Does anyone own the 800 series B&W speakers??

Impressions??? Are they worth the price??

 

The actual "800" model? http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/Speakers/Home_Audio/800_Series_Diamond/800-Diamond.html

I have a pair of Nautilus 802 and 804, now 12 years old each.

 

There are quite a few owners here of 800, 802, 803, 804 and 805. Haven't seen anyone say they have the 801N or 801D (there are Matrix 801 owners, though), but I used to use them for work on a regular basis (Matrix S3s too).

Impressions? I liked them enough to buy 802s. I wanted 801s, but they were too large for my listening room. They work extremely well with all types of music, and are capable of realistic playback levels, hence their use in recording/mastering studios. Like ATCs, which I also love, they are a great tool for analyzing a mix. They need the best ancillaries to give of their best, and, IMO, that means high-quality, high-powered solid-state amplification (think Pass, Classe, etc.). Even the small models can suck up a ton of power. It is very easy to get carried away with the volume control, so caution is advised.

Are they worth the price? Certainly.

 

I use Nautilus 805 speakers in my bedroom and think they're great. For a small speaker they present a large sound.

 

I bought a pair of gently used Nautilus 803's and love them.

I had to get used to them because I was accustomed to doing my listening through a pair of M&K Tri-Poles with an M&K 2X12 subwoofer (initially powered by Rotel amplification and later by McIntosh amplification). The B&W's and the M&K's are very different animals.

 

B&W have their own flavour – some love the sound.

Usually they image well and will deliver heaps of fine detail.

If that is your thing they will be great.


In my opinion B&W are not a good full range speaker and provide a sonic signature that is detrimental to the enjoyment of music.

 

All B&W speakers?

 

And yet B&W 800-series speakers are used in many classical/scoring facilities where tonal accuracy is paramount.

Not a good full range speaker? In what way?

I know many recording engineers who enjoy listening to music every day on 800-series.

 

I'm not a recording engineer, nor do I play one on TV. But if the last pair of speakers I ever own is the N802, then I will die a happy man, wanting for naught.

 

Yeah, I don't get it. There are companies that do not aim for accuracy/neutrality, and I can understand people having a love/hate relationship with their products, but B&W, ATC, etc. do not fall into that group. If they were as colored as phred claims they would be useless as studio monitors.

 

I've owned a lot of different B&W speakers over the years. A pair of DM5s from 1978 have been in my bedroom since then. In floor standing speakers, back in the '80s I had a pair of DM7 speakers, B&W's first speaker with the tweeter out of the box. I now own, and am very happy with, a pair of Nautilus 804 speakers. I did add a Martin Logan sub to extend their bottom end.

I understand what people like and don't like about B&W's sound. Yes, the company does have a signature sound. It is analytical and accurate. Often those qualities come with a bright speaker and B&W speakers aren't generally bright. If I had to use one word to describe B&W's sound, it would be precise.

But that can come at a price. Sometimes they are not rhythmically involving. When I listen to my 804s, often I'm viewing the music and am impressed by it, but sometimes I'm not emotionally drawn into the experience. Other times, that's not a problem. A perfect example would be last night. I had a bunch of people over and by request, I played Gram Parson's record, Grievous Angel. The crowd wanted the song "Return of the Grievous Angel" which I thought sounded nice but didn't blow me away. And yet, when we got to "Love Hurts," the room became silent, with everyone captured by the music. After the song, there was a pause and someone said, "That was amazing." Yes, it was.

I also find B&Ws sometimes have a smaller than life soundstage, which comes directly from their smaller size. I used to joke that a Munchkin band was playing through my DM7s.

 

Many speakers have a signature sound... I don't like the sound of B&W speakers. They just sound like a box.

 

Not mine.

 

Well, good for you, if you like the B&W sound. Even one of my favorite brands, Wilson Audio has a signature sound. I never heard a 100% neutral speaker and I heard many big speakers... B&W, Magico, Tidal Audio, Sonus Faber, Focal, Wilson Audio, Rockport, KEF etc

 

I have spent a fair amount of time listening to 801's and 802 matrix in other people's homes. I like them and think they a good for everything from Pop to Classical.

For years the best sound I ever heard in someone's home was the 801's. There are lots of versions of "audio" truth and I like the B&W's sound a lot.

They are a good choice right up there with the best. Make sure you drive them with some high quality current.

 

B&W makes $500 speakers and $20,000 speakers. They all sound like a box to you?

 

Well - I can't claim to have listened to every speaker made by a given manufacturer in my house, so how would I expect to form an 'informed' opinion to categorically declare what that 'brand' sounds like?

In my house, my rig, my setup, my B&Ws certainly don't sound like a box -SF members welcomed to give a listen and have a direct experience for an 'informed' first hand opinion.

Just knock and say "Steve sent me."

I'll even provide a cold beverage.

 

805D's in my house, powered by McIntosh and I believe that these two were meant for each other! If I had a spare $20,000 hanging around, I would have their 802D's, but instead I got the 805D's for $5,000 and added a $2,000 dollar JL Audio fathom sub and all is good with my wallet and my sound!

 

I have the 805s. Bought used at a good price so I took the plunge. I love them. I sometimes think of buying another brand but I never get around to it.

I might get the 804s or 803s one day though.

Everyone has a preference with respect to what they would like to hear. They are very revealing and I would take the time to match them with the proper amp, etc.

 

Compared to the best speakers I heard... yes! And I'm talking from the biggest B&W's. The first B&W I heard... Matrix 800. a huge speaker design at that time. I have never heard any B&W, which has the 3-dimensional soundstage of my favorite speaker designs. Well, that's only my opinion.

 

I totally agree with member eddiel above. Everyone does indeed have their own preference as to what they would "like" to hear (the key word being, "like"). It is impossible for everyone to "like" the exact same sound out of a speaker, which is why I have many different sound systems hooked-up in the house. When I want to listen to a Steve Hoffman mastering, for instance, I go to the B&W 805's, but when I want to hear Sinatra or Nat King Cole, I head over to the Klipsch horn speakers and my Scott tube amp, which is magical sound, in a completely different way! I've also got a pair of old Dynaco 25A's hooked up to a CD jukebox and they have a simple, but natural sound about them. Another system I have has Canadian PSB speakers hooked up to it, which I use for my own needledrops. All of these different speakers work for me, but it all depends on what I want to listen to, as to which pair gets played.

The only speakers that I've ever heard that truly do nothing for me and I mean NOTHING, are Martin Logans. My apologies to the M.L. fans, but, no matter how many times I've read that fans of those speakers love them and I've heard many pairs of them, (one of which was some crazy $20,000 plus dollar set, in it's own soundproof listening room) and even sitting in the one foot wide sweet spot (which I found ridiculous, by the way) and I was just dumbfounded by how great he thought that they sounded and I was left completely unimpressed? Martin Logans seem to me to be a speaker that attacks me, especially with highs and they always leave me wanting more in the lows, where I find the B&W "800" series and even the "Nautilus" series, are pretty "natural" sounding, with unbelievable room filling warmth!

Off the top of my head, the only other speaker that I would even attempt to put in the B&W 805D territory, are a few speakers in the "Totem" speaker line.

 

If you truly feel this way, then I believe that you may have to give up your "Steve Hoffman Forum" membership, because, if you will forgive my forwardness, but you, dear forum friend, are WRONG, opinion or not!

 

I've owned the 805D and the 802D. Liked em both. I did find the 802D to be a little bit amplifier sensitive, in the sense that with the wrong amplifier, they did indeed sound a bit boxy and lifeless. However, when using Cardas Clear speaker cable, the Burmester 911, pretty much any Pass amp, (including my Aleph 5 which is of very modest cost), the Audio Research REF150 and the Prima Luna mono blocks (especially with EL34 tubes) they sounded quite good. I've always felt the 802D has always offered great sound for the price asked.

 

I had the 802D back in 2008 and after owning it for 1 yr, I traded up to the 802D2. I had both sets in my place for comparison and preferred the newer version. It sounded more at ease and natural. Imaging was never an issue IME; it always places the instruments nicely. What I have found lately is that the tonality is a bit lacking in warmth and fullness.

I listened to the older Sashas and hated them but I think the new silk domes will make them quite nice. I really like the Alexias. Another brand that I should have pursued is Evolution Acoustic. Their MM3 or mmMini3. I got the mmMicroOne and they sound really nice for what they are.

For the record, I agree that the 802Ds are power hungry. I run them bi-amped with each bass module having a CA-M400 each and a CA-5200 channel driving each mid/tweeter.

My $0.02.

 

Nice.