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

[AcuDefTechGuy]

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.

I always thought I would get the red Rosenut. But both GranteedEV & Irvrobinson have been brainwashing me with piano gloss black!

 

[GranteedEV]

I always thought I would get the red Rosenut. But both GranteedEV & Irvrobinson have been brainwashing me with piano gloss black!

I feel like your speaker is gonna grow wings and glide down gotham city

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

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?

Everyone thinks that, and rightly so. The room is certainly not ideal by any means. But all these speakers sound great in this room.

Of course, I would love to have 2 large rooms to spread out the speakers.

But for now, it'll have to do. These speakers sound great even all together in the same room side by side. I'm sure they would sound even better in a better room.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I feel like your speaker is gonna grow wings and glide down gotham city

Funny you said that. I was listening to the Batman Begins soundtrack tonight. It sounded great on these slick bat-speakers.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Everyone thinks that, and rightly so. The room is certainly not ideal by any means. But all these speakers sound great in this room.

Of course, I would love to have 2 large rooms to spread out the speakers.

But for now, it'll have to do. These speakers sound great even all together in the same room side by side. I'm sure they would sound even better in a better room.

Just for grins you might try putting a couple of old comforters over the unused speakers and see if you can tell a difference.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

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!

Will do! Never heard of her, but the sample on Amazon sounds good. Will have to listen.

Seems like this is a very high quality album from the reviews.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It's safe to say that the 802D2 sound a lot better than the P362.

It's quite true that you have to compare speakers in the same setting & time frame.

 

[KEW]

KEF 201 banished to the hinterlands?
Oh, the humanity!

 

[Irvrobinson]

KEF 201 banished to the hinterlands?
Oh, the humanity!

It's actually the inhumanity, but who's counting?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

KEF 201 banished to the hinterlands?
Oh, the humanity!

I was wondering when someone would notice!

Right now the 201/2s are sitting atop the dual RBH SX-1010N.

I actually ordered a pair of silver VTI speaker stands (to match my silver VTI racks of course ). They will sit atop the dual Rythmik subs. That should give the two front 201/2s some space over the 802D2s.

Alas, my room is space limited.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It's actually the inhumanity, but who's counting?

Yeah, get in line mister, the Phil3 have already filed inhumanity complaints when forced to the family room.

 

[Adam]

It's actually the inhumanity, but who's counting?

True, but the famous quote is more fun.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

They still come with wheels do they?

Yes, roller wheels on the bottom. They also provide big heavy spikes in the black boxes. Also jumpers for the bi-amp post. And each 802D2 comes with a nice soft black wiping cloth to wipe the gloss cabinet.

The KEF came with the white wiping cloth.

The Revel came with no soft wiping cloth.

I guess only British speakers come with soft wiping cloths.

 

[saeyedoc]

Yes, roller wheels on the bottom. They also provide big heavy spikes in the black boxes. Also jumpers for the bi-amp post. And each 802D2 comes with a nice soft black wiping cloth to wipe the gloss cabinet.

The KEF came with the white wiping cloth.

The Revel came with no soft wiping cloth.

I guess only British speakers come with soft wiping cloths.

My Salks came with one.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

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 Phil3 sound effortless and extremely clean and loud with the Denon 3312 set to -20dB. So I won't be adding an external amp with the Phil3.

- 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...

The 802D2 are a lot more sensitive than the Phil3. They also sound extremely clean, clear, and loud with the Denon 3310 + AT2004 volume set to -20dB.

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.

AJ actually said in an email that in all seriousness, he believes the 802D2 can sound good. Everyone has a different opinion. There's no arguing that they don't measure as well as Salon2 or KEF 201/2 or some others. But subjective impression and enjoyment is what counts in the end.

 

[KEW]

True, but the famous quote is more fun.

To be clear - This is a famous quote from the Hindenberg disaster. The radio announcer was so affected by seeing it burst into flame that he improperly exclaimed "Oh the humanity!". It is now part of popular culture.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My Salks came with one.

Cool. Didn't know Salk speakers come with rollers too. I think that is a great feature for people who like to move speakers around.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Oh, BTW Nathan says my dual Funk 18.0s should be ready to ship next week. I don't know how long it takes from Canada to Krypton.

 

[KEW]

The 802D2 are a lot more sensitive than the Phil3. They also sound extremely clean, clear, and loud with the Denon 3310 + AT2004 volume set to -20dB.

The 2004 may be sufficient, but these speakers require a well designed amp.

The B&W's impedance plot (fig.1) reveals the speaker to be moderately difficult to drive, with a magnitude that drops to 3 ohms throughout the upper bass and an awkward combination of 4 ohms and –50° electrical phase angle at 60Hz

B&W 802D loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

 

[GoFastr]

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.

Congrat's. When I get big, I wanna be like you. All I can say is AWESOME!

That is some kind of fantastic line up you have there. Enjoy to the fullest bro'.