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Bronze Member Username: SorenpPost Number: 27 Registered: Aug-06 | Hi, I have just bought a pair of second hand B&W 705 speakers. While I love the sound of these delightful boxes, it seems like something is missing. The sound isn't as good as I remember it. I literally spent tens of hours listening and comparing these speakers to DM601, DM602, CDM1 SE and 805S in different setups some five years ago. Anyhow, I've got the feeling that i should be able to squeeze of a little more sound quality out of theses speakers than I get today. My current setup is: - NAD C320BEE (Integrated Amplifier) - NAD C521BEE (CD player) - Tara Labs RSC Reference II (Signal Cable) - B&W 705 (Speakers) - Tara Labs Prism Omni St BiWire (Speaker Cable) It's hard to pinpoint the exact "problem" with the sound, but here are some of my observations: - The bas nearly disappears at low volumes. - At volumes where the bas is auditable, it isn't as tight as I remember it. - High pitch sounds seem a little distorted. For instance cymbals don't seem to come alive. - Imaging seems a little too around the edges. I should probably mention that I've been using some very high dynamic recordings when testing. Sara K, Allan Taylor, Kari Bremnes, amongst others. All original CDs (no copies/mp3s). My first guess is that the amplifier might be the culprit. Anyone know how much power it would take to drive theses speakers at a decent level? Is the 320BEE fit for the task? If I need to get a new amp, what amp should I be looking at? Any other thoughts? Thankful for any suggestions/comments. Kind regards, Soren Petersen |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2151 Registered: Oct-07 | http://www.stereophile.com/content/bw-705-loudspeaker-measurements Link to stereophile test of the 705. From a quick look at the impedance / phase graph, the 50x2 even with the big dynamic power of the NAD, may not be enough. Can you try / demo any other amp? Can you try / demo any other source? |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 15940 Registered: May-04 | . IMO, the NAD isn't up to the B&W's demands. While the 705's aren't as power hungry as some few other B&W's, they want an amplifier with more current delivery than the NAD can deliver. That the bass goes away at low levels is your first clue. During your hours of comparisons, I would guesss you weren't using the same NAD amp but more likely one with about three times as much amperage in its power transformer and far more capacitve storage in its p.s. caps - in other words, an amplfier that probably weighed several times what the NAD carries. That's not to say watts are the answer as all watts are not created with equal skills and capabilities. If it's not the case that you auditioned the speakers with far more proficient amplifiers, then we should look elsewhere for the problems you're encountering. You would appear to be going at your system building with "speakers are the most important component" thinking. That concept is widely disputed in today's market with the emphasis having been replaced with "source first"/"the chain is only as strong as it's weakest link"/"garbage in equals garbage out" approaches to what a decent loudspeaker can show you about what's being put into its inputs. My first impression would be, you're asking a higher quality speaker not to show you what the front end of your system is (not) capable of doing. No matter how politely you ask, the B&W's just gotta be what they are and they will only be disagreeable if you want them to avoid the bad stuff at their door and only allow in the good. Other than that, 90% of what you hear from a system has to do with set up and speaker positioning. If you just plonked the B&W's down where they fit, you are probably hearing the results of your plonking. Read this thread; https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/672623.html . |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2155 Registered: Oct-07 | Isn't B&W part of the same corporate structure as ROTEL? Wouldn't that be a reasonable 'budget' place to start? The RB1080 or RB1090 would certainly pass muster in the current department, though the RB1070 @130x2 may be on the edge, since I have no confidence in its 4ohm ability. |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 4671 Registered: Feb-07 | I've heard Rotel and B&W are a good match. I've heard Rotel and B&W are not a good match. Indicative of this hobby. |
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Gold Member Username: MagfanUSA Post Number: 2167 Registered: Oct-07 | I've heard it both ways about Maggies and Mac, too. How about a Krell integrated? |
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Bronze Member Username: SorenpPost Number: 28 Registered: Aug-06 | Thanks for your answers and suggestions! I apologize most sincerely for not replying before now. Things (read: work) got somewhat complicated shortly after posting the question and I just never got around to writing a decent answer. Hope you can forgive me for being that impolite. Anyway, your comments have been most helpful and (among other things) caused me to shuffle around all my furniture to obtain better speaker positioning. Really improved imaging, focus and depth (also improved the usability of my apartment, but thats beside the point ;-) ). Unfortunately, repositioning didn't do much for the bass. I've also come to realize that a new amp is the way to go although I'm not sure whether this upgrade should be before or after purchasing a decent DAC and some kind of network-player solution. Kind regards, Soren |
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Platinum Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 17085 Registered: May-04 | . Speakers must work with the enclosure they are given, the enclosure being your room and its particular dimensions. Bass issues almost always begin with the room and the interaction of the pressure waves as they travel about the room in an omni-directional pattern. There is no room I've ever been in where the room itself was not the first thing which needed to be repaired before any equipment changes are made. Room treatments are to many people voodoo magic which they do not understand. Therefore, they avoid them in favor of those items which they can look at and judge by specs and play with in a tactile manner. However, as long as the room problems are untreated, nothing you change in the equipment can really change what you hear from the room. Read from about here; https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/698793.html#POST1985459 in this thread to get an idea of how room treatements can affect your system's performance. Otherwise, a DAC won't help your problems if the amplifier is not up to the task of driving the speakers. It will change your system and possibly create improvements in some areas but the problem of the amplifier not being up to the requirements of the B&W's will remain. . |