three most promising B&W technologies are 1. Dimand tweeter, 2. FST Kavler, 3. Rohesel bass. all three of meterial are nearly ideal for what they do.
however, 805s has NONE of them.
with that said, personally, i think B&W 8 series speakers are the best looking speakers available. The woodwork are the best in the industry. the curve box make other rectangular speakers looks ugly. If you can't appreciate the style and the workmanship. u might look elsewhere for better value.
i believe the curving box add lots cost to the speaker. comparing to other menufacture who also offering curve box. for example, KEF and Mirage, and those are also quite expensive, too.
another thing to consider is long term relibility. on the 800 series, B&W use dimand, kevlar, and rehesal. all of them are going to last forever. 10, 20 years easily without any problem. On the other hand, paper cone are not as duable. My parents has a pair of Matrix 801 Series II. both tweeter (alumium) and mid range (kevlar) are working perfectly after 18 years of useage. the bass (paper) started to break down after 10 years. on the new 800 series with rehesal, i will think it will last much longer than 10 years.
