System building... Amp match? B&W 602 s3 speakers and Rega/Pro-Ject TT

[Dave Listens]

Hey all,

After a little advice here. Looking for an integrated amp that will match well with my long cherished B&W 602 s3s and a TT. I'm planning on getting either a Rega RP3 or Pro-Ject Xpression Carbon sometime soon to allow me to break out the largish collection of vinyl we have gathering dust in various family members' homes.

The speakers kind of have to stay. Firstly, I like them, but I also need to minimise spend here. The TT is a given, and the amp is next in line in terms of priorities.

Budget (amp only) is $1000ish.

Other needs/considerations:

The 602s are currently driven by an aged Denon AVR2803 and are the fronts in a HT setup. They'll need to stay in the HT system, so I'm guessing I'll need a pass through function with whatever integrated I get.

The 602s are rated to 120W I believe.

Primary source will be the new TT so, a reasonable phono stage would be good if possible (fewer boxes = politically good move domestically:)

There's an equally aged Denon DV2200 I use for CD and SACD in the mix as well, but I'm not overly fussed about tonal match with the amp for that as I'll likely keep it connected to the AVR2803 for multi channel SACDs anyway. Might be tempted to add a real CD player to the system at some point in the future, but that's not a priority at present.

Options I've been reading up on (no auditions yet):

Rega Brio R

NAD C356BEE, plus a phono stage of some sort (probably Rega)

Arcam A19

Any advice or thoughts? I'm leaning towards the Rega at present, but am wondering whether its possibly going to be a little underpowered for the B&Ws.

Look forward to people's input.

[Cafad]

The B&W 600 series I have heard have been a warm, deep and slightly soft sounding speaker (in my opinion of course).  My first amp related thoughts when I read the thread title were NAD and Cambridge Audio.  You've already covered NAD so I would suggest adding a Cambridge model, maybe a 651A, to that line up of yours.

 

I suspect the NAD would be the pick of the bunch, unless you like your music a little warmer (Arcam) or a lot warmer (Brio R).  All of those amps will sound pretty good, it's just up to you to pick the final flavor that you like the best.

 

Enjoy!

[Dolphy]

I owned this series of speakers for many years and I reluctantly sold.

Just be sure to buy an amp with lots of power, these speakers came alive when I bought my Vincent amp.

[b@ndicoot]

I think best bang for buck here would be the exposure 2010s!

I have heard only good things about this amp and I see them a fair bit on the used market for around that kind of money!

Not sure if they are stock with phono..? Somebody may be able to chime in!

Cheers

[b@ndicoot]

Or spend that twice and get yourself a used plini 9200! Best integrated amp in the 5-6K range hands down!

[Dave Listens]

Thanks guys. The NAD is looking better on those grounds. I guess throwing a Rega phono stage on the side would give me the best of both worlds in terms of being able to do a 'warm' vinyl thing. The NAD has the power for the 602s as well.

Bottom line is that the NAD would be a more versatile centrepiece hey?

Haven't looked at the Cambridge or Exposure and will do so now.

[Cafad]

NADs generally contain a phono stage so you could put off buying an upmarket one for a while if you went with an NAD.

 

I hadn't thought about an Exposure 2010S2, I'm not sure how well the combo of it and the B&Ws would work as the 2010S2 is also has a deep and softish sound.  I'm not going to say that it wouldn't work but I'd be very careful to demo before I bought in this case.  Maybe a 3010S2 would be a better choice, it would certainly have more power.

The Exposure amps have a phono stage as an option, it sits on a separate PCB and can be installed by the owner fairly easily I do believe.  Trevor Lees usually has one or two available on his ebay store.

[Dave Listens]

The other option might be a Roksan Kandy 2. Just spotted that in my travels around the inter web thingamy.

Any experience of that anyone? I've never even listened to a Roksan... Not knowingly anyway.

[Dave Listens]

Pricey though... Well above budget unfortunately.

[Cafad]

The other option might be a Roksan Kandy 2. Just spotted that in my travels around the inter web thingamy.

Any experience of that anyone? I've never even listened to a Roksan... Not knowingly anyway.

Yeah, same here, haven't managed to hear a Roksan yet.  It's on my list so with luck, one of these days, I'll get to.  I like the look of the Caspian more though, that 'black' version just looks plain sexy!

[Jone5y]

I want you to hear one too. Then it would be an amp that you've reviewed that I've heard for myself. The roksan was the first 'proper amp' I'd ever heard, I thought it was magical, if a little bright. I'm pretty keen to hear one in my own room, would love to hear others' thoughts on it

[Dave Listens]

Revisiting this before venturing into hifi land and actually starting an audition run.

Is including a decent stereo integrated amp the best upgrade path here? Given the system I outlined, what other options are there?

Breaking news is that I've finally got around to using my AK100 as a digital source. It is made from awesome and sounds pretty good through the 602s.

[progladyte]

Great speakers BTW - I bought a air of these bad boys for my study about 5-6 years ago and absolutely love their sound. Very happy with the choice. Mine is hooked up to an Onkyo TX-SR308 and is probably the weakest link in the chain.

 

As others have stated, you can't go too far wrong with a NAD, Cambridge, Arcam or a Rega

[allthumbs]

It's been a while but I drop in every now and then to get a feel for what is going on in and around the world of Hi-Fi and the commentators here seem to be an erudite bunch of aficionados tempered with by wisdom and insight.

 

It has been a long while since I bought a new piece of kit. I have been  been buying second hand vintage and apart from a few pieces most of the amplifiers have eventuually given up the ghost or suffered from debilitating issues such as one channel failure, background hiss, display light failure etc, and not being at all "handy" they end up in my backroom cupboard graveyard,

 

The only new kit I have bought was a pair of Usher S520's a few years ago, and I still can't make up my mind if I like them or not, or better put, like them sufficiently. I do like using new speakers on vintage gear, there seems to be a symbiotic relationship that can make for nice results, I also like old speakers on modern amps, just to be awkward.

 

So recently I bought a Cambridge 651A which I team with my AR19 Connoisseur bookshelf speakers, and it is quite a nice set up. The AR19's are acoustic suspension 2 ways. With my Rotel 802 Receiver, the acoustic bass in many Jazz combo's seemed to sound generic, a little dead, a little muffled. With the Cambridge the generic anonymity has disappeared or at least is is not quite so pronounced, the 802 was 65W per side, the 651A is 75W. Not that I ever play the music that loud, I play relatively low, I sit still and I try to really listen and I am probably overly conscious of the neighbors. But it is a volume that allows articulation and presentation of the music without too much compromise.

 

The Cambridge does an ok job on the Usher's but I find the Ushers's a little "dry".

 

It's now my main set up the 651A and the AR19's. I prefer small speakers on stands to floor standers and have never felt the need to add a subwoofer to any of the bookshelf speakers I have used, not once.

 

So now with the new amp, I have to wean myself away from listening to the "system" and get back to listening to the music, although I do love the illusion of imaging, that always knocks me out. The only other observation I would make, to me Acoustic Suspension speakers seem a little more responsive than ported speakers, but that might be my imagination.