B&W 805S vs. Goldenear Aon 3 (kinda review thing)

[brazil-nut]

Last night I put the Goldenear Aon 3 against the B&W 805S and the difference is huge!
The b&w went first and sounds very clean, detailed, warm and every instrument and the singer can easily be identified and placed, but not fatiguing at all. There is a perfect balance between the high, mid and bass. The speakers do not dissapear, with eyes closed you can point where the speakers are.
Best speaker I have heard to date!

Next the Goldenears and personally I like these better. These sound more like live music, not as detailed as the b&w. They sound more bass heavy, which I like. The soundstage is much bigger and the music is all around you. You hear the music from your left side to your right side instead of just in front of you like the b&w.
The speakers tend to disappear. Playing Led Zeppelin where a lot of acoustic guitar comes from just the left speaker, with the b&w the sound comes out of the speaker and with the Goldenear it floats in front of the speaker and a little on the right side of the speaker instead of directly from the speaker.

Conclusion:
If we disregard the price difference ($1000 vs. $2250-$2500 used) the B&W 805S is a much better speaker when it comes to quality of the sound, detail and balance.
When it comes to 'music' and not 'sound' the Goldenear Aon 3 is better. It is more 'fun' to listen to and is more for people that want great music in the whole room and not sit in the center and pluck every detail from the music.
To put it this way: I would prefer the b&w when sitting down to really enjoy the music and taking my time. If I want to play music and enjoy it as if its played live in your room I prefer the Goldenear.

From an audiophile point of view, the b&w beats the Goldenear by a mile.

[lakesailor]

Cool write-up !!!!

Ironically enough I recently purchased a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagio JR’s to replace my B&W 805S…down below is some comments I sent to my brother comparing the 805S to the Adagio JR…note that the comments were made based on first impressions and then after the Adagios had a chance to break in…..

the pre-break in first impression comments...

So I had a chance to crank the Acoustic Zen Adagio JR’s for a few hours tonight….never ceases to amaze me just how different speakers can sound from each other. I can understand why some think of the B&W 805S as being “bright” in comparison to a speaker like the Adagio – I don’t actually agree but the Adagio is a very laid back speaker in contrast. Obviously they are still breaking in so these are some very preliminary thoughts but they are indeed a very different speaker from the 805S. Although the woofers are still not settled down yet the low end is incredible – very impressive on any level. The tweeters are a fair bit different as is the overall laid back character – they image incredibly well – I would say even better than the 805’s did – a surprise. They are very smooth and non-fatiguing although they lack the overall detail and upper end definition of the 805 tweeters. For me that takes some getting used too.

The Adagio’s are a tad on the warm side and definitely not what I would call analytical – the laid back presentation takes some getting used too after the 805S – they don’t attack the music like the 805’s did – what is funny is there are songs that sound amazing on the Acoustic Zen that didn’t stand out on the 805 whereas songs that stood out on the 805 do not stand out as much on the Adagio’s….both speakers seem to have their preferred style of music. If there is any one downside that stands out so far it is the mid-range – they Adagio’s seem lacking in this area compared to the 805’s….maybe this will change with break in but it is something I have noticed so far.

And my comments once the Adagio's were broken in....

Now that my Adagio’s are broken in….I so cannot believe the difference in sound from now to when I first got them up and running….it is like a totally different pair of speaker in so many ways. The bass was always very punchy but it is now much smoother and well rounded. The biggest surprise to me has been how much the tweeters have opened up…ribbon tweeters have a certain magic about them….they are very smooth and silky and incredible on vocals…..they still in my view do not have the overall crispness and definition that the 805 tweeters have but even if you could “retrofit” those tweeters to the Adagio’s I think they would sound out of character with the Adagio’s…different type of sound overall. The mids have also filled in nicely….they are not super defined like the B&W was but like the entire speaker, smooth, laid back, slightly warm. This may sound like a weird comment but with the Adagio’s I find that you want to turn them up to listen to the music whereas with the B&W you wanted to hear how the music was being played. Different styles of speakers. I do have to say that the imaging of the Adagio’s is incredible….they really nailed that one down. On the whole I am happy with the speaker change. The Adagio’s are very musical and fun to listen too.

Interesting that there were certain things we both seem to agree on about the B&W 805S when comparing to other speakers....

[brazil-nut]

I completely agree! The 805S's make you want to disect the music and analise it almost...

[lakesailor]

Originally Posted by karmanfamily

I completely agree! The 805S's make you want to disect the music and analise it almost...

Exactly ! It takes some getting used owning different speakers.

[brazil-nut]

I started with B&W CM5, nice little warm sounding speakers that break up very easy in the high end... Then I went to the Monitor Audio GX100 (in bubinga color), loved these! Deep bass and incredible high, but..... my wife HATED them! UGLY she said...
so I bough the Goldenear Aon 3, great reviews, small and black.... until... that one day that I came across an amazing deal I HAD to buy, the B&W 805S (on my wishlist for years now).. I am keeping the Goldenears.. they are more for the way I like to listen to music, not too loud and moving around the room... If i had a dedicated music room, I'd keep the B&W without any doubt...

[lakesailor]

I will always be a huge fan of the B&W 805S and 805D…both awesome stand mounts that do many things incredibly well. I recently upgraded to a new integrated amplifier that necessitated getting a pair of speakers with a more stable impedance curve (The 805S dips quite a bit going from a rated 8ohm to under 4ohm) it was actually Jeff from A/V Solutions who spoke very highly of the Acoustic Zen Adagio and Adagio JR and I have to say I am immensely enjoying them now that they are broken in. A very different speaker from the 805S but the Adagio’s have much better synergy with my new system and WOW can they image!…they bass is also extremely impressive…even when compared to a compact floor stander.

[brazil-nut]

I have that with the Goldenears... that ribbon tweeter (almost mid) is incredible and the way to go, in my opinion. The bass is also incredible.. all the way down to 34 Hz and medium size room filling...
And last but not least, $1000 for a pair!!

[lakesailor]

Originally Posted by karmanfamily

I have that with the Goldenears... that ribbon tweeter (almost mid) is incredible and the way to go, in my opinion. The bass is also incredible.. all the way down to 34 Hz and medium size room filling...
And last but not least, $1000 for a pair!!

The Goldenear and the Adagio JR. sound like they have much in common...except for price. I think the Adagio's list at $ 3500. The Goldenear sounds like a steal of a deal !

[brazil-nut]

I never believed in those 'hocus pocus' Low price High Quality deals, but after I first tried the Anti Cables (that blew away my Audioquest Rockefeller speaker cables) I am a 'believer'.

[brazil-nut]

Ok, 8 months and about 100 hours later:
Read the 'review' again exaggerate it and that's how the Goldenears sound now.
If you're looking for bass from a small speaker, here it is!
Massive Attack's Unfinished Sympathy starts with a deep bass that with big floorstanders your windows rattle. You know what, these little mini Goldenears made pictures hanging on my walls rattle.
Here is how it went:
I sat down, amp nicely warmed up, connected to my sonos, turned the dac on and hit play.
First song played and I turned up the volume a little and hit next.
Unfinished Sympathy started playing and I can't remember smiling so wide, it hurt my cheeks! Holy crap!
I urge anyone, no matter what your budget is, go and audition these and bring BASS!!
If you have a 20x20 room you want to fill with music, you'll get them.
(Make sure its an 'old' pair..)