Are these speakers power hungry?

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Prashell

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Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of purchasing a pair of B&W 683 S2 speakers, but a lot of people I've spoken with tell me they are very power hungry.

I'm using a Denon AVR-X2400H currently. Many people I've met tell me I need a power amp to drive them.

I just want a second opinion from the more knowledgeable folks regarding these speakers. Are they really power hungry?
 
Prashell said:
Are they really power hungry?
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attachment.php


https://www.stereophile.com/content/bowers-wilkins-683-s2-loudspeaker-measurements

You'll need an amp capable of driving 3ohms to whatever level you desire, so most receivers will have issues driving these. So the recommendations for a separate amp with good low impedance drive capability is reasonable.
In anticipation of a reasonably priced example request, something like this would cleanly drive them to very loud levels https://classdaudio.com/sds-470cs-class-d-audio-power-amplifier.html

cheers,

AJ
 

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AJ Soundfield said:
You'll need an amp capable of driving 3ohms to whatever level you desire, so most receivers will have issues driving these. So the recommendations for a separate amp with good low impedance drive capability is reasonable.
Click to expand...

Thanks AJ. I frequent a number of forums and they almost seem to have a hive mind mentality that AVR's are crap for music and are flawed beyond measure. I've used AVR's for years and thought they sounded pretty good to me.

About the impedance measurement, if I don't listen very loud then it might still be okay to use on my AVR? My room is not large - 6 x 6m and I sit 2 meters away from my speakers. I don't really want to splurge on another "add on" amp if I don't have to.

But, I also don't want to damage my equipment either. Tough world. :D
 
Prashell said:
Thanks AJ. I frequent a number of forums and they almost seem to have a hive mind mentality that AVR's are crap for music and are flawed beyond measure. I've used AVR's for years and thought they sounded pretty good to me.

About the impedance measurement, if I don't listen very loud then it might still be okay to use on my AVR? My room is not large - 6 x 6m and I sit 2 meters away from my speakers. I don't really want to splurge on another "add on" amp if I don't have to.

But, I also don't want to damage my equipment either. Tough world. :D
Click to expand...


Welcome to AS!

I drove B&W XT4 speakers with a top Pioneer receiver some 9 years ago.
Didn't sound bad, but from the moment you wanted to get some volume on bass heavy tracks, the poor Pioneer ran out of steam (red LED light went on).
With a decent integrated amplifier, this didn't happen anymore.
 
Prashell said:
Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of purchasing a pair of B&W 683 S2 speakers, but a lot of people I've spoken with tell me they are very power hungry.

I'm using a Denon AVR-X2400H currently. Many people I've met tell me I need a power amp to drive them.

I just want a second opinion from the more knowledgeable folks regarding these speakers. Are they really power hungry?
Click to expand...
I've had B&W 705's hooked up to a Pioneer Elite AVR in the basement for years and often marvel at how good it sounds streaming internet radio, which is all I ever do on that system. The 705 is a monitor -- not sure how its specs match up to the 683.
I will note, however, that you may be able to biamp with your AVR if you aren't using the rest of the channels for HT.
Parker
 
pdub said:
I've had B&W 705's hooked up to a Pioneer Elite AVR in the basement for years and often marvel at how good it sounds streaming internet radio, which is all I ever do on that system. The 705 is a monitor -- not sure how its specs match up to the 683.
I will note, however, that you may be able to biamp with your AVR if you aren't using the rest of the channels for HT.
Parker
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip re bi-amping. Although what little I've read regarding the feature there seems to be controversy over the claimed improvement. Won't really cost me anything to try it I guess, so probably worthwhile to try.
 
If you are using a sub, a couple things you might try; you can set the speakers to "small" inside the settings menu which would send more low frequency to the sub and reduce load on your receiver;, or, if that makes sound a bit thin, try running the crossover for the sub up if possible while keeping the speakers set to "large". Any reduction in the low end to the mains will reduce the load on your receiver.

I'm not sure how the above works if you use the setting on the receiver that bypasses the processing, sometimes called "direct mode" or similar.

Keep your eye on that used market, a Parasound Halo A23 or 21 would do the trick. ATI, 2000 series and up are killer for the money. Some of the Class D are reasonable and have trial periods, may not be best with B&W.
 
Prashell said:
About the impedance measurement, if I don't listen very loud then it might still be okay to use on my AVR? My room is not large - 6 x 6m and I sit 2 meters away from my speakers. I don't really want to splurge on another "add on" amp if I don't have to.

But, I also don't want to damage my equipment either. Tough world. :D
Click to expand...
No data to say whether your AVR is capable or not. It should be fine at lower levels, however after sustained use, there could be thermal issues.
The protection schemes on most AVRs is pretty comprehensive, so worse case it may shut down after prolonged use. Let cool and restart like normal. Best case is it drives the speakers just fine at your desired levels and time listening. Like I said, 3 ohms can be challenging for many amps, including those in AVRs.
Good luck.

cheers,

AJ
 
AJ Soundfield said:
You'll need an amp capable of driving 3ohms to whatever level you desire, so most receivers will have issues driving these. So the recommendations for a separate amp with good low impedance drive capability is reasonable.
In anticipation of a reasonably priced example request, something like this would cleanly drive them to very loud levels

cheers,

AJ
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation. I would need to import that model.

Is this a load intolerant Class D or does it have a "sound"?
 
If you decide to get one of the Class D audio amps, opt for the larger power supply. I have one of their CDA amps and it has a smaller power supply which sucks the life out of the dynamics. One of these days, I will upgrade the torroidal transformer.
 
Prashell said:
Is this a load intolerant Class D or does it have a "sound"?
Click to expand...
They don't publish data to show exactly how load invariant because the design is supposedly proprietary, though I suspect it might be a variant of a large semiconductor manufacturer...whose design is load invariant. I've heard them on several speakers and could hear no "sound" compared to other SS amps used. The B&Ws 4ohm HF impedance should be benign.
 
It soundstage like you really want the speakers. Try them. Sometimes you have to hear it, to understand. I have a Pioneer Elite and IMO it will shut your Denon down after some amount of loud play, be it music or a movie. Loud being comfortably rocking out for 20 or 30 minutes. Mine did with Sonus Faber. It won't play with ease and grace either. But, it will work and the speaker will probably sound pretty darn good to you. You just wont get the most from it, as in the whole system. You will then have a basis to decide what is more important to you, the receiver or speakers.
 
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