go well together or should i consider another pair say Dynaudio etc... b. what amp power and respective speakers power should I be looking at ... Thanks in advance for all your recommendations guys. Brian
Hawk Silver Member Username: Hawk Highlands Ranch, CO USA Post Number: 870 Registered: Dec-03	Posted on Sunday, August 20, 2006 - 17:50 GMT Brian: Everyone has their own tastes and every piece of equipment has its own particular sonic signature, so you are correct to ask about how a receiver and a set of speakers match. I will give you my suggestions, but ultimately, it is up to you to decide what sounds best to your ears. B & W is a good speaker to provide detail, but there are many speakers that can provide the same level of detail. As for the receiver, HK is a fine brand, one of the very few I will recommend as it has the necessary attributes of a large and powerful power supply and excellent output stages. Nevertheless, I would not pair the HK with B&W 600 series speakers. The HK is the most laid back, almost dark sounding amps that exist. The B&Ws are also a bit on the laid back side. They combine to make for a less exciting and involving system. Now, as I said, each piece is very fine and a good value for the money, but the combo simply doesn't work for my ears. I have owned B&Ws in the past, and currently own a set of Dynaudios, so I know their sound quite well. Only real problem with the Dynaudios is that they are a 4 ohm speaker, and the HK is not rated to handle five 4 ohm speakers. You need an NAD, the only receiver under $1000 capable of driving a 5.1 speaker system of 4 ohm speakers. Now, if you want to go with the HK amp/receiver (let me know what you want to spend here), I would strongly recommend a brighter speaker that will bring out the detail in the HK amp, such as JMLabs (Cobalt series), Klipsch, or Mirage. Another good choice is the Athena F2.2s, which are being sold at a substantial discount by audioadvisor.com. (Athena is part of the same corporate group that makes Mirage). If you are sold on the B&Ws, then I recommend an amp that is a little more forward sounding, such as Marantz (a big one like the SR7500), NAD or Outlaw (available by mail order direct only). Any quality receiver (such as the four brands discussed here) will do an excellent job with music without compromising the occasional movie. However, IMO the major brands will all do movies adequately, but truly suck when it comes to music (Denon, Onkyo, and Yamaha, et al.). Their power supplies are simply too weak to do a decent job and this has been documented many times and their output stages are not very good quality compared to the brands I recommend. If you go with another brand of receiver suggested above, you can expand the number of speakers you want to use to include some great brands like Paradigm, PSB, Krix, Dynaudio and the B&W 600 series, among others. I could do more if I knew what you wanted to spend, but this should give you a start.
Brian Ferris New member Username: Ilovemalta Post Number: 3 Registered: Aug-06	Posted on Monday, August 21, 2006 - 17:55 GMT Hi Hawk ... Firstly, thanks a million for ur reply ... i was hoping for a kind hearted reply from someone Well re: my budget I assigned a total of US$ 3,000 circa for the whole audio sysem ... however out of which circa US$1200 equivalent i decided to spend on sonos (i am sure you heard of the www.sonos.com) So that leaves me with something close to U$1800 which includes speakers, amp and a dvd player possibly !!!! Well might be ready to stretch it only for a substantially better result but not for a tiny difference. I am not after high volumes, all i want is a detailed sound with unfogged vocals and distinction ... (sorry for my un-technical words but i hope i managed to explain what i have in mind Thanks once again for ur detailed reply ... BTW I'd guess, in Malta hifi equipent is circa 20% more costly. Best regards, Brian

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