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Recommendation for new amp/pre-amp to B&W 804D3

unobuntu

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Apr 8, 2021
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Hi,

I currently have a Lyngdorf TDAI1120 driving my B&W 804 D3 speakers (2.0 setup) both for music and movies, though I'm not quite satisfied with it.
I feel that the bass is lacking quite a bit at lower listening levels, and also that the sound image fells smaller than I’ve otherwise heard demoed on these speakers (I’ve felt more encapsulated by the sound when I’ve heard those speakers before - generally I've felt more punch from those speakers).
Hence I’m looking at a new amp :)


So, I’ve got my eyes on:
- NAD M33
- Linn Selekt DSM (Katalyst + Int amp)
- BoXon Arthur 4216/E2 + some preamp with streaming capability, HDMI-ARC, and room correction which is nicely designed and doesn’t take up too much space on the shelf (e.g. Linn Selekt DSM with line-out module)


My wishes to the amp/preamp are:
- Compact (don’t want big boxes)
- HDMI input
- Streaming
- Room correction
- A good looking design would be a plus :)


NAD33:
I’ve demoed the NAD M33, and it sounded quite good. It is quite a big box though - something smaller would be easier to fit into the living room. Though as it’s quite a new product it’s not easy to find second-hand, which is what I prefer. Also the remove doesn’t seem to be the most well-thought-though, and also I would prefer more physical shortcut-buttons the the front rather than only a touch-screen.

Linn Selekt DSM.
Has received some quite good reviews. Is the most beautiful designed of them all, has pretty good UX-design (physical buttons on the front, well designed remote and app), has long life time (software support-wise), though it’s not possible to demo them in my area with my speakers.

My concern is - would the 2x50W amp (8OHM) be enough to drive the 804D3? (It’s even less than the 2x60w of my current Lyngdorf 1120)

One dealer tells me that I can’t get enough power to drive those speakers (the NAD-dealer) and that a powerfull amp is also required at lower listening levels to get proper bass, while the other (the Linn-dealer) tells me that it doesn’t matter whether the amp can deliver 50W or 200W as long as the amplifier is well-designed - hence that 50W should be more that enough to drive those speakers (naturally, there would be a limit to how loud they can be played, but the 50W will be plenty to make the most out of the speakes at not crazy-listening-levels)


BoXon Arthur 4216/E2 + some preamp
From what I can read this should be a really good amp and plenty to drive the 804D3 - I’m considering pairing it with a Linn Selekt DSM as pre-amp, though most of Linn’s I’ve seen for sale has been with the built-in amp, hence I’m considering getting of those.

I’m also open to other pre-amps - Linn just seems to be the only one fitting the bill regarding being both compact, well-designed, easy to operate, and have room correction.


-----
Listening stage:
Three room apartment (85sqm - main listening room is 47sqm), for music, I rarely play at “party-levels”, but just a little louder than “normal speech level”, while for movies I like to crank it up a little bit (mostly up to 65% of max volume on the Lyngdorf 1120)


-- So the actual question is --


A:
How much power is needed to drive those speakers to their full potential at my listening levels? (like the NAD-dealer said: More power is always better)

Or is it as the Linn-dealer said, not a question of how much power, but rather a question of finding a technically well designed amp, which can’t be judged by looking at the power-specs?


B:
If I go with a seperate amp/pre-amp solution, would there be any contenders to the Linn Selekt DSM? (Having room correction, streaming support, being compact, well-designed, HDMI-input, a well-thought-out remote/physical user interface).
Amp-wise I'm completely convinced to go for a class-D, and Purifi modules seem to be the way to go in that respect :)

Best,
Ulrik
 

Hephaestus

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Hello there,
I will try to give you some tips.

I feel that the bass is lacking quite a bit at lower listening levels - The main reason for this is that our hearing is not linear. Bass needs to be compensated for lower listening levels. Google for Equal-loudness contour to figure out more. Some AVRs offer feature to compensate for that - unfortunately rarely found from hifi gear.

Sound image fells smaller than I’ve otherwise heard demoed on these speakers -This has more to do how your speakers and room interact together than how your amp is driving your speakers. In-room channel balance, sound reflection time signatures/differences (from walls etc) and bass smoothness are factors that play here.

A - Listening distance and required SPL are needed to give any answers

B - All-in-ones with a lot of power, versatile feature set and great measured performance are hard to find. Linn Selekt DSM is very expensive and has too "archaic" room eq and relatively weak amplifier. Otherwise it is pretty great device.
If you like your B&W speakers it might be best solution to have two separate devices: quality amp and pre/pro/dac/streamer
 

Dimifoot

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And 2 subs. Or 4.
 

Hephaestus

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And 2 subs. Or 4.
This is very good idea indeed. That Lyngdorf TDAI-1120 has 2 preouts for subwoofers and very good subwoofer management options in general.
 

Koeitje

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Add subwoofers.
 

Papillon

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What did you choose finally? I have the same question even though i have already decided to buy a selekt dsm
Now i need to test internal 50w amp or adding a Boxem 4512
 
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