B&W 802d heaven ...

[crazy]

Unfortunately these don't belong to me - they belong to a dear friend of mine who's as crazy (or crazier) about hi-end audio gear as I am.

These sound so good that it's scary! The thing I like about this setup is that it looks super clean (IMHO) and the decor around the speakers are perfect.

All this room needs now is a 50" Plasma :D

[RuSsMaN]

Hardcore.

Ask your friend about the weenie dog artwork, I'd like to buy that for a friend.

[Nelson57]

Whats the rest of the electronic gear?

[crazy]

Whats the rest of the electronic gear?

Krell 400Xi (for now) and Krell SACD standard

[Nelson57]

Thats an really nice setup, sure it sounds great.

[polkatese]

Crazy,
it looks like a great system! I haven't been into Bowers since the mid 80s, and that was with the entry level DM series.

[Zero]

Having that TV as a diffuser definately helps.

Cool.

[audiobliss]

Having that TV as a diffuser definately helps.

What?

[Holydoc]

This is the first time I have ever seen the 802's. Kind of reminds you of a very sleek R2D2. They are definitely a very nice looking speaker. I love the fact that they look artistic as well as sounding that way.

[thehaens@cox.net]

What?

Maybe he meant the curtain behind the TV.....

[organ]

Beautiful. What's the retail on a pair of those bad boys?

[Dennis Gardner]

Beautiful. What's the retail on a pair of those bad boys?

12 bigun's The 800d are $20k. I would take either, the diamond tweeter was much better than I imagined it to be. No real shrillness, just very detailed and clean.

[organ]

12 bigun's The 800d are $20k. I would take either, the diamond tweeter was much better than I imagined it to be. No real shrillness, just very detailed and clean.

OMG . I gotta go demo a pair one day.

My friend's dad owns a pair of Beemers and I've always loved the sound. It's an older model that looks similar but more boxy. That was a long time ago.

[Zero]

The 800D's arent too shabby. Classe Omega is a pretty adequate match. Still boxy though.

Michael,

Diffuser, and in this case, an object placed between the speakers to keep the center stage from acting cluttered up due to waves over-lapping each other.

[Dennis Gardner]

I heard the 800d pair on Classe' Delta series 400 wpc monoblocks, the same setup that Abbey Road Studios is using now.

In a single word..............effortless.

[dorokusai]

I'm glad you enjoy them, as it's all about perspective. I haven't heard a stellar B&W demo to date.

[organ]

OK, to those who don't like Beemers... Just wondering what it is about their sound you don't like?

I dig them, especially the mids and highs. But I like my Klipsch a lot more than the two different Beemers I've heard.

[dorokusai]

They didn't exhibit anything above and beyond what I've heard in 20 other monkey coffins.

[Dennis Gardner]

I'm glad you enjoy them, as it's all about perspective. I haven't heard a stellar B&W demo to date.

Mark, I would have to say that the Classe' amps and cdp/DVD that I heard made quite a difference in both the 800d and 802d. I heard them on Rotel gear and McIntosh and didn't care as much as alot of detail was lost and was veiled/muddy sounding. The Mac source was their big digital server and I didn't care for it at all. A couple minutes was all that was needed for me to know the Mac SS stuff didn't do the speakers justice in that room.

I'll have a pair of the bigger Beemers someday, even for only awhile, but it will be at the 40% of retail preowned they are selling for recently. They aren't worth more than what I drive..............

[Zero]

Maurice,

They are just one of many audio toys that don't tickle my fancy. They sound like a box to me - one without timbre and a sterile presentation at that.

[dorokusai]

Dennis - B&W was a brand that 15 years ago, woke me up to high end. I remember the yellow? baffles of some model that had me vexed. I think they are definetly above average, but they just don't do anything for me and I've heard the current line. The only thing I've heard them on is Rotel, Parasound and Manley.

Keep in mind, I'm a planarhead, so my focus shifted awhile ago. Coffins are cool, but easy to do. Planars, Electrostat, Line Array, Open Baffle...are theories that interest me from a listener perspective.

I know you are into quality sound and the gear, rock on, it's just not my bag.

[organ]

Sean,
I find the mids and highs very "airy". I can see how some people hear it as sterile, lifeless or boring. Of course, I like their sound for softer stuff. You're one of the hardest guys to please around here;).

Doro,
Cool. I plan to try a pair of Maggies one day. You know, that special offer for the MMG that's like $500 or something. First I need to get a solid amp to power my LSi9, then I'll get the Maggies and use them on the same amp.

I've never heard planars before, and I'm very curious as to how they sound compared to box speakers.

[crazy]

Well ... to all those comments about B&Ws, all I can say is that B&W speakers have given me a new meaning to listening to stereo music and I'm loving every bit of it. I listen to music everyday - no more playing video games!!!

I think that a lot depends also on the electronics also. I remember reaming beamers on Rotels and they were not bad, but I wasn't blown away by them. Then I heard them on Krell gear and was totally mesmerized!

I still do love my Polks but unfortunately my small place doesn't have space for 2 setups. I've been trying to sell mine but found no buyers so far :(

But back to the B&W, I auditioned quite a few speakers - Klipsch and hi-end Polks of course, Thiel, ML (but they were on crap electronics so that doesn't count), Sonus Faber, Vienna Acoustics, Dali etc. etc. and in the end B&W's won quite easily.

The 802d (as shown in the picture) was way out of my budget but the first time I heard a Dave Brubeck performance on these (running on over $20K worth of electronics), I was so stunned that I wanted to get up and clap! I didn't think that I could even go with the 804s but thanks to Joey_V who hooked me up on a great deal on a Krell integrated amp, I was able to get those amazing speakers and life's been good :)

One slight issue - I'm broke!!! Or atleast till I can sell the Polk setup ...

[mldennison]

One slight issue - I'm broke!!! Or atleast till I can sell the Polk setup ...

lets hope you bought a few cd's before you spent all the money on the beemers :D

my experience with B&W seems to be what most others feel. have not heard the high end stuff so cant really comment. i did like the 700 series on Rotel although i have heard other speakers in the same range that i like better. my old roommate had a 600 series HT setup (601, 603, lcr60) that i did not like at all, it seemed totally lifeless for all the money he paid. i am sure though that if you have the money to spend on the better stuff that you are getting what you pay for

[wingnut4772]

How are they with HT?

[crazy]

How are they with HT?

They are incredible with HT and with multi-channel music. Unfortunately it is incredibly expensive to build a HT setup with these - plus you'll need to spend a small fortune on quality electronics.