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Amplifier Suggestions

Jim Renaud

Jim Renaud

New Member
I have a Dual CS 505-3 turntable and just scored some free Bowers & Wilkins DM2 MK2. My Kenwood KR-720 is fine for my bedroom set up (40wpc) powering some JBL shelf speakers, but I think I'll need some more beef for these power hungry B&W's.

Ideally, I'd like to keep the amplifier vintage to the late 70's / early 80's to match the vintage style of the speakers and turntable, but that's not a must have. I also want to keep the cost under $500 if possible. Any recommendations?

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Vintage, I'd go with a Yamaha integrated amp. Their clean lines would complement your speakers and they sound great too.
 
I'm a big fan of Sony ES amps. Clean designs, well executed and built like tanks. They would compliment almost any speaker system....
 
Vintage, the Kenwood, Sony, Marantz, Pioneer and Yamaha gear look good. The trick is finding vintage gear in good condition. You can get new Yamaha integrated amps in that price range and with silver fronts. The Yamaha A-S501 runs around 550 dollars and looks great in silver and it has analog and digital inputs. I have the A-S500 which has the same performance but it doesn't have the digital inputs. 85 watts per channel.

Good luck!
 
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johnda said:
Vintage, the Kenwood, Sony, Marantz, Pioneer and Yamaha gear look good. The trick is finding vintage gear in good condition. You can get new Yamaha integrated amps in that price range and with silver fronts. The Yamaha A-S501 runs around 550 dollars and looks great in silver and it has analog and digital inputs. I have the A-S500 which has the same performance but it doesn't have the digital inputs. 85 watts per channel.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

What he said. When it's real estate, location, location, location. When it's vintage audio, it's condition, condition, condition. Those B&Ws look nice. So probably you already get the condition thing. You might want to consider separates, too. Power amps tend to be beefier, overall, compared with integrateds or receivers, and can be found surprisingly affordable, if that is what you need. Including a preamp. My first stop is always Barter Town for used equipment, but you have to know the secret handshake to gain access to this exclusive online site.
 
A beautiful Tandberg receiver would look and sound good with those B&W DM2s. I've always loved the proportions of the DM2 and DM7 speakers. The Tandberg receivers are very elegant. A Denon, Yamaha, or Pioneer Elite integrated amp would also work well. I was gifted a Denon PMA900v and it still sometimes surprises me in its capabilities. Also good sounding are the microswitch twitchy HK integrated amps from the 1980s. Some people dislike Adcom amps for their lack of speaker protection; however, they sound great and are easily found, The dual transformer GFA535 is an excellent amp and though rated at only 60 watts it can drive my Magnepans and Ohm Walsh 3 to reasonable levels. Personally, I'd go for elegance and find a Tandberg.
 
"...these power hungry B&W's."

According to this, "Sensitivity 9 volts into 8 ohms = 85dB at 1m".

The usual voltage used for a sensitivity spec is the square root of eight (approx. 2.83 V) because Watts = volts squared / impedance.
That makes the test watts =1W.

Nine volts squared / 8 oms = 10.125W
So these speakers need 10W to produce 85dB.
With the usual 2.83V sensitivity spec these speakers would be 75dB.

I have never heard of a speaker with such a low sensitivity spec... is this correct?

If so, your average listening level with a 20dB crest factor to avoid peak distortions will require a lot of power.

Same source states "Power Handling 25W – 200W"

With a 200W amp, when you find your average level by dropping 20dB from rated power, that gives 2 watts, so highest average listening level with clean peaks won't exceed 78dB.

Watts dBaverage
1 75
2 78
4 81
8 84
16 87
32 90
64 93
128 96
256 99
 
I've always found Harman Kardon to deliver more than I expected for the used price.

Also they may be too late for your time period but it's hard to argue with the price/performance of Adcom separates.
 
You all are awesome. I love this forum and go to it to learn so much. I have plenty to think about. Yesterday, my best friend offered me a ridiculous cheap price for his Yamaha A--S501 which I think I will take him up on while I look for great deals on separates. Please continue with suggestions as I like to keep these suggestions in the back of my brain when looking around.
 
Jim Renaud said:
You all are awesome. I love this forum and go to it to learn so much. I have plenty to think about. Yesterday, my best friend offered me a ridiculous cheap price for his Yamaha A--S501 which I think I will take him up on while I look for great deals on separates. Please continue with suggestions as I like to keep these suggestions in the back of my brain when looking around.
Click to expand...

That's a nice amp. How do you like the sound with the B&Ws?
 
I'm partial to the venerable NAD 3020. But it is smooth and sweet to the point where some find it a fault. I, on the other hand, could listen to it all day.
 
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