Best Amp to run B&W 603 S3 ??

 

New member
Username: Nsomnia

Post Number: 1
Registered: Apr-06
Hello all,
Im just a newbie that going to get a set of B&W 603 S3. looking for opinion of what the best Amp to drive it.
certainly i love some low freq and deep bass.
any thought would be greatly appreciated.
cheers.
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 2963
Registered: Feb-05
Budget? Type of music you listen to?
 

New member
Username: Dj88

Post Number: 9
Registered: Jun-05
i just posted something ranking amps by bass
 

Silver Member
Username: Bvan

Cape Town, Copenhagen,...

Post Number: 105
Registered: Jun-05
the nad c352 with the b&w 6 series is an often recommended pairing and one which i've personally enjoyed. (also the c320 if your room is small, or the 372 if it be particularly large).

theres lots witten on these combos on the internet, try googling them, and other combos recommended here, and see how others have found it.

and as is always recommended, try have a listen before you buy, especially if you venture from well trodden paths.

b.
 

New member
Username: Nsomnia

Post Number: 2
Registered: Apr-06
I'm particularly an ambient-lounge, downtempo music addict.
and compile quite a few album myself. and therefore would love to show off my taste of music when friends come around.

so the type of music is kind of chillout. like Moby, Kruder&Dorfmeister, Aerosoul, Module, Almadrava, Plastyc Buddha, Sofa surfer, boozoo bajou, blank&jones, cafe del mar, Massive Attack. etc.

the idea is these kind of ambient-lounge music has many soft sound texture that cheap speaker cannot produce, while it also has many deep and low freq bass textures that could drive your mind into another world.

so, loudness is not what i seek here, sound quality is.

myself has not explore alot of speaker yet, but quite in love with the looks of B&W.
i would really appreciate any kind of thought that could suggest best speaker for sound quality for similar budget with the B&W603.
the budget for the amp would be close to that speaker as well.

Thanks so much to all.
Greatly appreciated.
 

Silver Member
Username: Bvan

Cape Town, Copenhagen,...

Post Number: 108
Registered: Jun-05
i'm a big fan of down tempo electronica myself, particularly the psychedelic end of the spectrum.

this genre is not particularly challenging to decent speakers as they do not need to achieve real timbral acuracy or cone busting dynamics. but i'm definitely agreeing with you that the music does sound a hell of a lot better on good speakers, particularly those with good frequency extention both ends, and those that have a big, well defined sounstage.

floorstanders are a good bet. for your budget i cant think of anything else to suggest, though i know there would be many speakers able to satisfy.

the 603 won stereophiles budget component award last year and got a good write-up, if you havent seen:

http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcomponents/805bw/index.html

b.
 

New member
Username: Nsomnia

Post Number: 3
Registered: Apr-06
see, u gave quite a helpful info here, i dont even understand what u mean by 'real timbral acuracy or cone busting dynamics'. im very new to home stereo and hardly listen to any other music on any kind of home stereo.
currently only own a small boston accoustic, yet producing 'not a bad' sound for low volume.

nice story on the link u gave about the 603.
as far as i read all reviews, i havent find any negative view.

since i like the look so much, and the promissing sound quality, i guess i would definately will go for it.

so, its now the time to find the right machine to drive it.

cheers.
 

New member
Username: Nsomnia

Post Number: 4
Registered: Apr-06
hello all..
heelllppp....
recommend some amp for the 603 please...

cheerss..
 

Silver Member
Username: Bvan

Cape Town, Copenhagen,...

Post Number: 118
Registered: Jun-05
rotel and b&w seem to be good stablemates.

personally, i'd look at the used market, more so for amps than other component.

b
 

Silver Member
Username: Bvan

Cape Town, Copenhagen,...

Post Number: 119
Registered: Jun-05
something occurred to me the other day regarding ambient types of music.

AV receivers often have a feature that lets you create multichannel from a stereo cd by extracting out-of phase ambient information and sending it to a pair of rear speakers. some people seem to really enjoy this, some dont. although i have not heard it (its called neo:6 on the nad receivers i think), i think it would be perfectly suited to the types of music you listen to. maybe worth investigating?

b.
 

New member
Username: Alacious

Post Number: 6
Registered: May-06
I demo'd a Rotel amp yesterday, on a set of 603S3s, with Boards of Canada.

It sounded flawlessly awesome. It was the amp that has now replaced the RA-02 (I forget the model).

I also demo'd a Rotel RA-02, and it performed really well.. it had just the right kinda *punch* that the music needed.
 

New member
Username: Alacious

Post Number: 7
Registered: May-06
602 S3, pardon me
 

New member
Username: Ringo_da_silva

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-06
Nsomnia

I know the 603 S3 well, I owned a pair for around a year or so. Best price compatible amp I heard them with was Rotel. Seperates to be precise... a RC 1070 & RB 1070. Enough clean power to drive the allen bolts off them and good control of their sometimes wayward bass. The pairing does sound a bit analytical, but with electronic music your main interest I think the very "studio" sound they produce will suit you no end.

Hope it helps.
 

Gold Member
Username: Stu_pitt

Irvington, New York USA

Post Number: 1274
Registered: May-05
"myself has not explore alot of speaker yet, but quite in love with the looks of B&W."

You really shouldn't buy a speaker based on looks. As I said in another thread, their certainly isn't any shortage of good tower speakers in the $1000-ish price range, give or take $200. Personally, I don't like the way the B&W 600 series sounds, but that is a personal thing; everyone likes what they like. A lot of people love them. A few brands that you may want to persue are (in no particular order -

PSB (I own the Image T55)
Totem
Paradigm
Energy
Mirage
Monitor Audio
KEF
Klipsch
Wharfdale
Definitave Technology
Jamo

That's just the tip of the iceburg. Go out and listen to as many speakers as you can. While it's impossible to track down and hear every one, it shouldn't be too hard to find a few. Stay out of Best Buy and Circuit City. Find a few local hi-fi shops and have a listen.


 

New member
Username: Diehardmonte

Delhi India

Post Number: 3
Registered: May-06
B&W speakers comes with a lot of technology innovations in a speaker. The bulid quality is very good and ofcourse sounds perfectly natural. I dont say the other brands do not have the quality but usually something or the other is always missing. I have auditioned 603 S3 and Nautilus 804. The best part of these two are u'll never feel the sound coming out from the box. evrything is well balanced, the bass, the mid and the highs are detailed so well that u can actually count the number of instruments playing. This quality of sound can be seen in most of the european brands. With american brands, the mid is a litle laid back, as if somebody was trying to strnagulate the singer while he was singing, but at the same time they are very powerful and rock music really rocks. Movies are really movies on americans. So for music go for british and movies or rock kickass types go for american.....More over in HI-End....its all fair to go with anyone...they are always class apart...

cheers!!!
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