I had stopped into one of the local dealers today and observed that they were in the process of breaking in the a pair of the new 802 Series Diamond. I only listened for a few minutes but these speakers are going to be very interesting. The mid-range sounds very different and might not please all of the current B&W owners.

The speakers were just being broken in and on basic gear no less, so I am not forming any opinions. I will say that if Wilson WP 8's and B&W 802d's were on opposing ends of a scale, both firms are moving more towards the center of the scale with the Sasha's and Series Diamond.

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AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

Thanks for the info!! very interesting first impressions

Visually these newer speakers look very similar to the ones they replace. The two differences I noticed; the speakers connections have changed and the "bowling ball" on top is now solid gloss black rather than a metal-flake black.

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

Jim,
Are the new Diamonds available in the same finishes as before? When they were first announced, everything was in black.

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B&W 802D(2) B&W HTMD2 B&W 803D(2) B&W ASW825 McIntosh MC501(3) MC402 MX-136 MVP-871 Benchmark DAC1 Apple Mac Mini Rega P3-24 RGPC 400 pro WireWorld interconnects

I saw the 802's in the Rosenut and the the 805 in Gloss Black. The gloss black looks a lot better than the Black Oak. I think the light Oak is still available.

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

I never did like the black oak, but gloss black would probably look good in a big-ass room with a 9' grand piano in it!

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B&W 802D(2) B&W HTMD2 B&W 803D(2) B&W ASW825 McIntosh MC501(3) MC402 MX-136 MVP-871 Benchmark DAC1 Apple Mac Mini Rega P3-24 RGPC 400 pro WireWorld interconnects

You are right about that.

I will head back over there in about 10 days to hear them once they are broken in.

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

Jim, did you get a chance to listen to the new models?

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B&W 802D(2) B&W HTMD2 B&W 803D(2) B&W ASW825 McIntosh MC501(3) MC402 MX-136 MVP-871 Benchmark DAC1 Apple Mac Mini Rega P3-24 RGPC 400 pro WireWorld interconnects

No sorry, the last two times I went there was to spend time listening to the Janszen Electrostatic speakers and then spend time with the Maxx 3's.
Jim

__________________
AMP's: D'Agostino Momentum's
Pre Amp: Mcintosh C-1000 & C-1000P
Sources: McIntosh MCD-1100 & MS-300, Olive 4HD, SonoS, Pro-Ject 6 PerspeX
Speakers: MBL 111F
Cables: Transparent Ultra MM2 & Reference MM2 & Powerlink MM2x

I'm a Rosenut nut.

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B&W 802Ds, HTM2D, 805s, JL Audio F113's, MX150, MC501s, MC205, MDA1000, Denon 3800BDCI, Sonos ZP90 (Cullin Mod), 60" Kuro
Cables - Cardas Golden Reference

Round one to Chuck.