Quote:
Originally Posted by joey_v
Did this ever happen?
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It did
Exsg is such a great guy with a wonderful family and we had an awesome time auditioning both systems, at his place and mine. We played all kinds of music from jazz to soul, some indie stuff and avant-garde pieces (that was probably more me), and of course some western classics (probably more him).
I'll comment that Exsg's system is a power house! The 802D3's look great dressed in black, but they have barely broken in so it wouldn't be correct for me to judge their sound prematurely. As mentioned before, I was already a fan and came very near to buying a set before purchasing my Amati Fururas. You could clearly hear that the McIntosh tube pre and solid state power amps provided the speakers ample head room and never sounded stressed. They looked great too! Although the speakers were new, the sound was warmer than I expected. Previous model B&W diamonds had a tendency to sometimes sound harsh in the top, and looser at the bottom, but that is no longer the case with the 802D3. They seem properly balanced and in phase. Exsg hasn't much room treatment as yet, and with a young family, the speakers were strategically placed to not get too much in the way. We'll have to do it again when they are bedded in properly.
The Amati Futura's are very very different IMO. The rolled off tweater and the more compact presentation may allow them to sound more cohesive (3.5-way vs 3-way). Instruments are maybe further away from each other on the B&W's - remembering Exsg's have yet to fully break in. Sonically, voices on both speakers are remarkably similar and natural, with maybe the B&W's being traditionally more forward - but again that maybe speaker placement. My Audio Research gear is characteristically detailed, the McIntosh powerful and smooth.
IMO the Amati Futura has a much darker sound than the 802D3 which are up on there toes as was my first impression. That is the big point of difference for me and still quite evident. Both in my opinion are stellar choices and sound great (for considerable expense of course) and I'm glad someone around me has a set of 802D3's for me to play music on!
I look forward to hearing from Exsg about his thoughts.