Hi, I have a pair of B&W803D floor speakers from 2013. Each speaker has 3 dual magnet 7” Rohacell drivers and diamond tweeters. Sensitivity is 90dB/W/m into 8 Ohms and they are capable of 500W.
I love the idea of a all-in-one, but wondering if the Nova at 80W could effectively drive these big speakers? Thoughts please…
In theory yes, but wouldn’t like to try it.
My speakers are 83 db and 6 Ohms and I have a Nova.
When you have really good speakers but are mismatched with the amp or source in terms of price - then it tends to show up the shortcomings of the amp or source
The minimum I would go with those is NDX2 and 202/200 . Suspect many will disagree
They look like a pretty easy load. That max power spec is just because they are 3 way speakers so will have a high pass on the midrange allowing the 3 bass drivers to share the deep bass load and take a beating. The nova will drive them fine. I’d also hazard a guess that it will be a big improvement for you as you are using a home theatre processor at the moment. If you want the one box then that is the one to go for in the Naim range.
I would say, as having been interested by them a long time ago, they need at minimum something like 282/250 to open.
They are overkill for the Nova. But they will sound however fine. All depends if future upgrades are in the horizon or not, because personally I would not choose that combo as a definitive system.
When I bought my 804S, I was told by a long-established dealer for Naim and B&W that 202/200 would be the minimum he’d recommend for them. 803Ds would, I suspect need at least the same.
That said, 803D in that wood finish is one of my ‘final stop’ speakers, so I’m actually going to recommend you get a pair of 805s for your Nova and sell me your 803Ds. Everyone wins!
Mark
Electrically it will be fine … but… the performance of the speaker will be curtailed…if you were thinking of upgrading the amp sometime in the future…it may be ok for the interim…I did something like that years ago… I ended up changing the speakers…they just did not grab me…
When my dealer was installing my current 802 D3s I quized him on the smallest Naim power amp compatabla with them. The 250 was as low in output he would go. Hope that helps. They need an amp with “grip” especially in the bass.
In this case, the spec is deceptive.
The 803D goes deep and needs control, iron grip levels of control, NAP135 or NAP300 levels of control to make the baselines time well and be musical.
I say this on the basis of dealer advice and auditions when I compared them to Neat XL6 and Audiovector Si3AA.
The Nova will get a sound out of them but it’s a combination that is unlikely to provide long term satisfaction.
Sorry, BF
How do you like your system sound at the moment?
If the speakers are staying I would get a minimum of 82 or 282 with HiCap and 250 or even 300 or 135s.
It’s a bit of a waste of speakers with the Nova.
Or if you want to keep your box count down, look at a more powerful integrated amp from another brand to make sure you have enough power to drive them well.
I remember changing from a 250 to 2 x 135s and it made quite a difference in power. Was well worth it.
I have 804D3 and quickly moved from SN1 to SN1/250DR to 252/250DR. The SN1 on its own was lost with insufficient control or power. Adding the 250DR helped with power but lacked the control to get the best from the speakers. Very happy with where I am now and will be even happier when ND555 arrives in a few weeks.
I do love the speakers, so I’ll pass on selling them. I like your proactive approach though…. Thanks for the advice.
Thanks Douglas, as you own the same speakers, that’s really good advice….
Hi Mark, I currently have it configured as a home theatre system with b&w HTM2D centre and the b&w ASW855 sub. It uses a Denon AVC-A1HD integrated amp. However, I have lost interest in using it for home theatre and want to just get great stereo music. I’m also completely over using multiple remotes to turn on and change volume. I will sell the b&w centre, b&w sub, and the Denon and want a good streamer and amp to drive the 2 speakers. How does my current system sound in stereo? It sounds very good, but I suspect it would benefit from a strong amplifier as the bass from the B&W is a little weak. I also have a HUGO2 DAC and FiiO M11Pro as the current source for flac files and Tidal.
Crawling my way up the Naim upgrade ladder I have been lucky with my 802D3s and a 500DR to drive them. The B & W floor standers are power hungry. You might find the inital experiance quite an ear opener in the best sence, then when you start to push your new system doubts may well develop. Caution!
And that’s the dilemma. A NDX2, 282, Hicap DR and 250DR are really the bare minimum to match with those speakers, at a cost of £16,000. That’s four times the cost of the Nova. Are you happy to spend that sort of sum simply because you like your speakers? There really is little worse than under-driven speakers, which have poor dynamics and sound generally dissatisfying.
What would you recommend as another integrated amp? What about the CA Evo150?
@Ged451 welcome Ged not sure if you’re in the US or the UK. In the US a NAP 300DR is a $14,000 dollar power amp… ! If you’re trying to keep the box count down you could consider a Devialet 220pro. Its got 220 wpc an excellent Dac , streaming… £6990. I’ve heard Devialet with B&W it sounded great. I owned a Devialet D200, which was the predecessor to the Pro 220… driving my ProAc D30R I was very happy with it. I’d most likely still have if I hadn’t gotten very ill and sold off everything
Could I buy either the Uniti Atom and take the pre-amp outputs to the 250DR? Would that work? Or would a better set-up be NDX2 with 250DR?
Thanks Opus, I actually live in Australia… and have found a distributor for the 220 Pro. They say it only weighs about 5kg compared to my existing amp of 20+kg. How is this possible… I assume it’s a digital amp?
