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what amp to drive B&W DM7?

E

edavey

New Member
Hi there,

I recently bought a pair of B&W DM7s Mk2 (http://assets.bowers-wilkins.com/med/Libraries/3/DM7_mk2_Archive_l2_w0_h0.pdf).

I am driving them with a Denon PMA-500V (http://audio-database.com/DENON-COLUMBIA/amp/pma-500v-e.html)

The high and mid-range are fantastic - the music is really alive in the air of my large sitting room and I can hear all kinds of new things in my favourite recordings. However, the bass is flabby and unformed and often this spoils the overall experience.

I've tried a few different amps including a Marantz PM4 and Quad 405 but haven't been able to tighten up the bass enough.

Has anyone got any experience with these speakers or any suggestions? How can I get a punchier sound?

Many thanks

Ed
 
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I picked up a pair of these recently as well. They sounded great with mcintosh tubes. I bet even some of the mcintosh solid state gear would do a good job. I thought they were very dynamic and they had a nice sound stage. No punch up was needed with mine and I am used to vintage klipsch horns which are very dynamic.
 
thanks - it's good to hear that you can get a tight sound from them. I'm in the UK and so McIntosh gear is hard to come by / expensive. Any other European or Japanese suggestions?
 
The old B&W DM series (I owned a pair of B&W DM-12's, from 1981-2001) are VERY power hungry speakers!
Here's what I ran them with in the past:
1981, 48wpc Sherwood S-8900A receiver.....good, but NOT enough power.
1981-1988, 60wpc Denon DRA-600 receiver.....better, but still NOT enough power.
1981-2001, 105wpc B&K ST-140 power amplifier.....GREAT sound, with enough power to make them happy too!

Good luck!
Steve
 
thanks - that's very interesting. So I need something pushing out over 100W per channel it seems.

Be good to here from someone with success using European or Japanese gear...
 
Well, just because my Denon and Sherwood receivers, didn't fare great with my old B&W's, doesn't mean other gear won't?
There really is some fantastic sounding lower wattage audio gear to be heard.
I hope you find something that does justice to your B&W DM7's, they are very special speakers, IMO.

Steve
 
edavey said:
thanks - that's very interesting. So I need something pushing out over 100W per channel it seems.

Be good to here from someone with success using European or Japanese gear...
Click to expand...

Search whatever local used listings you have for high-powered amplifiers, check web reviews on any of the ones that you find, buy if price/performance are good. Good power is good power, for the most part.
 
The HiFi parlor in my hometown demo-ed them with a GAS Ampzilla, back in the day. Sure sounded good back then. In fact, it was hearing that combo that made me an audiophile in the first place.
 
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edavey said:
thanks - it's good to hear that you can get a tight sound from them. I'm in the UK and so McIntosh gear is hard to come by / expensive. Any other European or Japanese suggestions?
Click to expand...

I love my DM7's. I just bought them three weeks ago - drove 170 Km to pick them up. I was using a NAD 3150 as a pre-amp and a Pioneer M-25 for amp, and these speakers sound great. I have other amps that I will rotate into service soon, so I'll see how they sound. I have a Bryston 2B with only 50wpc, but I think the Bryston may drive them just fine.
 
I did 200 miles to collect mine.

wow - that Pioneer M-25 is incredible looking! I'll be interested to know if the Bryston does have the umph to generate a punchy sound. The consensus seems to be that the big amps get the result.

thanks!
 
edavey said:
I did 200 miles to collect mine.

thanks!
Click to expand...

200 miles? !!! I don't feel odd about my driving then.. :) Yes...the M-25 is a beauty, and heavy. First 3 watts are class A watts, and would suffice most of the time.

I have read good things about the Onkyo A-9555. Not sure if that's avail in the UK, and may worth looking into.
 
thanks - that Onkyo looks interesting. But at this point I want to try an amp which is known to drive these old speakers well...
 
Looking at the spec sheet for the B&Ws you posted, the speakers only go down to 80 Hz + or - 2 db). Even that's only plus or minus 2 db, I presume that the bass drops off quite rapidly below 80 hz.

I know B&W is a big fan of dual binding posts for bi-amping. Do these speakers have dual binding posts? You may want to consider bi-amping them if they do.
 
Thanks for looking at the spec, but no the speakers don't support bi-amping. They do produce loads of low-frequency - it's just not contained, controlled, tight, punchy. Rather it's flabby -- or 'bouncy' to be more polite.

I think I need to try one of these monster power amps (> 100W / ch into 8ohm) that people have mentioned give them good results to see if that tightens it up. If not, I'll have to conclude that it's just a characteristic of the speakers which doesn't suit me.

That would be a shame as I love the lively, detailed high end - not to mention the looks and build!
 
I have DM603 S3s (and an LCR600) across the front of my system, and you're right - they are deliciously detailed (and neutral). Unlike you, though, I don't have any problems with bottom end. Mine are nice and tight and detailed - just like the mids and highs.

I wish I could give you some advice.
 
As mentioned very often before:

I'm using B&W DM2000 and 3000s which are younger bros of the DM7. They need an insane high amount of power, upgrading to 200wpc (after 50, 100, 150wpc) gave satisfying results and a tight bass punch and definemend. Upgrading to monobridged pc2002ms from Yamaha with 600wpc improved this again obviously :thmbsp:, I believe most of the owners don't even got a clue what their vintage B&Ws are able to do, because they hang on to a weak amp, while I must admit, that I'm not a loud listener. Enjoy!!!
 
OK - thanks a lot for this. I will try to audition them with something really powerful and see if that does the trick. I will report back once I've got my hands on something suitable. Might be a few weeks till I get the opportunity...
 
Right amp

I don't have experience with the DM's. I have 703's running them with a Rotel 1077. Plenty of oomph to drive these from low to what some would call loud. The Rotel has no problem keeping up with the demand. I have read from many fellow listeners that Rotel and B&W make a good match and I too agree. Good luck.
 
just lately i have been trying a few amps with my dm-7's,
it is true that these things are power hungry but im interested in finding out if they are as hungry as the kef transmission lines i use daily,i have a few amps about so i have been swapping them in and out

frist an onkyo a-8200 at 60watts rms had a go and to me it was not as full as it should be ,but in saying that, that amp has never wowed me ,

the next amp was a sony str-av880 ,now this one woke them up ,for an ugly mid 80's receiver its really a good unit and boosts 110watt rms,

the next was better ,sony va-80es this one was very tight and some how more real ,its weird as this amp is less powerful than the last by 10watts, im guessing that it comes down to modern design of the processing of the signal maybe?

lastly i gave them a go on my str-da777es ,(yes i know its another sony lol ) this amp really does make these things sound full ,bass seems just a little better than the other sonys and much better then the onkyo ,the 777 is rated at 120watt rms but seems more ?

i have a denon that i was gong to try but it is a little unit at 40watts rms and thought it would not be worth it , im going to try them on a yamaha dsp-a1 one day soon ,(when my leg is up to moving it to the speakers,its heavy!)
im thinking it will be as good as the da777es but in a different way as it always is with those two amps ,but no shortage of power,
i prefer the sony most days to the yamaha but thats just me,
oh and the yamaha is my wifes amp for the bed room ,

anyway is there any one still using these great b&w speakers?they tend to suffer from slipped magnet syndrome and end up not being repaired it seems,mine have just been repaired regarding this very problem,

it will be very interesting to see how many are still alive,great speakers IMHO
mike
 
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