Need recommendation for AMP for B&W 707 S2

[Springfeel]

Hello,

Recently my friend gave me a pair of Bowers and Wilkins 707 S2 speakers, and I am trying to find an amplifier that can bring out the full potential of these speakers. I noticed that the Cambridge Audio CXA-81 was on sale at Crutchfield and felt that it would be a good match, but noticed the review by Emir on it and gained the impression that it wasn't as great as the reviews say. For reference I am pretty new to this hobby and was hopeful to gain some insights from others who are more knowledgeable about speakers so that I can make an informed decision. My application would be to use these as desktop speakers for both gaming and listening to music. I unfortunately am not able to audition these speakers with different sources & amps so I really would appreciate any advice from people who are familiar with speakers / own these particular speakers.

Although I was initially drawn in by the CXA-81 due to the sale price, after perusing some of the reviews on this site I can't help but feel there is better value out there (eg. Emir's review on the Topping LA90). If the LA90 offers better performance than the CXA-81 for hundreds of dollars less, I could put that money towards a DAC that would allow me to connect to other sources via USB, bluetooth, TOSLINK, etc. I know that bluetooth is lossy but would appreciate a setup that would allow me to connect wirelessly to stream music from multiple devices. Any advice is deeply appreciated.

 

[Joffy1780]

What budget are you working with?

P.S. it's Amir by the way

 

[Springfeel]

What budget are you working with?

I apologize for not including that in the original post. I am working with about 1300 USD (about how much the CXA-81 is) but am pretty flexible.

P.S. it's Amir by the way

Oh whoops. I have always admired the effort he puts into his posts. Sadly there's just too many 'options' out there about speaker/amp combos that I can't really tell what would work best for me.

 

[Springfeel]

I would also like to note, I have a "Grace SDAC Balanced" DAC that I got for my headphones a while ago, it doesn't have any volume controls or anything so having a knob or something on the amp would be a plus.

 

[Joffy1780]

You're unlikely to find any recommendations here on what amps sound best with a certain speaker brand/model, as in theory any decent amp should sound the same.
Also there doesn't seem to be a lot of love for B & W and their 'house sound' here either, but that being said if I had a budget of $1300 I'd be looking to get a DAC with EQ/room correction like a Minidsp Flex and a Hypex based power amp.
If you're based in the USA I would look at Buckeye Power amps.

 

[Springfeel]

Thanks for your reply. I noticed alot of the buckeye amps are rated at over 100W @ 8ohms, I am worried that might be too much power for my speakers (I believe they're rated 30-100W @ 8 ohms), is there a buckeye amp that would work for these?

 

[Springfeel]

I am also US based.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Thanks for your reply. I noticed alot of the buckeye amps are rated at over 100W @ 8ohms, I am worried that might be too much power for my speakers (I believe they're rated 30-100W @ 8 ohms), is there a buckeye amp that would work for these?

Too much power is not an issue. You just don’t crank ‚em up as much. Plus you would have a „future proof“ amp.

 

[Springfeel]

Too much power is not an issue. You just don’t crank ‚em up as much. Plus you would have a „future proof“ amp.

So could I connect an amp rated at 200W @ 8ohms? How would I ensure that I don't damage the speakers? Also would that mean I need a DAC with volume controls?

 

[Springfeel]

I also notice the March Audio p262, at 8 ohms it's only marginally above the rating of my speakers and seems to be built really well. Can anybody comment on this if they have it?

 

[Joffy1780]

So could I connect an amp rated at 200W @ 8ohms? How would I ensure that I don't damage the speakers? Also would that mean I need a DAC with volume controls?

If you're gonna be using in a desktop or nearfield situation you would have to be playing at a ridiculous level to damage the speakers.
You would need a DAC or preamp with volume control for any of the power amps from March/Buckeye etc, yes.

 

[jmillar]

You can set volume in most dacs with the remote (without a physical knob). You must make sure the volume is DOWN before switching on your power amp. Otherwise you can blow your speakers (or your ears!) Some people dislike volume knobs on a power amp (e.g.LA90) but they CAN be pretty handy. Purifi or Hypex amps (and power amps in general) don't usually have vol controls.

In your near/mid field setup LA90 would be enough and be superbly clean to boot. Purifi or Hypex based amps give you lots of very clean power for any situation you may encounter. You can adjust volume on your dac with physical knob or remote.

In my home setup I use the very clean A90 headphone amp/preamp feeding my purifi pwr amp. It's great in both roles: headphone amp and preamp duty.
In my second setup I have an RME ADI2 dac/preamp/hp amp. It's a nifty device if you like to tweak things, such as EQ (for serious hp use).

The B&W 707 are a bit "sparkly". (EQ may help). Others such as the Elac UBR62 or KEF R3 are more neutral.