Bowers & Wilkins 805's

[Warpdrv]

Is this true? I haven't checked at my dealer, but wow. That's huge. Once you hit that $3K limit, they're up against some stiff competition. I remember the N805's were $2000/pr, then when the "s" came out, it went up to $2500, and if this is true, that's another $500 increase and they just keep getting further and further away from what I'd spend on a pair of speakers...not that B&W gives a hoot about what 1 person would do.

I should check with my dealer and inquire.

I agree that in the $3000.00 range for bookshelves, I think there are many floorstanders avail. for that price range... I found the best sound in B&W speakers starting at the 803D's and up, but the price seemed to make me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit...

Here check these prices out...

N800D $23,000pr: 46 1/2h,17 3/4w,25 1/2d
Two 10" Rohacell woofs, 6" FST Kev mid and 1" Diamond Tweet.
N801D $18,000pr: 46 7/8h,19 7/8w,26 7/8d
One 15" Rohacell woof, 6" FST Kev mid and 1" Diamond Tweet
N802D $14,000pr: 44 3/4h,14 1/2w,22 1/4d
Two 8" Rohacell woofs, 6" FST Kev mid and 1" Diamond Tweet
N803D $9000pr: 45 5/8h,12w,18d
Three 7" Rohacell woofs, 6" FST Kev mid and 1" Diamond Tweet
N803S $6000pr: 41 7/8h,11 1/2w,17"d
Two 7" Rohacell woofs, 6" FST Kev mid and 1" Alum Tweet
N804S $4500pr: 40 1/4h,9 3/8w,12 3/4d
Two 6 1/2" Rohacell woofs, 6" FST Kev mid and 1" Alum Tweet
N805S $2800pr: 16 1/2h,9 3/8w,13 3/4d
One 6 1/2" Kev mid/bass and 1" Alum Tweet. Floorstands, $600pr, are 24" in silver or black.

From audioemporium, my dealer... here's the 2008 catalog

 

[Kanga692]

Ok.

Ok thanks to all that have made comments.... I am concerned about the price as well the 3 fronts were going to cost $7000 Australian dollars....

Someone suggested Dynaudio.. does any one know about the Focus 220's

 

[gus6464]

Ok thanks to all that have made comments.... I am concerned about the price as well the 3 fronts were going to cost $7000 Australian dollars....

Someone suggested Dynaudio.. does any one know about the Focus 220's

I've heard the Focus 140 which is the bookshelf version of the same line and I found it's midrange to be recessed when compared to the lows and highs. Didn't really like at all. Another speaker for $3000 to be checking out is the Dali Mentor 5 which is the smaller tower version of the Mentor series. Which brands do you have easy access to where you live in Australia?

 

[TLS Guy]

Ok thanks to all that have made comments.... I am concerned about the price as well the 3 fronts were going to cost $7000 Australian dollars....

Someone suggested Dynaudio.. does any one know about the Focus 220's

Dynaudio speakers are excellent. There drivers have huge motor system and they handle lots of power without thermal compression. The sound is smooth with a great depth of field.

Four of the speakers in my system use Dynaudio drivers. Unfortunately they do not make their drivers available to the DIY market which is a pity. However in the US the prices for Dynaudio speakers of the quality you are talking about is pretty steep. I can't find a price for the Focus 220 on line.

Only their lower end offerings seem to be available on line.

 

[Warpdrv]

How about a step up to the Dynaudio 3.0 Countour 3.0 setup
for $3K http://buy.audiogon.com/cgia/cls.pl?spkrfull&1204692393

Or the Dynaudio Audience 52 SE rosewood
$1250.00

 

[WmAx]

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.

Sounds like an environmental issue or some other variable. I have some speakers with paper woofers that are pushing 20 years old, and another pair that are pushing 30 years old - the paper is fine, though the foam surround on the 20+ year old pair is starting to decay(the 30+ year old pair use some Seas drivers with rubber surrounds that are fine).

-Chris

 

[Davemcc]

Ok thanks to all that have made comments.... I am concerned about the price as well the 3 fronts were going to cost $7000 Australian dollars....

Someone suggested Dynaudio.. does any one know about the Focus 220's

Here's an older review of the Focus. The price has probably changed since this review was done in '05.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/floorloudspeakers/1205dynaudio/