ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Hi all,
I just just just got a set of M100's and was wondering what you guys would suggest for a suitable amplifier and why? My aim is to hear as much as possible, to get a clear image, a lot of depth. I usually listen to experimental music, jazz, anything with a lot of timbre and space. I love mid-frequencies and high the most, but a especially a full range spectrum would be ideal. I'm rather in the dark about amplifiers so please all comments will be very helpful.
Best,
Bob
A completely overhauled Beomaster 4400 would be a fine choice and what B&O recommended.Beomaster 6000 and 8000 are good too, though they are from the 1980s.
Martin
I agree with Martin. If you can live without remote, a 4400 is a lovely amplifier - I use a 4401 with my M100.2s though I do have an 8000 as well. The 8000 has the advantage of remote control though I do have an Amazon Dot attached to the 4401 so I can use that via voice control. The 8000 is the more powerful and was built as an example of what B&O could do. The 6000 is actually quite similar to the 4400 in electronic terms though again has remote control. It is however not as reliable - more to go wrong!
Peter
I am actually testing a reconditioned Beomaster 4400 right now and have it connected to a nice pair of M100 speakers in a listening room...so ditto on that suggestion. It sounds great.
-sonavor
To throw a different suggestion into the mix I have used my M100-2s with a variety of amplifiers:
Beomaster 4400 - as the others said very good
Beomaster 6000 - old type - I liked the sound of this one but the volume control broke and there were other issues with it
Beomaster 6500 - sounded a bit dull and unexciting
Beolink Passive - ok but lacked any punch
Linn Wakonda and LK140 - very accurate but slightly dull sounding compared to 4400
Valve amplifiers - various - you need to make sure you get one with high power output (KT88's) - this makes them sound amazing, particularly with Jazz - but no control over bass - I found mine to be too bassy but then I have a wooden floor under the carpet. That said there is a sound from valve amps that becomes addictive and, to me personally, much better than solid state.
Yamaha CRX-470D - not enough power so sounded weak
Currently I used them with a Yamaha N-602 which gives me streaming, internet radio, phono input, remote control etc. etc and everything sounds very very good indeed. Loads of power and a very full enjoyable sound. I might try at some point connecting this to a Valve Power Amplifier
In summary, whilst it is all a matter of what you particularly like, the M100-2s I've found to be really revealing speakers with superb sound - they will show up the good and bad points of any amplifier and need a lot of power.
Why not give a try to the beomaster 5000 from the 80ies.
It has many advantages. It has a remote control, several inputs jacks.
I don't believe that the sound of amps differs a lot.
:)
Regards Chris
Thanks a lot for your comments.
Relating to what Andrew said here about the M100's needing a lot of power.:
I looked at the 4400 and the ouput it 2x 75 W at 4 ohms. The M100's are actually 150W at 4 ohms or 100W at eight ohms. I thought that generally speaking you need an amp that is able to do more than the speakers, so perhals then going for a 2 x 200W amp?
As to the particular suggestions, what do you think gives the most clear image, a lot of space. What I mean by space is I guess that the instruments can be heard distinctively seperate from each other?
The 4400 drives them perfectly well and in any case there is an overload circuit on the speakers and beomaster to prevent any damage.
You need an amp with sufficient power otherwise you just wont get enough volume out of them and likely to distort as it reaches its limits. That said they all differ, the Valve Amps with say 40watts are really loud and i heard no distortion - much louder than the claimed 40watts a channel from the cheaper Yamaha unit I tried. My new Yamaha receiver is about the same wattage as the 4400 but sounds much louder.
The whole thing as to which sounds better is so subjective and throw aesthetics into the mix and that changes everything again. There is also the fact that any old receiver/amplifier is likely to have lost the performance it would have had when new and so will need restoring. I think you will need to decide wether or not you want remote control or not and wether this is compatible with Beo4 or not, if you want something to match the speakers or if you want a new amplifier that is not B&O.