Bjorn's Audio Video

[Pogre]

I'm visiting my sister just outside of San Antonio and she told me about this place, Bjorn's, in San Antonio. We got here Thursday night and Friday morning she was busy running her kids around (and I didn't wanna go), so my wife and I took a small road trip to check out Bjorn's. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I started talking to the sales person and once he understood I knew a little about audio he was more than happy to show off their flagship demo system. I let him know that anything in that room was well outside my budget because i didnt want to waste his time. He didn't seem to care and was very accomodating.

He told me with the gear and speakers combined that this is a $55,000 system. I'm sure most of you recognize those 802 D3's. I've never seen them before. The rooms were treated and everything was set up just right. He played some Dire Straits and Eagles for me. The drums at the beginning of Hotel California sounded like they were in the room with me. I was very impressed. I didn't want to listen for too long tho. The difference in sq from my more modest system was pretty noticeable. 22k for those speakers tho... phew. Here are some more pics of the gear.

Love those pretty blue dials. Like I said, that was their big money room.

This was the next step down. I didn't get to listen to these, but their big brothers were sufficiently impressive enough for me.

They also had a pair of Klipsch Forte's on display. Didn't listen to them either, unfortunately. I felt kinda bad knowing I wasn't there to buy anything so I didn't wanna be a pain in the ass. Then I headed over to another room and was again very surprised.

They had a whole lineup of SVS subwoofers! You can see from the shaky image I was pretty excited (I had just touched it ). I think they had a representative of everything they have. The PC13 Ultra is a lot bigger than I thought.

I finally got to demo SVS' Prime speakers! Now I have a reference point. I thought they sounded pretty good for the price, but they're no ultras. These towers are a lot smaller than I thought they were too. I thought they were almost as tall as my Ultras, but they're quite a bit smaller.

So that was my Friday adventure. It was very cool to see an actual b&m store with some pretty nice systems. I haven't been inside anything but best buy in years. I was surprised this place even existed.

 

[Hetfield]

I'm visiting my sister just outside of San Antonio and she told me about this place, Bjorn's, in San Antonio. We got here Thursday night and Friday morning she was busy running her kids around (and I didn't wanna go), so my wife and I took a small road trip to check out Bjorn's. I was very pleasantly surprised.

View attachment 22648
I started talking to the sales person and once he understood I knew a little about audio he was more than happy to show off their flagship demo system. I let him know that anything in that room was well outside my budget because i didnt want to waste his time. He didn't seem to care and was very accomodating.

He told me with the gear and speakers combined that this is a $55,000 system. I'm sure most of you recognize those 802 D3's. I've never seen them before. The rooms were treated and everything was set up just right. He played some Dire Straits and Eagles for me. The drums at the beginning of Hotel California sounded like they were in the room with me. I was very impressed. I didn't want to listen for too long tho. The difference in sq from my more modest system was pretty noticeable. 22k for those speakers tho... phew. Here are some more pics of the gear.

View attachment 22650 View attachment 22651
Love those pretty blue dials. Like I said, that was their big money room.

View attachment 22652
This was the next step down. I didn't get to listen to these, but their big brothers were sufficiently impressive enough for me.

View attachment 22653 View attachment 22654
They also had a pair of Klipsch Forte's on display. Didn't listen to them either, unfortunately. I felt kinda bad knowing I wasn't there to buy anything so I didn't wanna be a pain in the ass. Then I headed over to another room and was again very surprised.

View attachment 22655
They had a whole lineup of SVS subwoofers! You can see from the shaky image I was pretty excited (I had just touched it ). I think they had a representative of everything they have. The PC13 Ultra is a lot bigger than I thought.

View attachment 22656
I finally got to demo SVS' Prime speakers! Now I have a reference point. I thought they sounded pretty good for the price, but they're no ultras. These towers are a lot smaller than I thought they were too. I thought they were almost as tall as my Ultras, but they're quite a bit smaller.

So that was my Friday adventure. It was very cool to see an actual b&m store with some pretty nice systems. I haven't been inside anything but best buy in years. I was surprised this place even existed.

Wow now that is something. I guess it's fun to see how the other side lives or shall I say listens. That first really expensive took was all McIntosh? Man they seem incredible, and made directly here in the USA but like you said wow expensive. Cool little experience I bet you had, thank you for relaying it to us.

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[psbfan9]

@Pogre, did you notice a hiss in the tweeters of the D3's?
My local shop had a very similar set up, McIntosh components with B&W 802D's and there was a very audible hiss.

 

[shadyJ]

@Pogre, did you notice a hiss in the tweeters of the D3's?
My local shop had a very similar set up, McIntosh components with B&W 802D's and there was a very audible hiss.

Speakers wouldn't have that kind of behavior. It was likely a problem with the electronics, probably a high noise floor that has been amplified somewhere in the gain stage.

 

[Pogre]

@Pogre, did you notice a hiss in the tweeters of the D3's?
My local shop had a very similar set up, McIntosh components with B&W 802D's and there was a very audible hiss.

I didn't really have time for any serious critical listening, I was just pretty blown away at how realistic they sounded. I can hear the difference in the price. Just way above my pay grade.

 

[ski2xblack]

Dude! You really should have given those Fortes an audition.

 

[KEW]

Nice!
Even if you are not a buyer, most of the guys that run these shops are a bit like us and enjoy "showing off" their gear (even if not personally theirs) to another enthusiast, so don't be so concerned about using up their time unless they start to drop hints.
Did they have the Ultra speakers?
As you know, I consider them a sweetspot (especially the B-stock Ultra Bookshelf for $400 each like you got), so if they didn't have the Ultra speakers, I am a bit inclined to think it might undermine their ability to sell a more expensive, higher profit speaker. Did you notice what they had in about the same price range (or next up) as compared to the Ultras?

It was very cool to see an actual b&m store with some pretty nice systems. I haven't been inside anything but best buy in years. I was surprised this place even existed.

This sentence caught me off-guard! Around Atlanta, every BestBuy includes a Magnolia room which sells McIntosh and B&W (along with Martin Logan and Sonus Faber) and I assumed that was the same everywhere! Based on the local stores, I thought BB had taken the initiative to add Magnolia room to all of their stores!
Many small Hi-Fi shop closed when the economy tanked, and now that the economy is partially revived, it is good business strategy for BB to capture as much of the upscale audio market as it can before the small shops reappear.
I expect your over-all experience was better, being a smaller shop instead of run by corporate minions!

 

[TLS Guy]

That place looks as if it gave you a good point of reference as to what a good system should sound like these days. I have to say B & W have done a good job with their new 800 D3 series. I have not heard the 802s but my friend has the 800 D3s. I have listened to them quite a bit and have had a chance to measure them. They sound very good and measure well.

I would not swap them for mine, which have a more natural bottom end and more are relaxed when the going gets rough, but at this point it comes to splitting hairs. My system has a lot more complexity which of course opens up the reliability can of worms.

 

[Pogre]

Nice!
Even if you are not a buyer, most of the guys that run these shops are a bit like us and enjoy "showing off" their gear (even if not personally theirs) to another enthusiast, so don't be so concerned about using up their time unless they start to drop hints.
Did they have the Ultra speakers?
As you know, I consider them a sweetspot (especially the B-stock Ultra Bookshelf for $400 each like you got), so if they didn't have the Ultra speakers, I am a bit inclined to think it might undermine their ability to sell a more expensive, higher profit speaker. Did you notice what they had in about the same price range (or next up) as compared to the Ultras?

This sentence caught me off-guard! Around Atlanta, every BestBuy includes a Magnolia room which sells McIntosh and B&W (along with Martin Logan and Sonus Faber) and I assumed that was the same everywhere! Based on the local stores, I thought BB had taken the initiative to add Magnolia room to all of their stores!
Many small Hi-Fi shop closed when the economy tanked, and now that the economy is partially revived, it is good business strategy for BB to capture as much of the upscale audio market as it can before the small shops reappear.
I expect your over-all experience was better, being a smaller shop instead of run by corporate minions!

They did not have the Ultra speakers. Of course you know I looked for them too! They had plenty of offerings covering a pretty broad swath of price ranges with 4 different listening rooms. Each one with with better gear than the next, finishing up with the B & W's and McIntosh. I have no idea why they didn't have the Ultras. There was an appropriate room for them.

There is a Magnolia room at my bb. They have some decent stuff, but nothing I feel that's heads and shoulders above what I have in my living room (and I'm just not into the electrostats, ie: M/L that are there), but they don't have anything like the McIntosh amps (or equivalent) or the 802's.

I know I shoulda pushed a little more to audition some others, but a customer grabbed him and I didn't want to pester. I had fun though. The 802's with the McIntosh gear was very impressive. @TLS Guy I hope that was a good point of reference! They were pretty amazing. I'd never heard the 802's before and I was hoping someone wasn't going to come in and say they were garbage, because that would mean my ears are broken. They were very articulate, realistic and there was plenty of clean powerful bass on tap. It didn't feel like they needed a subwoofer.

That being said, even though I'd trade them in a heartbeat for the 802's, I still love my Ultras. They really do sound very nice in my room... plus I can afford them!

 

[KEW]

We have the 802's and McIntosh stuff in the BB's around here. But there is a poop-load of money around here too!

 

[speakerman39]

We have the 802's and McIntosh stuff in the BB's around here. But there is a poop-load of money around here too!

Money? Someone say money......LOL!!!! Sure wished my local BB had a Magnolia. However, they claim they can order just about anything I want from Magnolia and have it shipped to the local store. As such, I guess that is better than nothing.


Cheers,

Phil

 

[Pogre]

We have the 802's and McIntosh stuff in the BB's around here. But there is a poop-load of money around here too!

Another thing that was nicer than bb too is that the 2 more expensive rooms had some acoustic treatments and were properly set up. You can tell they want their top gear to sound like top gear. I spent about an hour and a half in there. It was fun.

 

[Bucknekked]

I'm visiting my sister just outside of San Antonio and she told me about this place, Bjorn's, in San Antonio. We got here Thursday night and Friday morning she was busy running her kids around (and I didn't wanna go), so my wife and I took a small road trip to check out Bjorn's. I was very pleasantly surprised.

View attachment 22648
I started talking to the sales person and once he understood I knew a little about audio he was more than happy to show off their flagship demo system. I let him know that anything in that room was well outside my budget because i didnt want to waste his time. He didn't seem to care and was very accomodating.

He told me with the gear and speakers combined that this is a $55,000 system. I'm sure most of you recognize those 802 D3's. I've never seen them before. The rooms were treated and everything was set up just right. He played some Dire Straits and Eagles for me. The drums at the beginning of Hotel California sounded like they were in the room with me. I was very impressed. I didn't want to listen for too long tho. The difference in sq from my more modest system was pretty noticeable. 22k for those speakers tho... phew. Here are some more pics of the gear.

View attachment 22650 View attachment 22651
Love those pretty blue dials. Like I said, that was their big money room.

View attachment 22652
This was the next step down. I didn't get to listen to these, but their big brothers were sufficiently impressive enough for me.

View attachment 22653 View attachment 22654
They also had a pair of Klipsch Forte's on display. Didn't listen to them either, unfortunately. I felt kinda bad knowing I wasn't there to buy anything so I didn't wanna be a pain in the ass. Then I headed over to another room and was again very surprised.

View attachment 22655
They had a whole lineup of SVS subwoofers! You can see from the shaky image I was pretty excited (I had just touched it ). I think they had a representative of everything they have. The PC13 Ultra is a lot bigger than I thought.

View attachment 22656
I finally got to demo SVS' Prime speakers! Now I have a reference point. I thought they sounded pretty good for the price, but they're no ultras. These towers are a lot smaller than I thought they were too. I thought they were almost as tall as my Ultras, but they're quite a bit smaller.

So that was my Friday adventure. It was very cool to see an actual b&m store with some pretty nice systems. I haven't been inside anything but best buy in years. I was surprised this place even existed.

doing that kind of a audio visit is always a good experience. you can learn things you just can't learn any other way other than to see stuff and listen to it. Despite all the trash talk aimed at McIntosh equipment, I still have serious McEnvy. If I had more shekels, I'd try very hard for some of those big blue dancing meters even if they don't actually do much. Such are childhood dreams. Hearing big time speakers is its own reward. Glad you had the opportunity. And glad you took some pictures. It helps in the envy process.

 

[Pogre]

I took a couple more pics of one of the 802's that didn't make it into the first post.

I was so impressed with them. If I had the money, I could be talked into them. The cabinets are very inert. It sounded like I was rapping on a solid block when I gave it some knuckles.

@Bucknekked you are absolutely correct about the experience of being there and listening to the stuff. I now have a deeper appreciation of what it takes to make $22,000 speakers. They cost a lot, but you can hear it. Up until then my system was the best I'd heard. Now I know what a really good system can sound like with the right amount of money and love. I say love, because you have to love audio to spend that much on it!

 

[Bucknekked]

@Bucknekked . Now I know what a really good system can sound like with the right amount of money and love. I say love, because you have to love audio to spend that much on it!

I don't know if its love, or just lust. I'd like a chance to figure it out.

 

[slipperybidness]

@Pogre
I never been to Bjorn's but it has been on my radar for a while. I need to get down there! Only about an hour or so from my house.

Next time you are in the area, go get some beers from Freetail! Unfortunately, I cannot recommend the food (I've eaten there twice, once when it was very busy and once when we were the only ones in there, and they screwed the pooch both times!), but the beer is excellent! Google shows Freetail ~10 miles from Bjorn's.
https://www.freetailbrewing.com/

 

[Bryce_H]

I have been in Bjorns and they have some sweet set-ups. They had (not sure it is still there) a full D-Box theater room...the total for the room was almost $500,000

I watched some of Iron Man ?? (where his house falls in the ocean) and got a bit motion sick.

The staff there are great and I have just shot the s*** with them at times. I have a full Def Tech speaker set-up and one time I stopped by one of the senior tech guys/reps from Golden Ear was there - but he spent a couple decades at Def Tech first! Helped me dial in my new theater over a 30 minute conversation.

Good stuff!

 

[Hetfield]

I have been in Bjorns and they have some sweet set-ups. They had (not sure it is still there) a full D-Box theater room...the total for the room was almost $500,000

I watched some of Iron Man ?? (where his house falls in the ocean) and got a bit motion sick.

The staff there are great and I have just shot the s*** with them at times. I have a full Def Tech speaker set-up and one time I stopped by one of the senior tech guys/reps from Golden Ear was there - but he spent a couple decades at Def Tech first! Helped me dial in my new theater over a 30 minute conversation.

Good stuff!

Wow that is pretty awesome, very nice of that guy.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Pogre]

I think if I get my reading glasses on and sift through that post with a fine screen there might be a teeny little nugget of a compliment in there somewhere. Still mulling over the delivery...

 

[Mitchibo]

I think if I get my reading glasses on and sift through that post with a fine screen there might be a teeny little nugget of a compliment in there somewhere. Still mulling over the delivery...

Sort of like “ When did you stop beating your wife, Pogre?”

Cosmetically, the 802’s look a bit too space age...like some sort of hyper-space engine. Then again, if I had 22K dumped into these I’m sure my attitude would magically change. For that buck they better sound head and shoulders better than the stuff us riff-raff have. I have noticed better speaker designers use that tear-drop shape a lot.