Has anyone made the leap from 802D3 to 800D3?

[joey_v]

Finally heard both side by side, same room, same electronics, same cables.

The 800D3 had the upper hand in terms of room positioning while the 802D3 were in a slightly wider position just outside either 800D3 speaker.

Bass - I expected bass to be better, and it was. I didn't think it was thick or wooly, but it was nearly as tight but definitely much more in terms of volume and feel.

However, I felt like there was a difference with the lower midrange, mainly vocals. It was a very odd finding - it was as if the 802D3 was actually muffled and the vocalist did not stick out as much. Akin to the vocalist having a piece of paper in front of them.

Whenever we switched back to the 800D3, the vocalist would be significantly clearer, and then when we switched back to the 802D3, the paper would be infront of the mouth again.

I spent about 3 hours demoing the 2..... to the point where I got fatigued, tired, and worn out.

Although I heard a good amount of difference in bass and the lower midrange seemed clearer on the 800D3, I felt that at times, it was also a little bright comparatively, but the dealer assured me that they were new and had not yet broken in while the 802D3 had been there for a while.

There was just a little zing to the upper registers... I suppose a double edged sword to what happens when more layers of audio transparency are removed.

I am sure in my system it would be warmer and much more intimate since my room is smaller and my gear is more upper end than at the dealer, plus I use better wire.

We did a blind test and I got 3/3 right.

That said, before we repositioned the speakers appropriately, we did a quick blind and I got the blind wrong twice. They were pretty close especially if you're not optimally positioned. However, once positioned, the differences were pretty apparent.

I would say the midrange was 10% clearer.

The bass was probably 25% better.

[GregGale]

Originally Posted by joey_v

Finally heard both side by side, same room, same electronics, same cables.

The 800D3 had the upper hand in terms of room positioning while the 802D3 were in a slightly wider position just outside either 800D3 speaker.

Bass - I expected bass to be better, and it was. I didn't think it was thick or wooly, but it was nearly as tight but definitely much more in terms of volume and feel.

However, I felt like there was a difference with the lower midrange, mainly vocals. It was a very odd finding - it was as if the 802D3 was actually muffled and the vocalist did not stick out as much. Akin to the vocalist having a piece of paper in front of them.

Whenever we switched back to the 800D3, the vocalist would be significantly clearer, and then when we switched back to the 802D3, the paper would be infront of the mouth again.

I spent about 3 hours demoing the 2..... to the point where I got fatigued, tired, and worn out.

Although I heard a good amount of difference in bass and the lower midrange seemed clearer on the 800D3, I felt that at times, it was also a little bright comparatively, but the dealer assured me that they were new and had not yet broken in while the 802D3 had been there for a while.

There was just a little zing to the upper registers... I suppose a double edged sword to what happens when more layers of audio transparency are removed.

I am sure in my system it would be warmer and much more intimate since my room is smaller and my gear is more upper end than at the dealer, plus I use better wire.

We did a blind test and I got 3/3 right.

That said, before we repositioned the speakers appropriately, we did a quick blind and I got the blind wrong twice. They were pretty close especially if you're not optimally positioned. However, once positioned, the differences were pretty apparent.

I would say the midrange was 10% clearer.

The bass was probably 25% better.

Here is a recent review I saw that pretty much is stating similar findings to what Joey has found. Link below:
https://www.lexicommultimedia.nl/rev...rluidsprekers/

[joey_v]

Originally Posted by GregGale

Here is a recent review I saw that pretty much is stating similar findings to what Joey has found. Link below:
https://www.lexicommultimedia.nl/rev...rluidsprekers/

Is there English translation?

[ariess]

Originally Posted by joey_v

Finally heard both side by side, same room, same electronics, same cables.

The 800D3 had the upper hand in terms of room positioning while the 802D3 were in a slightly wider position just outside either 800D3 speaker.

Bass - I expected bass to be better, and it was. I didn't think it was thick or wooly, but it was nearly as tight but definitely much more in terms of volume and feel.

However, I felt like there was a difference with the lower midrange, mainly vocals. It was a very odd finding - it was as if the 802D3 was actually muffled and the vocalist did not stick out as much. Akin to the vocalist having a piece of paper in front of them.

Whenever we switched back to the 800D3, the vocalist would be significantly clearer, and then when we switched back to the 802D3, the paper would be infront of the mouth again.

I spent about 3 hours demoing the 2..... to the point where I got fatigued, tired, and worn out.

Although I heard a good amount of difference in bass and the lower midrange seemed clearer on the 800D3, I felt that at times, it was also a little bright comparatively, but the dealer assured me that they were new and had not yet broken in while the 802D3 had been there for a while.

There was just a little zing to the upper registers... I suppose a double edged sword to what happens when more layers of audio transparency are removed.

I am sure in my system it would be warmer and much more intimate since my room is smaller and my gear is more upper end than at the dealer, plus I use better wire.

We did a blind test and I got 3/3 right.

That said, before we repositioned the speakers appropriately, we did a quick blind and I got the blind wrong twice. They were pretty close especially if you're not optimally positioned. However, once positioned, the differences were pretty apparent.

I would say the midrange was 10% clearer.

The bass was probably 25% better.

If the 802 were the on the outside of the 800 the slight reduction in lower midrange quality might have been from a hole in the sweet spot.

What was the size of the room ?

What gear?

[joey_v]

Originally Posted by ariess

If the 802 were the on the outside of the 800 the slight reduction in lower midrange quality might have been from a hole in the sweet spot.

What was the size of the room ?

What gear?

I tried staggering the speakers positioning and the sound was still similar. The lower midrange was definitely different sounding. I can take the soundstaging out of the running by saying it could be positional... but the cloudiness in lower mids most prominent in voices was definitely there. Like a piece of paper infront of the mouth.

System was:
Mcintosh MCD550->C52 preamp->MC601 monoblocks, Audioquest Oak speaker wiring.

Music Selection:
Diana Krall SACD, Melody Gardot, Adele 21, Sam Smith, John Legend, The Weeknd Starboy

Btw, you heard the 800D3 in your room, what is your room like? Is it dedicated, is it treated?

[ariess]

Originally Posted by joey_v

I tried staggering the speakers positioning and the sound was still similar. The lower midrange was definitely different sounding. I can take the soundstaging out of the running by saying it could be positional... but the cloudiness in lower mids most prominent in voices was definitely there. Like a piece of paper infront of the mouth.

System was:
Mcintosh MCD550->C52 preamp->MC601 monoblocks, Audioquest Oak speaker wiring.

Music Selection:
Diana Krall SACD, Melody Gardot, Adele 21, Sam Smith, John Legend, The Weeknd Starboy

Btw, you heard the 800D3 in your room, what is your room like? Is it dedicated, is it treated?

My room is treated but not dedicated so the speakers must live close to the rear wall.

Here is a pic with the 800D3 (black) and 802D3 (Rosenut)
IMG_1485638216.707161.jpg

IMG_1485638257.559559.jpg

[GregGale]

Originally Posted by joey_v

Is there English translation?

Just use Google translate or Bing and you will get the jest of it.

[joey_v]

Originally Posted by ariess

My room is treated but not dedicated so the speakers must live close to the rear wall.

Here is a pic with the 800D3 (black) and 802D3 (Rosenut)
Attachment 49257

Attachment 49258

Your main issue with the 800d3 was bass?

[joey_v]

Originally Posted by GregGale

Just use Google translate or Bing and you will get the jest of it.

Will do thanks!

[joey_v]

Originally Posted by GregGale

Here is a recent review I saw that pretty much is stating similar findings to what Joey has found. Link below:
https://www.lexicommultimedia.nl/rev...rluidsprekers/

Thank you for pointing that out, I read it through google translate and he heard exactly what I heard.

The 800D3 sounds different than the 802D3, the bass is obviously different but the lower midrange as well.

I find it more "pure" whereas the 802D3 I felt was slightly veiled in DIRECT comparison. But the difference was not as huge as I suspected as I missed the first 2 blinds... but once I realized what I was looking for, the next 3 blinds were easy (and I didn't listen for bass difference, just vocal reproduction difference).

Perhaps if I played the entire song I would've been able to guess 5/5.

But regardless, paper over mouth = 802D3, remove that paper = 800D3.

The only caveat is exactly what the reviewer mentioned:

You release that slight bit of warmth on the 802D3, let it go... and you get better neutrality. Along that comes a cost... do you want that?

As for me, as for today... I am undecided.

Interestingly enough, if it was just the bass that was different I would've pulled the trigger on the 800D3 already.

Isn't that funny?