800 series and bass
 

I just had the opportunity to go to a fellow audiophiles house and listen to a very nice setup. Table was a Dr. Feickert and he had 802 D B&W's.
This is my second experience with the 800 series, the other time was a McIntosh rig.

I love the sound of these speakers but always find myself craving some bass. I understand these are a reference speaker, which I currently am listening on a reference monitor but can't help feel like there is no bass.

Is this part of the B&W sound?
Not trying to be rude just navigating the minefield of choosing the right speaker for my own stereo and taste

Thanks!

The generation D3 have excellent bass and the 800D3 are bass champs with 2 10” woofers and a bass port they go to 15 Hz at -3dB (lots of reviews online). Not sure what generation you listened to but as you wrote it (802D) that sounds like 1st generation (D1). You should listen to the 800D3 in a proper setup.

I have the signature 800’s. I was disappointed they didn’t have the bass I wanted.

I added a pair of JL fathoms.

I have heard that they are very current hungry, so who knows.

I also thing that “accurate” sound is perhaps leaner than I like, so I color my sound as desired.

I have 800D3s. Casually powered off an MC303. Ultimately I’m eyeing up some MC1.25KWs with a dedicated 20amp outlet per mono.

Until then, SVS PC4000 behind each 800 does wonders..

Add a B&W DB subwoofer--tons of bass, easy and seamless integration with anything in 800 line

If you do some reading about the older B&W D series online, you'll find that comments about loose bass or lack of deep bass altogether is a common complaint. As Adam above said, this was addressed with the 800 D3 series which have much better specifications (and real world results). As always, adding a very fast, musical subwoofer such as a REL or JL Audio can always remedy a lack of low deep bass.

- Buck

Properly set up and powered, they have sufficient bass.

I agree with Joey, but I still want a sub...(or two!)

I agree with Mike! The word "sufficient" in these discussions always makes me smile at our collective ridiculousness. We've dropped tens of thousands of dollars to play a few records, and NOW we're just looking for "sufficient"? haha

I had a pair of 800D2 powered by a MC452. Bass was good. Better bass was to be had after the addition of a JL F113. My experience... most tower speakers benefit from the addition of quality subs.

I have only heard the 802D2, 803D2, and 805D2. The bass from the 802D2 and 803D2 is still the best bass I have ever heard by far and I have heard hundreds of systems. The bass was absolutely jaw dropping and goosebump inducing! It was like thunder! And it sounded so incredibly real! However, it is vital to pick an appropriate amp.

I heard the 802D3 for the first time over the weekend and told the guy at evil big box store to turn the sub off! It wasn’t on! The bass was pretty tremendous.

And when you’re ready, instal a pair of Gaia1 footers to lift things to another level - truly makes a difference! There is a plate specifically designed for the D3 series that you attach to the base.

Link?

I’ve also wondered about the "not enough current issue". My question, if the speakers are not getting the current needed, will the base tend to be one note and boomy? or will there actually be a hole in the base response where the speaker can’t produce the spl needed for a specific lower frequency range creating the missing base problem?

Wood floor or carpet? Most of the reviews/comments I read are over carpet. I was wondering if the same experience can be said over wood floors?

Google them... Looks pretty cool, but they seem to list for $599 for four of them. $1200 for improved rubber feet seems like a lot....especially as I am saving up for a sub...

Wooden floor for me - very nice tweak with obvious improvement...

I am with Joey on this one.

The bass in the 802D3's is both deep and precise, more than enough slam for my taste anyways. Only caveat is that they need a bit of volume to get going!

If you're not satisfied with the bass, before spending any money on subwoofers, I would get a good omnidirectional microphone, and run Room EQ Wizard (free), or another comparable room measuring program.

Depending on your room, it can be difficult to get good bass response. If the base seems lacking, it is possible that the room is the culprit, not necessarily the speakers.

I am very happy with the bass of my 802 D3, some frequencies did seem a little lacking, so I ran Room EQ Wizard, and found I had a 20 db null at about 50 hz in my listening position. I did some strategic bass trapping, and now they sound even better than they did.

Most base problems are easily rectified with bass trapping, once identified. I would definitely suggest you check out realtraps.com, Ethan has some wonderful resources there about identifying and solving room mode problems, and his company also makes very good bass traps.

+1 on this

I should note that I noticed a big difference after adding the MEN220-

Room is a big factor for sure.

I got a MEN220 a couple months ago, it actually helped me to improve the sound in my room and I unexpectedly found it to be a really great learning tool.

It showed me how good my room could sound, so that sent me on a quest to try to fine tune everything so it sounds as good when not using the room correction, as it does when I use it.

So when I started, with 99% room knowledge, it was using about 20% to 25% room correction.

After diligently reading, testing, and tweaking, I now have it down to 9% correction with 99% room knowledge, so I find myself needing to use it less, simply because I don't need it as much.

Because of this, I was actually contemplating selling it, but I really like the unit, and it's just so damn hard to part with anything that says Macintosh on it, LOL.

If set up correctly, a pair of 800 or 802 D series will provide bass down to 20Hz.

The main difference between 800 and 802 D2/D3 is the amount of SPL possible at very low frequencies, and to an extent the amount of distortion.

The newer D3 models have reduced distortion and a flatter response through the mid and upper bass.

I demoed a MEN220, and it improved my bass markedly. But it lost a bit on the high end, so I did not purchase. I agree with KaliKid's point--it's a great unit if you have a very compromised room, but as the room improves, it's value declines. Of course, you can get a lot of subwoofer (and even more bass trapping!) for $5K

I just order the 800 d3 for my house , but i am afraid that i have too much bass sound?
i see some people who have that, i ask a company who fix sound problems they are famous in my country because they do fix at more hi end shops in my country , they told me
as long if you not put him an a badroom ,its not problem ,he told its a Myth ,that people say that ,it's al about the sound wave he told. Also the hi end store told ,no problem for my room. i hope so.
my room is 5,20 cm x 600 cm (in feet its 17 x 19 x 8)
the ceiling is 2,70 cm high ,and my floor have tiles ,the speakers will be 500 cm of my
sitting position, i stay in the Nederlands

Carlos84, I love my 802D3 speakers, but I think that I should have stretched and purchased the 800D3 as my room is quite large and opens up into a larger room with 26 foot high ceilings. I think tat you will be in good shape, but others here with more information will surely add their thoughts.

Carlos84... Welcome to AA! :wave:

Thanks!!

Hi Carlos,

Congratulations! I agree with your dealer--your room is big enough, and you will not have too much bass. I do not have 800s, but I have had problems with too much bass in smaller rooms with subwoofers--the deepest sound waves that your dealer mentioned are too long for the room and they end up bouncing off of each other and/or the walls. But you should be fine.

You might think about a rug for the tile floor--but that would be for any speakers, not just the 800s

Enjoy

Thank ,today the Shop told me ,that they must order the 800 d3 in England, that is strange that they not have some sets with a importeur in the Netherlands, i am worry it take a long time before the B&W company will send them?

800d3 has the most bass but the room has to be right. My 802d3 is perfect for me and my room. 17x15.

Extremely happy w my bw

But Joey, didn't you add two JL F113v2 subs?

How are you connecting them up? Using RCA or balanced connections out of your preamp? Was it difficult to integrate them to the 802D3 speakers?

I am thinking about doing what you did and trying to decide how to connect them, and how to integrate them in to my set up seamlessly.

Thank you!

Hey Mike!
Yes I do have JL F113v2 x2.
HOwever, I have not used them yet because the bass was improved when I added bass traps to the rear corners of my room.

Joey... got it! I am still wanting to integrate a sub or two and trying to decide on the best course of action...

FWIW - I was using a sub with my 800’s but when I installed the Isoacoustic Gaia footers found I no longer really needed the sub

Hi Levitator

Also a proud owner of the 800D3 in the same part of the world as you.
Intrigued by your comments regarding the Isoacoustics GAIA I and the effect they had on your speakers.

I’ve only had my speakers for 4-5 weeks and tried spiking them (using the attached magnetic spike protection) several times (hardwood floor on concrete pad) and both times went back the wheels as found the sound got brighter and lost overall weight to the presentation. I know, goes against what consensus would tell you but that’s what I heard.

Did you find any difference between the supplied spike system and the GAIA in terms of tonality or was it mainly the bass that changed? What sort of floors do you have?

I see there is an adapter plate for the 800D3 but not sure how that works?

Thanks

I found the Gaia’s opened up the soundstage and provided a little more focus as well as improvement in bass / control.

For me, and others that heard them after installing, they made a very worthwhile difference.

Hope this helps...

Another way to go that I did and like is to use Stillpoints ultra 5 under each foot. The B&W spike sits in the hole on one side of the Ultra 5 so you are supporting the speaker where it was meant to be supported but getting the decoupling of the Stillpoints. Take care to move the butterfly knob up off the Stillpoints so the speaker only connects by the spikes.

Thanks.

I tried again the spikes with supplied footers and it makes the speaker sound harder with less bass weight. Puzzled why by prefer them on the wheels.
Will certainly consider the Gaia’s.