Breaking in 802D's

[ariess]

I plan to break in new 802D's next week.
Based on others experience, how many hours did it take to reach close-to-final performance?
How off-best was the out of box sound?
Last, any preference for 4 vs 8 ohm tap on the amp?

Adam

[tweet]

Adam,

Congratulations on the new B&W 802 Diamonds! I'm obviously biased, but I think they are beautiful speakers that will move you when asked and have amazing build and sound quality for the price.

I upgraded from B&W 803D2s and knew that I had made a good decision after the first few notes. After about two weeks of almost non-stop playing the soundstage became much more noticeable as well as a smoother, warmer overall sound. Others may report different results, but those are biggest things I noticed. Trying different cables, sources, preamp, etc. is very obvious with the 802D2s and something I would recommend to get best from them.

Mine are connected to McIntosh MC601's using the 4 ohm tap. I've tried every combination but in my room the 4 ohm is where I settled. You should definitely experiment and choose the one that brings a smile to your ears.

Again, congrats and keep us posted!

[Still-One]

Congratulations the 802Ds are wonderful speakers.

If I remember correctly mine sounded very good from the get go, but did improve over the next two months.

[Rich]

Waiting for my 802 dia. to be delivered in 3 weeks time from Cape Town to Johannesburg here RSA. They are a year old and in prestine condition. Trading in my Audio Physic Virgo 25 for them

[ariess]

Thanks, I am really excited to get them. I spent 5 years moving up, 705,704,703,804D and now the ones I always wanted, 802D! I never would have had the confidence to lay out so much $$$ without the steady progression.

[Masterlu]

Rich... Welcome!

[Rod#S]

Congrats on getting the 802's Adam and Rich. They are great speakers.

Adam, give them a few weeks for sure, after that I found any improvements was just subtle.

[ariess]

I was toying with the idea of using my cheap, solid state integrated for break in duty rather than burning a few hundred hours of life off the tubes of my tube integrated. Others went this route?

[Wasatch]

They will sound nice out of the box. At least 100 hours till they start to sing a bit. They need alot of power to sing though. What do you have running them?

[toddmorr]

Originally Posted by ariess

I was toying with the idea of using my cheap, solid state integrated for break in duty rather than burning a few hundred hours of life off the tubes of my tube integrated. Others went this route?

hope you have plenty of power in either of these amplification routes. Very easy to clip with any amp less than 200watts on these big B&Ws. And when you clip, your tweeter dies. 1000 bucks to replace.