[mikur]

I have the opportunity to buy Cinepro amplifiers at a raisonnable price in Europe, but I can't try them before. Will it sound great with my speakers BW Nautilus 803 and HTM1 ?


My others possibility are :


Classé Audio (CAV 180 or CAV 500

Theta Dreadnaught

Proceed ?


EAD PM 2000 ?

 

[Draconas]

A friend of mine has B&W 802 and 803's and the HTM1. He was using a Krell amp but another friend brought over his Cinepro 3k6II and we substatuted it with the Krell. Well my friends jaw dropped because sonicly the Cinepro beat the Krell hands down. While this might not be the best A B comparison, this is the real world and now my freind sold his Krell and now owns the Cinepro. Of the other amps you mentioned I would also consider the Theta Dreadnaught if you don't go with the Cinepro. The Cinepro can deliver lots of power without and even trying hard.

Hope this helps.

 

[faziod]

I am currently using the Cinepro 3K63 in my HT setup, which includes BW802 fronts, HTM1 center and 805 for surrounds. The cinepro is an awesome amp that made my BW speakers come alive. I tried the Brysyon

9Bst, Earthquake Cinenova Grande and Parasound HCA-2205AT amps with my system and the Cinepro Blew them away. Its a great amp with tons of power to drive any speaker.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

The Cinepros are superb amplifiers, very clean. They compared favorably to Bryston 4B THX amps that I tried in my system and to the Proceed Amp 2s( driving PSB Stratus Golds)

 

[Andy Lammer]

I have a Cinepro 3K6-III and an EAD PM2000 that I use to help active tri-amp my mains, and perform HT duties. I also had some Bryston 7B-ST's and a 4B-ST at the same time too.


Though my PM2000 is my favourite, the Cinepro's ultra-low noise floor really lets "extra" music to be heard. It also has great user features with adjustable gain for all channels, and bridging of channels. It's speaker binding posts are spaced a little close together though, but it is a fine amp !


I use the Cinepro to power my mains' tweeters, and my 4 surrounds. My EAD powers my mains' mid & bass, and my centre channel.


My mains have 2 12" drivers each.

I easily prefer the EAD for bass duties, followed by the 7B-ST's, then the Cinepro. I would rate the Cinepro bass ( with my speakers anyway ) similar to a 4B-ST, IMO. Of course, you can always bridged a pair of Cinepro channels too. For the bass drivers is your B&W 803, I would think the Cinepro would have great bass response, and would be a great choice. ... just my 2 cents.


- Andy

 

[mikur]

Please don't speak me only of power

..what about sound stage, and other important parameter for hifi ?

 

[mikur]

Wont it be too bright with the nautilus?

 

[John Kotches]

Mikur,


All the previous posters have noted how the Cinepro compares favorably against amplifiers from Krell, Bryston, Classe` and EAD.


Normal people don't write for Stereophile (thank God). If you really want that kind of stuff:


Soundstage: A little wider than the Bel Canto eVo 200.2, not quite as wide as the BAT VK-6200 (2x the price). I cannot give good judgements on depth, as my room is optimized for multi-channel and as such, the depth is truncated to begin with.


Detail: Excellent retrieval, details like key clatter and breathing (if on the recording) are picked up and delivered.


Dynamic Range: About as good as you can purchase at the moment.


Micro-Dynamic shading: In spades, which ties in to detail above.


Cinepro amplifiers are underrated IMO, because they aren't the prettiest on the block, and frankly by some out and out snobbery. They don't cost enough to be as good as they are.


On top of all the positive audiophile aspects, the 3K6 happens to deliver a tremendous amount of power.


I have not heard the Cinepro drive B&Ws so I can't comment on that particular matchup.


Hope this helped.


Regards,