B&W 803D4 or Monitor Platinum 300G3

[Bigbuck]

Right now I have JBL's HDI-3600's. They are only decent sounding, so looking to upgrade. I had a set of Monitor Audios silver series before my current JBls that sounded great, but couldn't take much power. ( I like it loud!).
Im driving them with a Michi S5 amp. which outputs 500W @ 8ohm / 800W at 4 ohm.
I mostly listen to rock / pop. and movies too.
SO, help me decide!

 

[TLS Guy]

Right now I have JBL's HDI-3600's. They are only decent sounding, so looking to upgrade. I had a set of Monitor Audios silver series before my current JBls that sounded great, but couldn't take much power. ( I like it loud!).
Im driving them with a Michi S5 amp. which outputs 500W @ 8ohm / 800W at 4 ohm.
I mostly listen to rock / pop. and movies too.
SO, help me decide!

If you like it loud then the B & W for sure. The midrange driver on those Monitor Audio speakers are too small and not powerful enough for loud.

Neither of those choices are particularly good choices.

For its price the B & W measures very badly.

For a speaker costing that much, that is a total and complete disgrace!

The Monitor Audio is nothing to be proud of either.

That speaker is going to be a bit of a boomer. It has a peak right at the "boom" frequency, then the bass falls like a rock. I don't know how, but they clearly have managed to mistune it. In this day and age that is inexcusable. The tweeter is suffering break up as early as 10kHz.

Unfortunately there are far more bad speakers than good ones still. Price is no guide as to whether a speaker will be any good. There are plenty of dreadful speakers that cost a fortune. It is no good asking me what I use, as I design and build my own, and with good reason. I would never be proud to claim I designed either of those.

 

[shadyJ]

If you like it loud then the B & W for sure. The midrange driver on those Monitor Audio speakers are too small and not powerful enough for loud.

Neither of those choices are particularly good choices.

For its price the B & W measures very badly.

For a speaker costing that much, that is a total and complete disgrace!

The Monitor Audio is nothing to be proud of either.

That speaker is going to be a bit of a boomer. It has a peak right at the "boom" frequency, then the bass falls like a rock. I don't know how, but they clearly have managed to mistune it. In this day and age that is inexcusable. The tweeter is suffering break up as early as 10kHz.

Unfortunately there are far more bad speakers than good ones still. Price is no guide as to whether a speaker will be any good. There are plenty of dreadful speakers that cost a fortune. It is no good asking me what I use, as I design and build my own, and with good reason. I would never be proud to claim I designed either of those.

John Atkinson's measurements for Stereophile can make it look like there is more bass than in reality. His measurement technique doesn't really capture bass at the same level as the rest of the range. Don't judge the bass response of a speaker by Stereophile's measurements.

 

[Bigbuck]

Ive read very very good reviews on both speakers, and I know the Monitor Golds sound really good....at least in a small room.
I haven't heard the B&W's as no one carries them near me.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For $25K/pair, better actually listen to them in person first and not just someone’s opinion.

I think the 803D4 look better aesthetically.

Both will probably sound about the same. Both have a small 4-5” midrange driver and just two 7-8” bass drivers. Nothing to brag about here.

If you want to listen loudly, maybe get more dynamic speakers with much bigger drivers. Maybe 8” midrange drivers and dual 12” woofers.

 

[Bigbuck]

Does anybody know who carries these speakers in the Milwaukee / Chicago area?....Im not having much luck finding a place where I can listen to them.

 

[Mikado463]

Does anybody know who carries these speakers in the Milwaukee / Chicago area?....Im not having much luck finding a place where I can listen to them.

No, but try calling the companies direct and ask what is the closest B&M to you

 

[Eppie]

I was not a fan of the Monitor Audio Gold and prefered the HDI-3600 personally. If you like it loud and want big dynamics, I would also look at Arendal, either 1723 or 1528 if you have the budget. In home trial so you can return them if not happy. Audioholics has reviewed them (just the bookshelf for the 1528 so far) and they are well recommended.