Oh yes... going from 802D2 to the 802D3 is a no brainer.

Hi Krusty, did you receive your HTM1D3 center yet? I know you were one of the members still waiting on theirs.

We are now getting into March soon and I was told the centers would be in Jan-Feb. Hoping mine arrives shortly.

I got the htm1 d3 in the beginning of January.

But, I still haven't received the 802's d3

My dilemma is this:

Get the 802D2 used for I don't know, $10k maybe...

Or get the 803D3 brand new for $17k (I believe that's the retail price for those). The 802D3 is way over my budget

So is the 803D3 that much better than the 802D2 to warrant the price jump?

Bowers & Wilkins 683 Speakers Rotel RB-1090 2 Channel Amp Rotel RC-1082 Stereo Pre Amp Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player Pro-Ject Debut Carbon w/ Ortofon 2M Red (sitting on a piece of slate supported by 3 "solid tech feet of silence" isolation feet) Rotel RLC-1040 Power Conditioner Shynyata Research SR-Z1 Power Outlet & Venom 3 Power Cords x 4 Tara Labs RSC Vector 1 Speaker Cables & Interconnects Primacoustic Room Treatments

IMHO yes, it's better.

Krustycat, I am also waiting for my 802 d3s. When did you order? I ordered December 12 from a local BB. I ordered rosenut.

I ordered rosenut too (which has lower demand I believe) end of December.

Had I ordered black, I would have had it the very same day, but I prefer rosenut. Looks great IMHO.

Depends.

The price differential is big. I say the 803d3 is 20% better.

I am getting the 802d3 so my 802d2 will be on the sales corner

Odd how b&w would have the rosenut htm1d3 available and no 802d3 for you.

Well, I contacted my dealer again and they mentioned their b&w rep said a new batch of htm1d3 are en route in the coming week(s). It's been a really lonnnng wait!!

Krusrycat, there is hope😊. My 802 d3s in rosenut finally arrived and are to be delivered today!

I'm excited for you!!

Post pics/impressions when you can! What speakers are they replacing?

Congratulations!

My dealer told me that I have to wait 10-15 more days.:tears:

New 802 D3, HTM1 D3, 805 D3
 

I just got the 802 D3, the HTM1 D3 and the 805 D3, replacing the same speakers of the Diamond series. Those speakers were only 1 ½ years old, but I got a good price for them.
I replaced all speakers without changing the other components so I could compare the different sounds very effective.
And the new sound is amazing. It is classes better regarding nearly every point.
Every song has much more shape, drums and bass are much more present, life-like. The whole music skips to the listener’s body. I had this experience only with the Wilson Alexia and some horn-speakers before.
In the surround mode I can hear the perfect combination of the 802 D3 and the center HTM1 D3. They have exactly the same drivers.

They're replacing 803d2's that I had only since last June. I am still working with placement (not spiked down yet), but right out of the box they sound much more open in the midrange, with a top to bottom coherence that was somewhat missing from the 803d2s. I've been burning in all day today. Already the speakers sound smooooooth, without detectable color or distortion of any kind. As others have noted, there is more detail, especially from the midrange down. The sound is so effortlessly produced and unclolored/fast that I am hearing details I've never heard before--individually bowing on strings, more sense of complex orchestral passages, etc.The tweeter sounds as fast as the one on the 803d2, but I haven't heard any initial brightness as I did with the other speakers (although the tweeter did calm down in the 803s after burn in). Soundstage is of course much improved and less sensitive to placement. I hear more width and a bit more depth as well. Having the port facing down (instead of forward on the 803d2) seems to be a good change as well for my room. I know bass will improve over time, but even unspiked it is taughter and goes lower.

Voices are the biggest improvement so far noticeable, lacking any chestiness or nasality sometimes heard in the 803s. Please understand that I very MUCH liked the 803d2, but when I first heard the difference to the new series demomstrated I felt it rose to a new level:). So far, that's what I'm hearing in my home setup--a new level of resolution and realism.

I'm using a Classe Sigma Amp5/SSP to drive them. They're handling them fine, although more power at a later date would be intriguing--especially a MacInosh setup like I heard them demonstrated with. Wish I could trade my HTM2 for the new one (since the midrange is so different), but I guess that will have to wait until I recover from this purchase!

I'm not sure how to post a picture--if I figure it out I'd love to show them to you!

Congrats, that's a really good combination. What electronics you running?

That's awesome man!!

:banana:

Thank You, audiohippo.
For multi-channel music and film I use the Arcam AV950 + Oppo 103, for stereo the PSAudio Directstream DAC, the amp is the Arcam P777, my speaker cables are cheap solid copper cables (5 mm²).[IMG]w:\P3050183.JPG[/IMG]
Some days ago a room acoustics expert came to me and measured the room (16 x 20 feet) to optimize the sound. I will get the results soon and add the right elements to the room.
After this work I will look for better cables, if there are any...

musicjunkie... Welcome to AA! :wave:

For those interested, the technical pages from the recent review in Audio Esoterica are now available in the sister magazine Australia HiFi.

Speaker update: the 802s are already settling in. After the first 12+ hours the bass is fuller/more present, and the overall sound is MILES ahead of my previous generation 803s. As others have said, I can't hear any transition points from woofer to midrange to tweeter. Sound stage is SO much better. They have an easy-listening quality that at the same time sees further into the music than I've heard before. Hi-rez sounds fantastic, and old redbook cds sound more musical than I thought possible.

However, I have had a (hopefully) small issue with the spiking system. On one of the speakers, the rear left spike doesn't want to hold the weight of the speaker when unwinding counter-clockwise. It acts as if the spike is a bit too small/doesn't fit the receptacle correctly. I hoped the screw isn't stripped or something. All seven of the other spikes have screwed down perfectly. Has anyone else had this issue? The speakers DO sound better spiked, and I really appreciate the magnetic disc which allows me to spoke them to our hardwood floor. I have a call into my dealer, who will be speaking with B&W about this. Hopefully it's an easy fix. Otherwise, I LOVE these speakers!

Congrats to you as well!

With the previous D2 series some users felt the floorstanders did not match well with the htm2d2 Center. I personally thought all speakers for the front stage blended well together so it is good to hear reports that the new series has possibly improved on this. With the drivers between the 802d3 and htm1d3 being identical helps for sure.

Followed up again on my htm1d3 and they are still not in. Wonder what the hold up is at b&w?

Didn't experience that with mine. Hopefully the plinth is not stripped. Keep us posted

wow thats an impressive FR :thumbsup:

supply ≠ demand.

hmmm must of been many more pre-orders than mine last Oct then, as so many others I am reading have already got theirs. :scratch2:

The wait is killer but I can say at least the phantom center the 802D3s are putting out is incredible!

If you'd like to PM me, I can look into seeing where your HTM1D3 is.

Regards,

Patrick

802 D3, HTM1 D3 delivery time
 

Thank You,
I heard about some 802 D3, HTM1 D3 orders that will take longer than expected. So I was very happy to get them in the early February, ordered in November 2015.
I think that most of the B&W sellers in Germany don't have the 802 D3 for presentation in their rooms, but they are available since last October, and they could be easily sold over sound and appearance. Incomprehensible.
The competitors like Wilson Sasha 2, Gauder RC7, Kef Blade will be thankful.
The 802 D3 could beat them all, but this requires presence.

Patrick,

Can you give even a rough estimate of when folks who ordered an HTM2D3 in early January are likely to get their orders filled. That would be very much appreciated.

Chaybone:scratch2:

Hi Chaybone,

Not knowing where in the world you live it's difficult to give an estimate. If you were in North America, a May delivery would not surprise me. That said, it could be earlier as the HTM2D3 was the last model to be put into production of the current range, and production is still accelerating.

Regards,

Patrick
B&W Group North America

Patrick, Sorry for the delayed response. I live in the Northeast U.S. Does this mean that May is the likely delivery date?

By the way, the current system with 803s as front speakers and 805s as surrounds sound excellent - but the current phantom center I am running is really just a band-aid until the HTM2 arrives. Any thoughts on your part as to what I will hear as the difference once the HTM2 gets added?

Finally! :banana:

Yesterday, my dealer came to my house while I was working, removed the old speakers and installed the new ones.

Pictures to come later, now the "break-in" process has started. :yes:

BIG CONGRATS to you Krusty! Have fun with the break in and speaker positioning process. :thumbsup:

Congrats Krusty! It is always a nice feeling to get a fresh set of new speakers. Enjoy the break-in.

I must have 200hrs on mine now and I would say the treble-mid have settled in nicely. Bass also is more defined.

Let us know your thoughts on how well the 802D3 integrates with the HTM1D3.

Thank you.

I have had the htm1 d3 for 2 months already. Even with the 802's diamond, I thought it integrates very well. I would imagine it will just be perfect with the 802's d3 once they are broken in.

Thanks.

I am stuck with positioning the speakers in my room, that is one of the reasons I've got the MEN220.

Hi Chaybone,

May certainly is possible. Stay in contact with your dealer, or PM me for more information.

You can expect clearer, better placed dialog with improved spacial envelopment.

Regards,

Patrick
B&W Group North America

Update:

I am amazed by the clarity of the vocals. WOW!

The bass output for now is very soft, I know it will get better since in the demo at my dealer 's it was impressive and accurate.

The center ghost imaging and the way you forget there are two speakers is unbelievable.

They do phantom image very well

My buddy and I

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attac...2305037433.jpg