B&W 800D2 or 802D3?...

[Rob007]

Dear All,

I am new here and thanks for accepting my registration.
My fanship towards the B&W 800 series is somewhat unjustified but I always wanted to own a pair and I am reaching a stage in my life where I am able to afford them.
So here comes the big one: should it be the 800D2 or the 802D3? The reason for the dilemma is that they are both similarly priced second hand.
I own a Marantz KI PM Pearl, a Marantz Turntable and listening to a bit of everything: from R&R to Classical music, jazz, Heavy Metal, Prodigy and Lounge music. So really a wide spectrum of sounds. If necessary I can also upgrade the rest of the hardware but now the focus is on the speakers. At this point I am not interested in any other brand or solution.
There is plenty of space in the listening room.

Many thanks for your contribution.

Kind regards,
Robert

 

[mazersteven]

You best up your Amp game for those 800D2's

 

[Rob007]

You best up your Amp game for those 800D2's

Thanks! What do you recommend?

 

[mazersteven]

Krell Solo 575 XD Mono Amplifier – Krell

www.krellhifi.com

 

[carlthess40]

Why do people always recommend over the top ( in price ) gear when people ask about something?
Those krell amps are 10k each.
B&W speaker can play just fine with anything under 100 watts and sound great. Not nose bleed loud, but load enough for some great laid back turntable music. He can buy some great Adcom or Kenwood amps and get over the 100 watts level.
Just my 2 cents


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mazersteven]

And how much time have you spent with the 800D's being driven with a 100w amp? Yeah you'll get sound out of them but 100w isn't going to bring out the full potential of those speakers. I have spent a fair amount of time in front of them with a receiver to fpb350mcx and a big chassis stereo amp fpb700cx and they need horsepower to bring out their dynamics and low end.

The Bryston 4b3 is another nice amp

 

[charmerci]

Why do people always recommend over the top ( in price ) gear when people ask about something?
Those krell amps are 10k each.
B&W speaker can play just fine with anything under 100 watts and sound great. Not nose bleed loud, but load enough for some great laid back turntable music. He can buy some great Adcom or Kenwood amps and get over the 100 watts level.
Just my 2 cents

Though the Krell maybe overkill, those 800D2 are a big heavy load for amps - plus he said he likes heavy metal.

I would suggest AVA (Audio by Van Alstine) or Odyssey amps. They are small operations but they both have an excellent reputation, have been around forever and will personally guide you to what you need when you get them.

(Edit - actually the Marantz Pearl is a pretty nice amp -110 watts. Try it first before investigating amps. It may do you fine.)

Seems to me like the big difference between the two speakers is the sound of the upper end (improvements in the D3 tweeter) and the lower end, the 800D's giving you much more oomph. (Never having heard either.)

 

[flyboylr45]

When I had my 802D2, I ran them with a McIntosh MC452. While waiting for the amp, I ran them with a Rotel RMB 1075 and the difference was substantial. You’re definitely going to need a bigger amp.

 

[TankTop5]

Just curious, why doesn’t Parasound get mentioned more often? I’ve always had an interest in them, heard them many times and they always sound great with gobs of power but nobody ever brings them up when mentioning great amps.

 

[mazersteven]

Just my opinion. Great Amps. But either more watts then needed or to little

Especially for the rigs that get recommended around here. Most looking for help are budget to $3000-$4000.

 

[TankTop5]

Just my opinion. Great Amps. But either more watts then needed or to little

Especially for the rigs that get recommended around here. Most looking for help are budget to $3000-$4000.

So you’re saying a JC5 at $6k would be perfect for either pair of B&W’s?

 

[mazersteven]

Looks like it would work. Handles the low impedance dips the speakers can take

 

[TankTop5]

Looks like it would work. Handles the low impedance dips the speakers can take

LOL, ya think

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The Stereophile speaker measurements of the D1, D2, and D3 look almost identical, especially considering error in tolerance for measurements.

They all sound the same to me. But, of course, since they want people to buy new speakers, they will claim that the latest is greatest.

So I would get the D1 or D2 to save a ton of money.

I used to own the 802D2. I powered them just fine with the ATI AT2005 amp, which I also used to power the Revel Salon2. So I think 100-200 W is fine.

I would be scared using anything more powerful since those expensive Diamond tweeters are brittle, so they can break. In fact during transport of my initial 802D2, one of those tweeters did shatter and they had to order me a brand new pair of 802D2.

I sold my 802D2 about a year after I bought them.

 

[stalag2005]

Try Benchmark media for their amps.

 

[Rob007]

The Stereophile speaker measurements of the D1, D2, and D3 look almost identical, especially considering error in tolerance for measurements.

They all sound the same to me. But, of course, since they want people to buy new speakers, they will claim that the latest is greatest.

So I would get the D1 or D2 to save a ton of money.

I used to own the 802D2. I powered them just fine with the ATI AT2005 amp, which I also used to power the Revel Salon2. So I think 100-200 W is fine.

I would be scared using anything more powerful since those expensive Diamond tweeters are brittle, so they can break. In fact during transport of my initial 802D2, one of those tweeters did shatter and they had to order me a brand new pair of 802D2.

I sold my 802D2 about a year after I bought them.

Thanks for the input! Why did you sell them? And what did you buy instead?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thanks for the input! Why did you sell them? And what did you buy instead?

The HONEYMOON period was over for them.

I also bought the Revel Salon2 and sold them after their honeymoon period was over.

Same thing with the Linkwitz Orion3.2.1, which many critics say was among the "best in the world". That term seems to be thrown around a few times.

I bet the same reason why most people sell their expensive speakers. It wasn't because I thought the speakers no longer sounded good a few years later.

I think it comes down to whether the speakers "fit" you in multiple ways, not just sound quality. I think most people could live happily ever after with the 802D2, Salon2, Orion3.2.1.

I replaced them with RBH speakers. All the Speakers I've Owned are listed under my Signature.

 

[MasterApex]

Dear All,

I am new here and thanks for accepting my registration.
My fanship towards the B&W 800 series is somewhat unjustified but I always wanted to own a pair and I am reaching a stage in my life where I am able to afford them.
So here comes the big one: should it be the 800D2 or the 802D3? The reason for the dilemma is that they are both similarly priced second hand.
I own a Marantz KI PM Pearl, a Marantz Turntable and listening to a bit of everything: from R&R to Classical music, jazz, Heavy Metal, Prodigy and Lounge music. So really a wide spectrum of sounds. If necessary I can also upgrade the rest of the hardware but now the focus is on the speakers. At this point I am not interested in any other brand or solution.
There is plenty of space in the listening room.

Many thanks for your contribution.

Kind regards,
Robert

What did you decide?
I went from N801 to 802D3....very happy with the improved tweeter / mid that makes the voice and cymbals sounds more "life-like".
I do wish I went to 800D3 to feel more the the low frequency "presence" on certain recording (like 1812 telerac overture)
The two 10" surface area of 800D3 is close to the 15" N801 surface area , in term of "mass air" movement.

 

[Jerkface]

The HONEYMOON period was over for them.

I also bought the Revel Salon2 and sold them after their honeymoon period was over.

Same thing with the Linkwitz Orion3.2.1, which many critics say was among the "best in the world". That term seems to be thrown around a few times.

I bet the same reason why most people sell their expensive speakers. It wasn't because I thought the speakers no longer sounded good a few years later.

I think it comes down to whether the speakers "fit" you in multiple ways, not just sound quality. I think most people could live happily ever after with the 802D2, Salon2, Orion3.2.1.

Fascinating. So does your current system fit you? Genuinely curious here.

(disclaimer: the only way I'm changing out of the speakers in my signature is if we suddenly decide to move into a house where Klipschorns become an option in the main listening room. Otherwise, it's going to be subtle, progressive tweaks from now until they bury me and my kiddo sells it all off for next to nothing because he doesn't know any better )

 

[Kingnoob]

Why do people always recommend over the top ( in price ) gear when people ask about something?
Those krell amps are 10k each.
B&W speaker can play just fine with anything under 100 watts and sound great. Not nose bleed loud, but load enough for some great laid back turntable music. He can buy some great Adcom or Kenwood amps and get over the 100 watts level.
Just my 2 cents


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Typical Denon amps x3700+ have sound quality just as good as amps costing 10-20x more ... it’s just a gimmick . Now the more expensive amp could be superior but enough for you to actually hear the difference good luck testing that .
regular mid tier avr are fine ...or buy affordable monoblocks for mains instead of 10k amps .
Now the rich can buy anything so they won’t care less about spending 10k-100k for amps and speakers..
Krell and McIntosh surely are better quality build to onkyo ,and popular avr brands , but better ? Subject them to blind tests imo I don’t believe the hype ..
Emotiva may be just as good as krill ..
Now b & w diamond towers new are 30k so spending 5k+ on amps isn’t a big deal if you can afford those kingly speakers ...