You have picked out some great items. At minimum, I would would not try to drive the Dynaudio or Peachtree speakers with anything less than 65 or 70 watts. Otherwise, the idea that one item goes really well with the other is a tough thing to say because part of this is highly personal.

From my perspective, I like Peachtree's sound. There speakers are neutral to a hair on the warm side, they have great bass extension for a tiny speaker and they look pretty. The Peachtree amps deliver bigger power and a surprising level of detail relative to their peers at a given price point and have a superb internal DAC but only have like three inputs which annoys me. Some people might find the sound from Peachtree a little laid back.

Alternatively, despite the excellence of Rotel and B&W and the fact that many people love there speakers and amps, I find listening to acoustic guitar or strings unbearable and find them forward. Evidently, I am in the minority given B&Ws sales. That being said, it is a personal choice and the combination of amp and speaker is going to deliver a unique sound that you may or may not like and more importantly, what you like I may not.

My advice is go out and listen to speakers and pick music that is going to push the limits of the speakers and highlight strengths and weaknesses. I use the song Only the Young from Journey as my brightness screener. I can tell after 15 seconds whether a speaker is going to annoy me. For bass detail, I use the song So What from Miles Davis. Then I also pick a piece that feature piano like In a Sentimental Mood as piano is hard to reproduce, something classical which will expose the amp and speakers ability to separate instruments and usually something with a female voice. I like Peter Gabriel's Don't Give Up off Secret World Live.

Those aren't necessarily my favorite songs but they expose what I like and dislike about a speaker and amp. Then, once you think you have it right, order or buy it from a place that has a 30 day return policy and hope it delivers the same sound in your home. The room will matter and once you get it home, things may change. I paid a higher sales tax to buy my speakers from a retailer with a more liberal return policy just in case. Now, I have been extremely happy with mine and never considered returning them but don't regret that I was cautious.

I know you want someone to say, pair x with y. That is a recipe for you to have buyers remorse and be annoyed with us unless you get lucky.

raiders4life12 wrote:

I am considering buying a new amp and speakers and would like people's opinions on several products and how they work together. Which of these offers the best value and sound quality at the price point? Can you recommend any of these products and which would go together well? Are any of these much better or much worse than the others?

Thanks in advance!

Monitor Audio Silver 2

Focal Chorus 706V

Amps:

Cambridge CXA80

What are your opinions on these and how they would work together?

The Monitor Audio Silver Series 2 is excellent, and so is the Focal 706V.

The amplifier I would recommend is the Music Hall A15.3.

The Cambridge CXA80 is also very good.

The best part of buying new stuff is going out and listening to the different products. I spent over 5 hours over 2 days at my local store listening to several products within my budget. It was a great experience. After I made my decision the store owner brought out some of his own vinyl and we listened to it for a while...

I decided on a NAD 375 amp and Bryston A1 speakers.. But everyone is different.

Congratulations. I haven't heard the Bryston speakers but I know people rave about them. Sounds like a great setup.

I have MA RS6 with NAD C352. The speakers are great for Jazz and classical. Combined with NAD C352 it is decent. The speakers could do way better than clubbed with NAD C352. Once I had the opportunity to use a different pre-amp with NAD power amp alone. The sound was superb. Even I am in the look out for some one to just name an amp which would go well with these speakers.

floydianpsyche wrote:

I have MA RS6 with NAD C352. The speakers are great for Jazz and classical. Combined with NAD C352 it is decent. The speakers could do way better than clubbed with NAD C352. Once I had the opportunity to use a different pre-amp with NAD power amp alone. The sound was superb. Even I am in the look out for some one to just name an amp which would go well with these speakers.

The Musical Fidelity M3si is excellent.

Cambridge Audio has some good amps that are $800 or so.

last year I brought home a new pair of B&W bookshelf speakers. Can't remember which model, (805?) put them on pedestals and listened to them for three days. They are (supposed to be)one of the best sounding speakers on the market according to the reviews.Put them back in the boxes and took them back. They sounded really loud and unpleasant (to me) in the midrange. Maybe I just like a more laid back sound. I wound up buying Polk Rtia5 floorstanders. I have read that people say they are not the most accurate speakers but are smooth and make everything sound pretty good. I added a B&W sub and now they sound real good to me after I cut off the lowest frequencies to them.