left underwhelmed

[EightZeroZeroDelta]

Yes, the 800 Diamond line remains to be manufactured in the UK facilities.

[thxthx]

Originally Posted by turntable

Are the 800 series still made in the UK?

I hope they have not shifted em to China

My dealer assures me that the 800 series is still made in the UK. If not they will lose me as a customer

[Still-One]

I read that when they transferred the production of other lines to Asia they had sufficient capacity to bring all 800 Series production into the UK. Some phases were previously performed on the Continent.

Jim

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

I have listened to the 800 diamonds and they sounded pretty good, but I do admit there was more of that "hifi sound" rather than pure music flowing. Wonder if there's a little hifi snobbery toward the brand with all of the marketing and branching out to other areas like the Zeppelin that have turned some in the hobby off. Who knows.

Well, the radiation pattern of the 800 has a little discontinuity in the transition from the mid to the tweeter and, therefore, positioning and acoustics will play a big role in how this is heard (or not). It is particularly an issue in normal sized rooms, as opposed to large studios, but it can be finessed with proper setup and decent acoustics.

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by turntable

Are the 800 series still made in the UK?

Yes. So far, at least.

[howiebrou]

The 800 series have never been my cup of tea, besides looking like lego men, they just never excited me with their blend of sound.

Luckiy there are sooooo many other choices around you should have a great time looking.

The Tannoy Kingdom Royal has just come out with a carbon fibre version which looks very bad indeed and sounds wonderful (the normal version at least).

howie

[Doug Lax]

Howie the Kingdom Royal is a beauty for sure

[Briz Vegaas]

Apart from the name Kingdom Royal yup

The zepplin is an issue for B&W. Toyota resolved this with Lexus, VW with Audi.

Sob value no, human nature yes. You are spending alot of money and folks don't want to appear silly. The audio market is tricky enough as the great unwashed want perfect audio for $699 and anyone who spends more has more money than sense. Naim have spread their brad a bit as well but they never dropped below 1500 uk pounds plus speakers. Ignore branding at your peril, thats how business works.

I'm off to Macca's to see if they deserve those 3 michellin stars.

[Matt Lan]

Originally Posted by Briz Vegaas

Apart from the name Kingdom Royal yup

The zepplin is an issue for B&W. Toyota resolved this with Lexus, VW with Audi.

Sob value no, human nature yes. You are spending alot of money and folks don't want to appear silly. The audio market is tricky enough as the great unwashed want perfect audio for $699 and anyone who spends more has more money than sense. Naim have spread their brad a bit as well but they never dropped below 1500 uk pounds plus speakers. Ignore branding at your peril, thats how business works.

I'm off to Macca's to see if they deserve those 3 michellin stars.

Hmm, quite the elitist post.

I guarantee the affluent hear and appreciate as little as the unwashed. No more, no less. If someone no longer likes the sound of a particular brand because of entry-level offerings, then I'd suggest they aren't really into music in the first place. Back to the original post which was about how the speakers sound.

Best,

Matt

[Briz Vegaas]

Maybe my use of the term unwashed was poorly chosen, I was not referring to income but rather the level of interest in audio as opposed to lifestyle products. Also, while sound is important the 800D, which is outside my budget, is a big investment which is why people buying this speaker are likely, on balance, to consider the brands image amongst other factors. It's why B&W have associated themselves with Jaguar, it's part of their Brand development strategy. There has been no other evidence that they are getting into car audio. B&W made similar decisions in marketing the 800 series as a made in the UK product rather making the product in China. China is just as capable of making the same quality product. Some Chinese audio gear is made like a tank.

Very few people make a purchase based purely on performance.