Can't Decide

[BWLover]

Most definitely! I have a feeling the new 802 will be out of my price range though.

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

[RebelMan]

Originally Posted by BWLover

Hi everyone. My room is 16 ft long x 10 ft wide x 8 ft high. My dream speakers are the 802 Diamonds. But I am worried that my room is to small. Should I get 804 Diamonds or 803 Diamonds instead? Thanks in advance.

Will this space be dedicated to one user with one purpose? How will the speakers be oriented? What will be driving the system?

I had a pair of 800D living in a room about 17 ft wide and 14 ft deep (9 ft ceilings) and I scaled back to a pair of 804D2. Sonically speaking there were little to no issues living with the larger speakers but physically they were a real problem. The space was used for multiple purposes by multiple people which made for risky encounters with the cabinets. Not to mention their forward (space taking) presence into the room. Esthetically the 800D were grossly disproportional (aside from the massive plinth the 800 are not much larger than the 802).

If it's just you and your gear in the room then you should be fine space-wise but if the speakers are going to sit on the 10 ft wall, then keep in mind that you are going to have more bass loading issues to contend with in addition to worsening first order reflections with the 802. As the 802 are more revealing than the 804 they will show the shortcomings of your gear further upstream so make sure you are driving them with some good equipment. Rotel isn't going to cut it, sorry to say. If you have to compromise in this department you will be better off with the 804 and better electronics.

There is always the possibility of wondering if you would be missing out on something by going with the 804 instead of the 802. But I will tell you first hand having been there and back you won't be missing much. The Marlan head is magical but with good placement, tuning and equipment the 804 sounds far more impressive than people will lead you to believe. It will defintely look better in a smaller room too. (If that matters to you.)

Rumors are the new (4th Gen) 803 will have a Marlan (like) head. I suspect the 804 will too, at least I am hoping. If that is the case then your choice should be obvious.