B&W 802D: 3rd Time's a Charm on Friday the 13th

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The Eagle has landed

These 802D2 sound absolutely fabulous in my room!

After listening to "Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone" and "Dave Mathews & Tim Reynolds Live At Radio City" in the same room as my other speakers, I have to say that these B&W 802D2 sound every bit as awesome as any speakers I've listened to, including Salon2, Orion3, KEF 201/2, Phil3.

Crystal clear and detailed midrange. Super smooth treble. Wide and deep soundstage. Non-fatiguing. Superb sound quality.

So I have no choice but to retract every ill word I've said about B&W in the past. In a good room (which is probably the key), they sound absolutely amazing.

But I won't say that one pair of speakers sound "better" than any of the others.

The B&W 802D2 sound as outstanding as any speakers I've listened to.

 

[moves]

Simply wow... How much are all those speakers worth and how come you have them all side by side? Do you alternate between them? Is that an ATI amp on the bottom? All of your gear is very nice. Congrats on the new purchase.

 

[Irvrobinson]

You have the best speaker collection I've ever seen or heard about.

Once the FA subs are delivered you'll need floor reinforcement.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Simply wow... How much are all those speakers worth and how come you have them all side by side? Do you alternate between them? Is that an ATI amp on the bottom? All of your gear is very nice. Congrats on the new purchase.

4 ATI amps and 4 Denons for 4 sets of speakers: Salon2, 802D2, Orion3, & KEF 201/2.

My 2 other sets of speakers are in the living room: Phil3 + AVR-990 & P362 + AVR-3112CI (no external amps).

One thing I immediately noticed was that the 802D2 are a lot more sensitive than the Phil3. I had to decrease the speaker channel levels by 3.0 dB to get the same level.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Ya know, you could probably turn this into a money-making operation. You might be the only place in North America (the solar system?) where a person could compare all of those speakers in one place. When I was shopping I would paid for that privilege. Probably a couple hundred dollars. Seriously.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Ya know, you could probably turn this into a money-making operation. You might be the only place in North America (the solar system?) where a person could compare all of those speakers in one place. When I was shopping I would paid for that privilege. Probably a couple hundred dollars. Seriously.

Sure, I'll take a couple of hundred bucks from any rich person.

 

[PENG]

Just IMHO:

- You may be short changing the Phil3, I know Dennis say they are not hard to drive but given their sensitivity and impedance graph, I wouldn't think the 990 can do them justice, even when only 2 channels are used.

- I hope the R2D2s are getting your largest ATI amp. The dealer where I auditioned the previous version D1 (i.e. not D2), heard huge difference when driving them with a Bryston 14B SST vs the 150W Musical Fidelity. I didn't hear such difference other than with the 14B he wasn't worry about turning the volume up so yes I heard the bass drum louder and clearer while the violin seemed smoother. So just in case, you really should try feeding them with unlimited juice even if they are not asking for it. There is no harm trying..

- Please spend more time on them to make sure your hearing is not influenced by their look (it is obvious you like their look better than the others), then report back and reconfirm whether your initial impression is still valid.

- If you still think they sound this good, try telling AJ he was right, that the R2D2 sounded the way he (AJ) predicted, and I hope your don't mind sharing his response. Well after that please tell him the truth because I wouldn't ask anyone to lie to their friends. Just be prepared that he may tell you its all placebo, but he may also come up with a reason for you though it is clear he does not believe much in room related stuff.

 

[PENG]

Sure, I'll take a couple of hundred bucks from any rich person.

That's nice, how much would you take from a poor person like me, less I hope.

 

[PENG]

They still come with wheels do they?

 

[jinjuku]

These 802D2 sound absolutely fabulous in my room!

After listening to "Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone" and "Dave Mathews & Tim Reynolds Live At Radio City" in the same room as my other speakers, I have to say that these B&W 802D2 sound every bit as awesome as any speakers I've listened to, including Salon2, Orion3, KEF 201/2, Phil3.

Crystal clear and detailed midrange. Super smooth treble. Wide and deep soundstage. Non-fatiguing. Superb sound quality.

So I have no choice but to retract every ill word I've said about B&W in the past. In a good room (which is probably the key), they sound absolutely amazing.

But I won't say that one pair of speakers sound "better" than any of the others.

The B&W 802D2 sound as outstanding as any speakers I've listened to.

Where abouts are you out of? I would love to schlep my Statements over for a comparo.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Just IMHO:

- You may be short changing the Phil3, I know Dennis say they are not hard to drive but given their sensitivity and impedance graph, I wouldn't think the 990 can do them justice, even when only 2 channels are used.

- .

The 3's really don't need anything special to drive them--just a decent amount of wattage. I am having a little trouble understanding how all of these very different designs can sound so similar. That simply hasn't been my experience, and I've had quite a bit of it. I can see the difficulty in declaring a "winner," but these speakers have very different drivers, radiation characteristics, and crossover points. If anyone wants to pay my first class air fare down to Oklahoma, I think I could provide a pretty accurate description of the differences in a blind test. Plus the limo transport, of course. And dinner at whatever the latest greatest steak house is down there.

 

[GranteedEV]

I gotta be honest, I'm honestly shocked too that a speaker with both an on-axis peak, and massive off-axis flare, near 4khz could sound the same as four speakers with clean, controlled response in that same frequency region.

Now maybe they all sound similar enough 100hz to 1khz where admittedly a lot of source content fundamental / acoustic power is situated. I can maybe believe that. That boils down to the quality of construction and drivers and baffle step compensation (or dipole compensation for the Orion). But above that frequency you get into intricacies of design that affect imaging, tonality, etc.

 

[ratso]

so umm yeah, those don't suck. smaller than i thought?

 

[templemaners]

They look nice ADTG - gloss black was a good choice, even though I'm a fan of cherry too.

 

[GranteedEV]

They look nice ADTG - gloss black was a good choice, even though I'm a fan of cherry too.

I think the 802D2 in that pic (gloss black) actually looks really good. That's the first time I've thought that about that speaker. I don't like the yellow kevlar mid though... just screams 1955.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The 3's really don't need anything special to drive them--just a decent amount of wattage. I am having a little trouble understanding how all of these very different designs can sound so similar. That simply hasn't been my experience, and I've had quite a bit of it. I can see the difficulty in declaring a "winner," but these speakers have very different drivers, radiation characteristics, and crossover points. If anyone wants to pay my first class air fare down to Oklahoma, I think I could provide a pretty accurate description of the differences in a blind test. Plus the limo transport, of course. And dinner at whatever the latest greatest steak house is down there.

I gotta be honest, I'm honestly shocked too that a speaker with both an on-axis peak, and massive off-axis flare, near 4khz could sound the same as four speakers with clean, controlled response in that same frequency region.

Now maybe they all sound similar enough 100hz to 1khz where admittedly a lot of source content fundamental / acoustic power is situated. I can maybe believe that. That boils down to the quality of construction and drivers and baffle step compensation (or dipole compensation for the Orion). But above that frequency you get into intricacies of design that affect imaging, tonality, etc.

Well, I never said they sound the same.

I said they sound as great as one another in their own rights.

Without a true DBT, there's no telling which one people would pick as a unanimous favorite. Sure, you can look at the graphs and pre-judge how they would sound based on how they measure and based on their drivers and crossovers, etc.

But the fact is, measurements are truly not everything. People have been known to favor lesser measured speakers over better measured speakers.

All I know is, these 802D2 sound great to my ears in my room with my music. They sound fabulous too on the Phil3 Demo CD.

 

[Irvrobinson]

All I know is, these 802D2 sound great to my ears in my room with my music. They sound fabulous too on the Phil3 Demo CD.

One thing I've been curious about for a while is how all of the *other* speakers don't color the sound in that room when you're listening to any particular pair. You're to the point where you have some pretty significant cone area in the background. At an average listening level of about 85db I can feel the music on everything, nailed down or not. How are those other speakers not singing in harmony?

 

[toddt007]

I'm jealous!!! Very nice setup you have there! I was wondering if you could do me a favor? Can you play "Long Journey" by Sarah Jarosz for me, and let me know how it sounds on those babys? I live vicariously through you!

 

[Irvrobinson]

They look nice ADTG - gloss black was a good choice, even though I'm a fan of cherry too.

He's welcome. I inadvertently talked him into it. Posted a pic of my gloss black Salon 2s. Made him jealous.

 

[ridikas]

I've had a hate/love relationship with the B&W 802 Diamonds for a few years. But in the end, I came to conclude that they were a great sounding set of speakers.

I love the diamond tweeter. It's rich, liquidy, textured, and crisp. I love the sound of the Kevlar midrange, with its shorting ring and neodymium magnet. Raspy, rich, pronounced, and layered. The Mundorf silver capacitors in the crossover are the best. The cabinet is the best in the world. Acu, take one of the woofers out and peek inside. The matrix style anti resonant bracing is awe inspiring. Unfortunately, my biggest sound issue with the B&Ws is in the bass. I just could never accept that lifeless thump.

I've listened to the Revels numerous times and just have a hard time accepting that the B&Ws can compete. In all honesty.

Even though the B&Ws are richer in the mids and highs, the Revels are much more even. With a significantly better bass performance.

B&W 802D loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

Revel Ultima Salon2 loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

Revel Ultima2 Salon2 Speaker System HT Labs Measures | Home Theater

The Revels are still ultimate and flawless