i have had the S8 since may. i have previous heard the 803, but has been too long for me to do any realistic comparison. prior to my dad getting my 2805 receiver, i hooked it up for an afternoon (normal setup is avm 30 & krell 2250) & generally was disappointed with the sound w/ the receiver, treble was not as clear & bass was lacking w/ receiver. currently have on demo cary audio 500 M/B monoblocks, which w/ the S8 are nothing short of breathtaking. the body the S8 is capable of producing w/ the cary monoblocks is astounding, and the body is also present at a lower volume level (& spl level) than w/ the krell. treble & midrange is also improved, but not as substantial an improvement as with the bass. the demo cary amps were brand new, so sound is improving as they break in. after a nearly 3 month wait, my S8 arrived sat., & dealer demo went back to the store. if i didn't believe in speaker break in before, i do now. didn't sound bad out of the box, but sounded nothing like the demos did.
overall have been very happy with S8 (particularly w/ the cary amps). when i heard them at the store it was on B&K 125.2 amp & B&K pre-amp, & was not impressed. i would not have bought the S8 if i had not demoed at home. only short comings are imaging & sound stage are not the best i have heard, but still tweaking speaker placement & room accoustics & it is improving. the demos were the bird's eye maple & mine are cherry, the veneer of the bird's eye is of a higher quality which is noticeable, but also costs more.
i'm looking at the reference 100 v.3 to demo for potential use as centers & surrounds, as well as the S2 & S4. hoping the 100's work to save a bit of coin & as i prefer floor standers to bookshelfs or monitors. sub will be last, & not so sure that it is needed, but my system is music first, movies second.
