AudioAficionado.org  

Go Back   AudioAficionado.org > Manufacturers Forums > B&W Speakers

B&W Speakers Bowers & Wilkins Greatest

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #181  
Old 08-31-2017, 10:20 AM
rghanbari rghanbari is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 42
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgeyboy View Post
I am very close to pushing the button on a pair of 802 D3's to replace my 802 D2's.

I have a fairly average UK living room of approx 4m wide by 6m long with a 2.4m ceiling height. Speakers firing down the length of the room. Listening chair 3.7m from 802's.

The bass on my 802 D2's (with my D-Premier) is excellent. Just full enough without being bloaty and reasonably controlled.

How do owners who previously had the 802 D2's find the bass on the D3 in comparison? I have read through the reviews and owners's post as much as possible, but direct input would be really appreciated.

I don't want oodles more bass, as I think it will be overpowering but good bass is always very welcome as long as it is controlled.

Note: I did listen to a pair of 803 D3's at a dealer recently, and although the midrange and hf were to die for, I found the bass slightly lacking.They did sound wonderful however, just not quite full enough.

Many Thanks.
Bass response is so room and placement dependent, that it is hard to do a direct comparison unless you have both units in the same space. I know in my living room, extremely small changes in position have a huge impact on the quantity and quality of the bass.

I was able to audition the 802d2's vs the 803d3's in the same space/same room placement a couple years ago when the d3's first came out. (http://thingssoimpossible.blogspot.c...ker-quest.html )

Those particular 802d2's were horrible, to the point that I'm certain there was something wrong with the mids or tweeters. I did key strongly on the low end though, since I was considering the 804d3's (which I worried would be base thin) and the 803d3's (ditto, but less worried), but didn't want to give up the bass or have to get a sub.

IIRC, I found the 803d3's bass response to be roughly equivalent to the 802d2's, but much tighter/faster/more musical. It was less "boomy" to my ear, but I was absolutely delighted with the 803d3's across the board. I wish there were a proper set of 802d2's to audition, since I would have loved to save the $$ and gotten the end of life demo units, but I fell madly in love with the 803d3/802d3 and have had absolutely zero regrets since then (I ended up with the 802d3's for reasons cited in my review link above)

Based on my (compromised) experience and what I've read, I don't think you would be giving anything up on the low end (if anything, perhaps a bit tighter), but the lift in the mids and highs are glorious.

Can you persuade your dealer to bring the 802d3's to your home for a proper apples to apples audition?

Last edited by rghanbari; 08-31-2017 at 10:23 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #182  
Old 09-01-2017, 04:43 AM
Edgeyboy Edgeyboy is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 6
Default

Thank you. The word "faster" has been used a lot when describing the D3's. I guess it's a matter of differentiating between clean, tight, punchy bass and overblown but on first impressions "fuller" sounding bass.

I want to keep the depth from the 802 D2 and the weight, but get the impression the D3 will deliver it in a cleaner manner with equal impact.

Many Thanks.
Reply With Quote
  #183  
Old 09-01-2017, 06:43 PM
GregGale's Avatar
GregGale GregGale is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Western Chicago Suburbs
Posts: 79
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Edgeyboy View Post
Thank you. The word "faster" has been used a lot when describing the D3's. I guess it's a matter of differentiating between clean, tight, punchy bass and overblown but on first impressions "fuller" sounding bass.

I want to keep the depth from the 802 D2 and the weight, but get the impression the D3 will deliver it in a cleaner manner with equal impact.

Many Thanks.
I lived with the first generation N802 for almost 10 years and then had the 802D2 for 5 years which was a huge upgrade. I then moved to the 802D3 which was absolutely night and day difference.

The differences to me from the bottom up are:
Bass is much cleaner with less distortion which I believe is partly a function of the new Aerofoil base drivers and the cabinet.
Bass has got more punch and power where you can really feel the kick of a bass drum.
Bass goes deeper and you can hear distinctly the tone of the instrument.
Bass better integrates with the midrange. The previous version could have too much bass bloom in the upper bass which had a negative impact on the midrange.
Midrange is more open and has a clarity of voice that is way beyond what the Kevlar driver could achieve. Voices are amazing and the soundstage and depth is much improved over the old. Makes it sound like the singer is in the room with you and palpable in nature.
The tweeter is less aggressive and sounds more delicate and cymbals sound almost alive with the right recording.

The speaker is much more coherent and 3 D like with improved timing that kills the old 802D2.

Yes it is a lot more money, but in my mind for what you get and the build quality is worth every penny.

Last edited by GregGale; 09-02-2017 at 10:07 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #184  
Old 09-02-2017, 02:14 AM
Edgeyboy Edgeyboy is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 6
Default

Thanks Greg. That's a very articulate description of the differences.

Interestingly, bass aside, it describes the differences I heard when auditioning the 803 D3, which just didn't have the bass to match the 802D the dealer had on dem.

The 802 D3 will give me all the bass I get from the 802 D2 delivered in a more articulate manner, along with all the benefits of the continuum driver and further revisions.
Reply With Quote
  #185  
Old 09-02-2017, 09:05 AM
rancew's Avatar
rancew rancew is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 38
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by GregGale View Post
I lived with the first generation N802 for almost 10 years and then had the 802D2 for 5 years which was a huge upgrade. I then moved to the 802D3 which was absolutely night and day difference.

The differences to me from the bottom up are:
Bass is much cleaner with less distortion which I believe is partly a function of the new Aerofoil base drivers and the cabinet.
Bass is got more punch and power where you can really feel the punch of a bass kick drum.
Bass goes deeper and you can hear distinctly the tone of the instrument.
Bass better integrates with the midrange. The previous version could have too much bass bloom in the upper bass which had a negative impact on the midrange.
Midrange is more open and has a clarity of voice that is way beyond what the Kevlar driver could achieve. Voices are amazing and the soundstage and depth is much improved over the old. Makes it sound like the singer is in the room with you and palpable in nature.
The tweeter is less aggressive and sounds more delicate and cymbals sound almost alive with the right recording.

The speaker is much more coherent and 3 D like with improved timing that kills the old 802D2.

Yes it is a lot more money, but in my mind for what you get and the build quality is worth every penny.
Great post!

After having lived with 802D2's for a few years (now gone) and hearing the 802D3's on several occasions this is exactly my impression as well.
Reply With Quote
  #186  
Old 09-13-2017, 04:44 AM
ktliao88 ktliao88 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 36
Default

Hello everybody. I will probably become a member of 802D3 owners club very soon. In fact, a pair of 802D3 is sitting in my living room but it is belong to my friend. For some reason my friend purchased 802D3 but his audit room not ready yet. So I am helping him run in speakers.

The reason I have not ordered 802D3 is the pairing of power amp. Currently I am using Accuphase C-3800 pre amp + Esoteric F05 as power amp. The performance is ok but seems not good enough.

I assume Accuphase P7300 or McIntosh MC452 will perform better. But I do not have chance to audit yet.

Any comments about these two power amp? Many Thanks.
Reply With Quote
  #187  
Old 10-12-2017, 01:29 PM
Edgeyboy Edgeyboy is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 6
Default

My 802 D3's arrived today. Thanks for the input and help along the way. Now for the run in period....
Reply With Quote
  #188  
Old 03-26-2018, 08:42 AM
GBP's Avatar
GBP GBP is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Germany
Posts: 105
Default

My white 802 D3 arrived 7 days ago. It was a nice weekend so far.
Serials 456x.

Haaaaaaappy.

Replaced my 17 years old N802.
Reply With Quote
  #189  
Old 03-26-2018, 04:36 PM
hdvidguy hdvidguy is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Ontario
Posts: 267
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by GBP View Post
My white 802 D3 arrived 7 days ago. It was a nice weekend so far.
Serials 456x.

Haaaaaaappy.

Replaced my 17 years old N802.
I’m sitting on my N802 as you did. Love their sound. Heard the 800 D3 at a dealer in a very large open room. Room is too big actually. Dealer running much the same front end as mine. But a lesser DAC.

Everything I played that I’m familiar on my system was much more open 3D like on the 800 and not as edgy as the N802.

Can you describe the upgrade over the N802’s?

Thanks!
Reply With Quote
  #190  
Old 03-27-2018, 09:34 AM
GBP's Avatar
GBP GBP is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Germany
Posts: 105
Default

I try to do but maybe you already noticed that english isn't my motherlanguage.
(So i surely miss the slight differences and words that should be written for a full description of what i felt.)

At first - the bass! What? What happened? Weeks ago i saw the technical details and... They will _really_ go down there? Never ever. But... They do.
Alone with that there's much more (psychological) room. In your room. Hehe.
It sounds A LOT easier. It has nothing to do with "ah, just effects to make the customer happy". It's just there and really impressive.

*History on*
Then... I remember when A/Bing the N803 with the N802 back in the days. Did you do the same?
From N803 to N802: Hmmm. Don't know. Is it really better and worth the money?
Some minutes later back from N802 to N803: Uh! That's... No! How bad they sound! OK. How "bad" they sound!
The mids on N802 were much clearer and the whole human kind thinked that it can't be done better. Oh man. It is MUCH better. It was THAT clean!
*History off*

The whole speaker is capable of giving us MUCH more dynamics. At the whole audio spectrum. And the frequency reponse is now more like a flat line. It's a lot less sounded than former B&W-Speakers for my taste. Maybe you know the "british style" with not really brilliant highs. But now the Diamond Tweeter is a whole new world. It's soooo terrific awesome.
(Edit: Meanwhile i upgraded the IC from Pre to Power with an Audioquest Fire. Man! Wow! For my personal taste the 802D3 can only be topped by the 800D3 which do everything a bit better.)

A friend of mine who's here several times a month for looking movies (in Stereo only). He's a miser/nickel nurser/tightwad. (What's better?) His musical taste is... Bad. Metal. Melodic Metal. Trash Metal. His ears are virtual made out of wood... I asked him after three days if the upgrade was worth it. Even his answer was something like "yes, whow, dramatic (!) change, this is really really cool".

So... Maybe this could help you.

Last edited by GBP; 05-15-2018 at 11:42 AM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Audioaficionado.org tested by Norton Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:17 PM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
©Copyright 2009-2023 AudioAficionado.org.Privately owned, All Rights Reserved.
Audio Aficionado Sponsors
AudioAficionado Subscriber
AudioAficionado Subscriber
Inspire By Dennis Had
Inspire By Dennis Had
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Wyred4Sound
Wyred4Sound
Dragonfire Acoustics
Dragonfire Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
Esoteric
Esoteric
AC Infinity
AC Infinity
JL Audio
JL Audio
Add Powr
Add Powr
Accuphase - Soulution
Accuphase - Soulution
Audio by E
Audio by E
Canton
Canton
Bryston
Bryston
WireWorld Cables
WireWorld Cables
Stillpoints
Stillpoints
Bricasti Design
Bricasti Design
Furutech
Furutech
Shunyata Research
Shunyata Research
Legend Audio & Video
Legend Audio & Video