Listened to B&W 805S speakers today

[gus6464]

Just go right for the Dancers and stop messing around. LOL

Reason we decided to start out with bookshelves is because we live in an apartment right now. But once we buy a house instead of upgrading the entire system we just decided to start with something high end and just keep adding to it. So we figured $2500-$3000 was a good start for our first pair of speakers that could be moved to surrounds later on.

 

[mazersteven]

Reason we decided to start out with bookshelves is because we live in an apartment right now. But once we buy a house instead of upgrading the entire system we just decided to start with something high end and just keep adding to it. So we figured $2500-$3000 was a good start for our first pair of speakers that could be moved to surrounds later on.

I know. I'm just breaking balls. I am very jealous of the speakers you are auditioning to purchase.

 

[gus6464]

I know. I'm just breaking balls. I am very jealous of the speakers you are auditioning to purchase.

lol I appreciate all the advice you have given me mazersteven I was wondering if anyone has some Aerial 5B's and if they have very defined vocals. My wife is a bit hesitant to go to someone's house to audition speakers.

 

[mazersteven]

My wife is a bit hesitant to go to someone's house to audition speakers.

Hell if they are serving drinks, and a movie. I'm not hesitant at all. I'll even bring the instant popcorn.

 

[PENG]

It's gotten to the point that she is now talking about saving so that when we get a new house we make one of the rooms a home theater room and upgrade the 805S to 802D's.

That's what I have been doing too, that is, saving for the 802D. Warning: don't let her listen to the 802D too much if you want to buy the Contour. The 802D's mids and highs are intoxicatingly 'neutral' and that Marlan head sure looks beautiful.

 

[gus6464]

That's what I have been doing too, that is, saving for the 802D. Warning: don't let her listen to the 802D too much if you want to buy the Contour. The 802D's mids and highs are intoxicatingly 'neutral' and that Marlan head sure looks beautiful.

Do you currently own the 805S? I was wondering if they are 8 ohm or 4 ohm. The B&W specs say they are 8 ohm but I hear people say they are closer to 4 ohm.

 

[mike c]

Do you currently own the 805S? I was wondering if they are 8 ohm or 4 ohm. The B&W specs say they are 8 ohm but I hear people say they are closer to 4 ohm.

quote from specs page of the 805S

Normal Impedance 8 ohms (minimum 3.7 ohms)

 

[AdrianMills]

Do you currently own the 805S? I was wondering if they are 8 ohm or 4 ohm. The B&W specs say they are 8 ohm but I hear people say they are closer to 4 ohm.

The impedance varies quite a lot but I think they remain at 8ohm or higher mostly and short dips down to 4ohm or a little less should be ok for most good receivers. A friend of mine used a 20W tube amp for a while on his 805S and now uses a 30W Naim amp so you shouldn't worry about it - they are much easier to drive than B&W's previous models.

I use a 4306 receiver with my front pair of 804S - using 4 channels biamped ( yeah, I know) - and I don't think I ever get any where near clipping and they sound better than fine . But having said that I’ve just received (this afternoon!) a HTM3S center that I plan on using with an external amp (a Bel Canto monoblock) as that supposedly gets down to 3.2ohm and I didn't want to risk stressing the amp in my receiver too much with that extra load - and I'll admit that I just love the kit for its own sake.

A word of advice; let your wife have the 805S, if you don't you won't ever hear the end of it. (I'm thinking about getting a pair for my surrounds next year).

 

[billy p]

Agreed,

and I would like to add that I would allow her more of the household decisions, as well.

 

[gus6464]

It's just the accountant in me; I am always trying to find the best bang for the buck. That's why too many decisions drive me nuts.

 

[AdrianMills]

It's just the accountant in me; I am always trying to find the best bang for the buck. That's why too many decisions drive me nuts.

I know where you're coming from but sometimes you have to pay the price for that special "something" - these speakers are as much a work of art as anything else. And yes, it's really very silly but damn, it's so very nice to have these things in the living room.

I ended up tripling my entire budget on the front pair of speakers after making the mistake of seeing/listening to the 804S but I haven't regretted it one bit since. I did make a point of staying away from the 802Ds though and I still don't dare to see them.

 

[gus6464]

I think we have found the perfect speakers (for our taste). Today we went to listen to some PSB Platinum M2's and Dali Mentor 2's. We listened to both on an NAD amp and in a room that was oddly shaped with absolutely no acoustic treatment unlike the 805S'. The Dali Mentor 2's were amazing and sounded exactly if not better than the 805S without needing a $12k MacIntosh. Also the Dali's are $2550 with stands. My wife immediately loved them and the fact that they sounded just as amazing on what probably was a pretty bad setup room wise. Has anyone else listened to the Mentor 2's?

 

[mazersteven]

No review on the PSB M2's?

 

[gus6464]

No review on the PSB M2's?

The PSB M2's were awesome and sounded exactly the same as the Dali's on one of the songs we use to audition. But once we changed to a track with more bass they differentiated themselves completely. The low's on the M2's on music with a lot bass just become too overpowering. You do not need a sub whatsoever with the M2's. Mids and highs are very balanced and there is a ton of clarity but the low's were a bit too much. If you like speakers with some oomph on the low end and don't want a sub then the M2's would be perfect.

 

[mazersteven]

The PSB M2's were awesome and sounded exactly the same as the Dali's on one of the songs we use to audition. But once we changed to a track with more bass they differentiated themselves completely. The low's on the M2's on music with a lot bass just become too overpowering. You do not need a sub whatsoever with the M2's. Mids and highs are very balanced and there is a ton of clarity but the low's were a bit too much. If you like speakers with some oomph on the low end and don't want a sub then the M2's would be perfect.

 

[PENG]

Do you currently own the 805S? I was wondering if they are 8 ohm or 4 ohm. The B&W specs say they are 8 ohm but I hear people say they are closer to 4 ohm.

I do not own one yet, and my plan is to get a pair of 802D for my 2 channel system. The 800 series speakers do dip down below 4 ohms but that typically do not happen in the bass frequencies so it should not put too much stress on you amp. That being said, I do believe that if you want to get the best out of the 800 series speakers, be prepared to get a high quality amp.

 

[gus6464]

Now the fun part is picking the right equipment to power the speakers. As of right now we are heavily leaning toward the Dali's and all we have left to hear is the KEF reference series. I couldn't find any Usher or Sonus Faber dealer in my area. Our second purchase after the Mentor's in a couple of months would be the matching center but since Dali has yet to release it so we have some time. I don't think we will be ending up with a complete 5.1 setup as of now because of room size and it's not that important.

Would you recommend we go for a center or sub next? I was thinking of going with a with an Onkyo TX-SR605 before we decided to go higher end on our fronts. Since we are going to keep the fronts, sub, and center for about 2 years before going full 5.1 would you recommend I still get the Onkyo and just purchase a good 2ch amp? Our budget for receiver/amp is still $1000 or so.

 

[mazersteven]

I couldn't find any Usher or Sonus Faber dealer in my area.

Would you recommend we go for a center or sub next?

I still get the Onkyo and just purchase a good 2ch amp? Our budget for receiver/amp is still $1000 or so.

Usher/Sonus

Subwoofer

I don't know much about the Dali speakers. Try the Onkyo out. You could always add something like these.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/2200.html

From the specs on the Dali web-site I don't think these are easy to drive. You might need an amp.

Nominal impedance [ohm]: 6
Sensitivity [dB, 1 W @ 1 m]: 86.5

 

[AdrianMills]

I do not own one yet, and my plan is to get a pair of 802D for my 2 channel system. The 800 series speakers do dip down below 4 ohms but that typically do not happen in the bass frequencies so it should not put too much stress on you amp. That being said, I do believe that if you want to get the best out of the 800 series speakers, be prepared to get a high quality amp.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this if by "a high quality amp" you mean one of the known "audiophile" brands such as McIntosh, Krell, etc. It has been shown time and again that speakers will sound the same with any good amp - and by "good" I mean in the electrically stable and enough power for the purpose sense not the audiophile one.

Just because a speaker costs a lot doesn't mean that the electronics that drive them also have to.

 

[AdrianMills]

Now the fun part is picking the right equipment to power the speakers. As of right now we are heavily leaning toward the Dali's and all we have left to hear is the KEF reference series. I couldn't find any Usher or Sonus Faber dealer in my area. Our second purchase after the Mentor's in a couple of months would be the matching center but since Dali has yet to release it so we have some time. I don't think we will be ending up with a complete 5.1 setup as of now because of room size and it's not that important.

Would you recommend we go for a center or sub next? I was thinking of going with a with an Onkyo TX-SR605 before we decided to go higher end on our fronts. Since we are going to keep the fronts, sub, and center for about 2 years before going full 5.1 would you recommend I still get the Onkyo and just purchase a good 2ch amp? Our budget for receiver/amp is still $1000 or so.

Instead of buying and external amp in addition to the 605 receiver I would go for the new higher end Onkyo 805 which has some impressive specs and is THX ultra2 certified. It'll have no problems driving those Dali's.

As for center/sub - some people don't mind living with a phantom center and I've heard a few say that they even prefer it; personally I don't like it at all and would buy a center first. If you're one of these that don't mind then go for a sub as it has a major impact on a listening experience, some say that buying a quality sub is the best upgrade they've ever made but it very much depends on your preferences for bass and the type of music/movies you listen to/watch.