Hi, I am looking for some advice regarding using my receiver as a pre-amp. I have the Yamaha RXV 1800 which I am using to bi-amp the B&W 683. I am happy with the sound it produces but also curious to see if there are any more improvements I can make to ring out the speakers full potential. I was thinking pairing up the yammie with the Rotel RB 1080. The yammie has a good DAC from Burr Brown but probably not it's top of the line DAC. Looking forward to your replies. Thanks
Best way to improve the sound from your 683s is to pull them out from so close to the wall. In that location, I'd expect them to be producing so much bass as to render all the bass notes inarticulate (one note) and make voices sound a bit leaden.
Thanks Frank. The placement of the speakers were just temporary as we were having guest over that night for a christmas party. Normally the speakers will be 3ft. from the wall. Thanks again.
So, is it worth the money to get the Rotel and use my reciever as a pre-amp? I listen to music 70 percent of the time. But will go the 5.1 channel route soon for home theater. Will also be moving into a new home this June and the living room will be substantially larger than my current living room. I am new at this game and I am trying to build up a good system. The 600 series are decent but if I had more money, I would definitley go with the B&W 803D and use Classe as the source. Have I hit a brick wall here? Is this as far I can go to get the best sound from the 683 without having to spend more on the source than what my speakers are worth? Thanks
Thanks Nuck for taking the time to reply to my questions. I have heard others saying that the Rotel/B&W are a good match given that Rotel is now part of B&W. Before I bought my speakers, I auditoned the 683 wich was hooked up to the NAD (forgot wich model it was) and Arcam CD player. It sounded good to my ears and that is when I decided to go with the 683. I have also auditioned some Paradigns, Monitor Audio, B&W CM7 and others in the 683's price range. But fell in love with the 683. Went home and did some more research and found a lot of good reviews regarding the Yamaha RXV 1800. So I took a gamble and bought it and also purchaced Sony BDP-S 500 Blu Ray player. Yamaha has the Burr Brown DAC wich can process 192khz/24bit and so doese the Blu Ray player. And on some recordings wich are digitaly mastered in 24 bit sounded really good versus redbooks. So after a month or so I went back to the store I got my speakers from to audition B&W's HTM 1 center channel and the 685 for the rear channel, they all matched well with the 683's. Again being caught up in the moment, I wanted to hear the 683 hooked up the NAD but forgotten to even look at the model (wife was getting impatient) To my surprise, what I had in my home sounded better. But also perhaps it may be that store didn't have a good room for auditioning. I bought the Yammie because of it's ability to handle some audio signal types and audio signal formats like Dolby TrueHD, DTS-Master Audio bitstreamed,DTS-HD High resolution Audio and other video signals and format. It's true then, you really can't have your cake and eat it too. So I take it that the only way for the 683's to sound even better is to get the Rotel integrated amp? I can't wait to audition them. Thank's again Nuck
Another way to go is to get the Rotel power amp and see how it sounds and then you can always eventually go with a separate 2-ch setup by buying a Rotel pre-amp and pairing it with the Rotel power. Right now I'm using a Bryston 3B-ST with my Onkyo 805 as a pre/pro and it has worked out well, a real step up from the Onkyo alone, especially when it comes to music. I eventually plan to set up a separte 2-ch using the Bryston with an appropriate pre but what I've got now is a good intermediary step. It all depends on the cash you have on hand and how fast you want to move.
I might just do that. At least I can always buy the Rotel pre-amp later on. I just wanted to know if i would here any significance in the quality of sound when pairing up the Rotel to the Yamaha then just using the Yamaha for 2 channel listening. Thanks everyone for the replies. I really apreciated all the help. This has been a fun hobbie for me and I have learned a alot. Here is my set up without all the christmas trimmings.
Ricky, you sound like you're at the end of the hobby...audio is an ongoing thing. Wait until you start tweaking. Keep on the forum...you'll see it can be an all consuming passion.
Let us know what happens. I'm sure that the Rotel/B&W pairing will noticeably improve your current Yamaha/B&W pairing, especially when it comes to music. See if your dealer will let you try one out for a week or so.
Oh BTW Ricky, you're setup is very sweet. I really like to look of your towers. You've got a very similar setup to mine; however, I wall mounted my 40 inch LCD and put my centre on the top shelf.
Ricky, those speakers really need more space around them, like away from the rear wall.
I know that we all have considerations, understood, but you will get the biggest difference bringing them out into the room. Did you hear the 685 standmounts when you bought?
Thanks George, I will let you all know as to how the Rotel worked out with the Yamaha. I was introduced to B&W's back in the early 80's when my father had the DM 100 i hooked up to a Harmon Kardon 385 using Pioneer turntable and a cassette deck from Sony. Ofcourse I was too young to really apreciate the sound it made. So that was my introduction to Hi-Fi. This hobbie of mine will not end that I can assure you. Now it's just scrounging some cash here and there and doing some balancing act with the wifey regarding priorities. Oh, and the reason as to why I don't have my display mounted on the wall is because we are renting a condo. Will be moving into a house this June with a larger living room. I will post some pictures here for you guys to critique my speaker placement. ha ha ha Two of my good friends are jumping in too and both of them has your receiver. The Onkyo 805 and both have Samsung's blu ray player and Samsung's LCD. Chris my friends has Paradigms Studio 20's While Ed has the B&W 685's. So as you can see, this has been all fun for us and adicting. How about posting some pictures of your set up George? Would love to see your set up.
I wish I can move those speakers forward more. That is why I am so looking forward to this move we're going to make this June. Yes I have auditioned the 685's but at that time, I knew we were going to be a home owner soon and that is why I went with the 683's. I have done a lot of tweaking here and there and this was the best compramise I could come up with. Right now I have it 3 ft from the wall. I used the YPAO wich is equivalent to the Onkyo's Audysey to automaticaly configure/adjust the sound. Basically optimizing the speaker setting for my listening room. Thank's for your help. I really apreciated all your inputs.
Oh well, if you are moving into a different room, Ricky, I would wait until then to make a move. Get the room set up and optimized again, consider tasteful room treatments and wall coverings before buying more stuff?
Your group of friends will be very helpful in your decision it seems, which is great!
