Comparing the complete Diamond series 2 & 3

[bart]

Yesterday, my wife and I went to another audio event in Brasschaat, near Antwerp.
Our dealer had 4 rooms with each time the "old" model vs the new one.
The shop is really lovely.

We already posted impressions here:

http://www.audioaficionado.org/event...nus-faber.html


As always, a warm welcome:

[bart]

First comparison: the 802.






The room was well treated, better than the last time we visited.
B&W is really popular in Belgium, and there was constantly a lot of people listening (and drooling ).






The electronics: T+A High Voltage Series.

[bart]

This was really a magnificent room.
It's already the 3rd time I hear T+A gear, with different speakers, and they always deliver.
The new 802 is impeccably built, a huge step forwards.










I know the 802 D2s very well, I compared them with various speakers (Burmester, Vivid Audio, Wilson Audio) on innumerous electronics.




The 802 D3 is really in another league.
The reason why I preferred the Vivid Audio B1 above the 802 D2, back in 2010, was that the sound gets loose from the speakers, and it had a much better definition and imaging.
(I eventually went for the G2 Giya, which is in the price range of the future 800 D3).
With the 802 D3, these issues are mostly solved: the sound is clearer and wonderfully loose from the speaker.
Better definition also, and larger soundstage.
Conclusion: better in all aspects.
I would even choose it above the 800 D2. The latter still has the advantage of going a little bit deeper, but is beaten in all other areas.




It is also more elegant.
A couple of cm taller but quite a bit narrower.
Fit and finish superior.

[bart]

We listened to a bass heavy piece from the excellent CD 'No Deal' (Melanie De Biasio).
The new series played the lowest notes with much more authority than its predecessor.

[bart]

Cabling: Wireworld and Audioquest.








All in all: this set was exemplary for a high end system with a budget around 75K (euro).













I know the price increase between series 2 & 3 is quite huge, but I can completely understand it when I look at the given quality:

[bart]

What I didn't hear this time (I did at the Brussels Hifi Show in October but the circumstances were not so good there to evaluate it thoroughly): the Merging Nadac.
This is a DAC that offers stereo and surround decoding.
There is a stereo only version but it costs only 1K less.
When you play stereo, the unit uses all DACs for 2-channel.
Cost is under 10K, and the press raves about it.














All kinds of music were played.
The 802 D3s handled everything very well.








The T+A SACD player is truly excellent.
I reviewed it here:

http://www.audioaficionado.org/cd-pl...-dc-901-a.html

[bart]

The 802 D3 convinced me as a very nice speaker.
It will have other competitors in this price range (22K), but I'm sure it will defend itself well.

[bart]

Before going to the next room, we wandered around in that large room to admire some other gear:

Burmester's smallest speakers (if you don't count the car audio speakers of course):




Audio Research with its new range:




Martin Logans:




There will be a show with the Martin Logan Monolith soon.
We'll cover it!




Vivid Audio:








Laurence Dickie will come in February to the store for a Vivid Audio show in February.

[bart]

[bart]

More B&W in the hall between the rooms:






A lot of the "little brothers and sisters":