Hi-

Just curious what power amp feeds your B&W Matrix 805s used in studio A?

thanks,
Justin

We are currently using the Hafler 500 amp with them.

i use a bryston 4B. great amp.

i use a bryston 3b.

very happy with it.

Just got a Bryston 4B for mine, but have heard them with Hafler 500s, Hafler P3000s, another older Hafler (202 maybe?), several Crowns, a Yamaha, two different Crests, a Carver, and a BGW (along with the Hafler at Electrical). The Bryston is my favorite of all of them.

The Hafler 500 sounded great, but I experienced failure with two different ones I checked out when I first got my speakers. I went through most of those other amps while shopping for something of my own (except the Crest amps). I settled on a brand new Hafler P3000, which sounded almost as nice as the 500, but it too died after a little more than a year. I've used other Haflers at a few different studios and they've all sounded nice.

A further search for an amp of my own ensued and I was REALLY, REALLY impressed with two different Crest amps I heard at two different times. I liked both of them probably every bit as much as the Haflers I heard, but after this string of bad luck with amps, I decided to bite the bullet and just get a Bryston since they're built like tanks and have a great warranty and service record. I've been totally happy with mine so far.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Would an amp rated at kicking out 70w per side into 8 ohms be underpowered for these speakers?Got an option on a Rotel RB 1050 and am looking for opinions... Rotel and B&W are supposed to be a decent match, but not sure if the output rating on the amp is hot enough to do them justice.

phil j wrote:Would an amp rated at kicking out 70w per side into 8 ohms be underpowered for these speakers?Got an option on a Rotel RB 1050 and am looking for opinions... Rotel and B&W are supposed to be a decent match, but not sure if the output rating on the amp is hot enough to do them justice.Rotel and B&W (and sister brand Classe' Electronics) are imported by the same firm (Equity Intl.) and therefore sold alongside each other at many retailers. In fact, many B&W dealers have been historically pressured to carry Rotel, even if they are already committed to other electronics lines (ask me how I know).I would say that you definitely want more juice than 70w/ch, for the exact reason that Steve mentioned above.Try something with some nuts, and go for the 150w/ch range.If you are looking used, go to a reputable hi-fi store that accepts trade-ins. If you want to window shop online, audiogon.com is a great resource for used hi-fi.Go solid state and stay with the blue chip hi-fi brands. There is a tendency in hi-fi for brands to quickly exit the industry and leave owners high and dry for parts, service, etc. You can't go wrong with amps from Bryston, Ayre, Classe, Audio Research.More reasonably priced would be NAD, Rotel, Parasound.Also, Steve's Hafler is a vintage piece and a solid performer. Hafler has been acquired by the parent company to Rockford Fosgate car audio, and their later offerings are usually garbage. Avoid.

phil j wrote:Would an amp rated at kicking out 70w per side into 8 ohms be underpowered for these speakers?Got an option on a Rotel RB 1050 and am looking for opinions... Rotel and B&W are supposed to be a decent match, but not sure if the output rating on the amp is hot enough to do them justice.For listening at home, no problem. For analytical listening in a studio environment, where you're soloing-up instruments and occasionally using them as performance monitors in the control room, I'd say you'd be better off with more headroom.

2nd Rick wrote:Also, Steve's Hafler is a vintage piece and a solid performer. Hafler has been acquired by the parent company to Rockford Fosgate car audio, and their later offerings are usually garbage. Avoid.Hafler was shut down by Rockford-Fosgate a while ago FWIW.www.hafler.com is still there offering some info and whatnot

Thanks Steve, 2nd Rick... great info. I've heard this about the pressure on B&W retailers to stock Rotel before, so interesting to hear it again here.Ultimately the Matrix 805's will be used for recording/mixing rather than just domestic listening so will have a look for something with a bit more grunt.