B&W 802D and McIntosh MC275?

[chessman]

Obi, welcome aboard!

[docvale]

Hi,

This is my first post on AA.
With regards to the initial question, I would not recommend any tubed amp for the 802D.
I've listened to several iterations of this remarkable speaker, and it changed a lot, from fantastic to mediocre, depending on the power amp matching. 802Ds are extremely demanding in current, and the best result ever was with the super-muscular Audio Analogue Class A bridged amps (>200W, constantly dubbing at every impedance reduction), while the worst was with the otherwise supreme Convergent JL1.

I've listened to the 802Ds even with the Mc402, and I didn't enjoy the experience. Very nice with Classe', instead.

Hope it can help

[williamhds]

803, 802 or 800ds require a lot of power to bring them to life. If a 275 is your amp of choice consider the 804ds. It also will determine the outcome based on your choice of music as well. What are the other components in your system along with the 275?.

[RebelMan]

The MC275 is (so far) my favorite amplifier from McIntosh. As I stated in another thread its not the amount but the quality that counts between amplifiers when driving speakers to realistic AND safe listening levels. The MC275 is just fine with the 802s but I prefer using two of them in mono mode.

[kenp]

I run C220 pre into two mono MC275 each driving a 802 Diamond full range. All I can say is that the sound is magic. A great sound stage both wide and deep, dynamics are good and plenty of bass for my liking. I also have 804S that used to be on this system before the 802 Diamond. The sound with the 802 went to a whole new level of involvement. The 804 sounded great but the 802 are superb on this setup. I heard the 802 diamond on a single MC 275 in stereo at the HiFi store. That also sounded great. The later model 802 have better crossovers than the original and don't have as bad an impedance curve.

[Bluemcintosh]

Originally Posted by kenp

I run C220 pre into two mono MC275 each driving a 802 Diamond full range. All I can say is that the sound is magic. A great sound stage both wide and deep, dynamics are good and plenty of bass for my liking. I also have 804S that used to be on this system before the 802 Diamond. The sound with the 802 went to a whole new level of involvement. The 804 sounded great but the 802 are superb on this setup. I heard the 802 diamond on a single MC 275 in stereo at the HiFi store. That also sounded great. The later model 802 have better crossovers than the original and don't have as bad an impedance curve.

Kenp.....welcome on board

[mark-hd]

I bought my new 802's in Oct. along with 1 MC275. I thought they sounded great. Went back and bought another 275 and hooked up as mono blocks. Sounded even better. Many people in other threads said 275's wouldn't get what the 802d's can deliver. Yesterday my MC601's arrived......an now I believe everyone I doubted. All I can say is WOW. Sounds like a new speaker with more depth, soundstage, separation, and just sheer bottom end. I'm not talking about playing them louder either. Of course they do that too......To everyone that told me so.......

[Volks]

The 601's are beasts for sure .... Great to hear you love them !

[junker]

If I remember correctly the 802D's have a 90dB sensitivity reading? Pretty efficient actually. How loud do you like your music? You would at least have the option to pick up a second MC275 and run dual mono if you wanted more power down the line...

[Flyboylr45]

Sorry to jump in, but how would the 802d be mated with an MA7000? Do I need something bigger? Been hit with the upgrade bug and looking to upgrade my Focal 1028be for something like the 802d.