800 Series Diamond surrounds

[skyblue]

Originally Posted by Rod#S

Where I live there is roughly a $2500 difference between the 804 Diamonds and 803 Diamonds and roughly a $5000 difference between the 803 Diamonds and the 802 Diamonds so it's not an absurd amount in the differences. Spread over many years it's not so bad, you bascially have to think of it as a long year investment which is what they will be for me. I had my Paradigms since 2002 so getting new speakers isn't something I do very often.

I would love to be able to do 3 800 Diamonds up front and have 4 802 Diamonds for the surrounds with 4 Paradigm Sub 2s but I just can't afford to go that route even when looking at it as a long term investment. So a sort of scaled down version of my ultimate system would be what I have now up front plus either 2 more pairs of 802 Diamonds or 803 Diamonds and 4 Paradigm Sub 25s. I'm tentatively looking at getting a 2nd Sub 25 when income season rolls around but I'm also contemplating using that money to help offset the price difference between the 803 and 802 which would be my one and only big ticket item purchase for next year but that hinges on Lexicon brining to market their new MP20 SSP which I want and would take precedence over anything else because it's not going to be cheap.

Ok so you dont swim in money in the morning either

I think its fairnuf to consider your speakers a longterm investment and the amortize the cost over say 10 years. I did the same when I considered getting the 800s instead of the 802s. My dealer was kind enough to get me an almost complete refund on the 802s.

Still 6 of them, with amplification is gonna cost you

I think I personally will get 803s for rear and surround. I am not sure I will need 802s or better. Time will tell. Next stop for me is saving up for a pair of classe m600's.

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by bart

Rod, the difference between the 800 and the 802 is not so big.
I heard an A/B comparison on a top Accuphase system, and a lot of people in the room actually preferred the 802. A touch warmer?
The 800 goes a little deeper, but the soundstage and accuracy were quite equal.

Originally Posted by skyblue

I have had both. I think that 800s are better in the midrange than 802s. That being said, I had very enjoyable musik out of my 802s with a cambridge 740a 100watt integrated amp. Cant really go wrong with either.

I have read a lot of comments similar to what skyblue has said. Many people comment on the better mids of the 800s due to the better crossovers being used. In other forums a fair number of people have upgraded from the 802 (both D and Diamond) to the 800 Diamonds for that reason. Unfortunately my dealer will likely never have a pair of 800s on the floor for me to listen to so I could judge the differences for myself. He has been carrying B&W since the original D series and oddly to date he has yet to sell any 800s (Ds or Diamonds). He did sell some 801Ds and has sold 802Ds and 802 Diamonds.

It's too bad the 800 Diamonds didn't have a plynth like the 802. I really like the aluminum of the 800 plynth but prefer the curved nature of the plynth on the 802 more than the square one of the 800. It would also be cool if the 802 plynth was aluminum.

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by skyblue

Ok so you dont swim in money in the morning either

I think its fairnuf to consider your speakers a longterm investment and the amortize the cost over say 10 years. I did the same when I considered getting the 800s instead of the 802s. My dealer was kind enough to get me an almost complete refund on the 802s.

Still 6 of them, with amplification is gonna cost you

I think I personally will get 803s for rear and surround. I am not sure I will need 802s or better. Time will tell. Next stop for me is saving up for a pair of classe m600's.

That's a great dealer you have there. Getting a deal like that around these parts is unheard of. I can get really good deals when buying stuff but when it comes to trading in or upgrading it always turns out to be better selling what I have than going through the dealer.

So what are you running now for speakers in all of your positions? Do you still have the 800s as your mains?

For amps I'm a Bryston guy through and through. I'm using two 4B-SSTs (one C series and one not) and a 6B-SST C series. At the moment in my 5.1 configuration I'm bi-amping my 802s, I use the non C series 4B to drive the bass drivers and the C series to drive the mid/high drivers.
There is no end to the stuff we can get in this hobby. Down the road I would like to have 7B-SST Squared amps driving my 802s. I have read some owners using the 28B-SST Squared amps on their 802s but I think that's overkill not to mention the amps cost more than the speakers . If I had 800s then going with the 28B's would be a perfect match.

[skyblue]

Originally Posted by Rod#S

That's a great dealer you have there. Getting a deal like that around these parts is unheard of. I can get really good deals when buying stuff but when it comes to trading in or upgrading it always turns out to be better selling what I have than going through the dealer.

We are related by blood, so I get special treatment.

Originally Posted by Rod#S

So what are you running now for speakers in all of your positions? Do you still have the 800s as your mains?

I kept the 800s. I love them. However, I currently run them off som $500 diy icepower modules. Its great for movies and somewhat musical. However, I feel there should be another level of enjoyment, and everybody I talked to said go for better amps. Classe m600 sounds like a good match. Alternatively bryston, lamm, ayre or mcintochs... Time will tell. However I have an ssp880 for pre so I guess going class/B&w all the way is a safe bet.

Originally Posted by Rod#S

For amps I'm a Bryston guy through and through. I'm using two 4B-SSTs (one C series and one not) and a 6B-SST C series. At the moment in my 5.1 configuration I'm bi-amping my 802s, I use the non C series 4B to drive the bass drivers and the C series to drive the mid/high drivers.
There is no end to the stuff we can get in this hobby. Down the road I would like to have 7B-SST Squared amps driving my 802s. I have read some owners using the 28B-SST Squared amps on their 802s but I think that's overkill not to mention the amps cost more than the speakers . If I had 800s then going with the 28B's would be a perfect match.

Bryston is in fact awfully expensive here in Denmark. I think people figure us for suckers. Sad to say.

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by skyblue

We are related by blood, so I get special treatment.



I kept the 800s. I love them. However, I currently run them off som $500 diy icepower modules. Its great for movies and somewhat musical. However, I feel there should be another level of enjoyment, and everybody I talked to said go for better amps. Classe m600 sounds like a good match. Alternatively bryston, lamm, ayre or mcintochs... Time will tell. However I have an ssp880 for pre so I guess going class/B&w all the way is a safe bet.



Bryston is in fact awfully expensive here in Denmark. I think people figure us for suckers. Sad to say.

Can't ask for better than a dealer related by blood

I'm sure you will hear a noticeable improvement across the board when you get the M600s and seeing as you all ready have the SSP800 than going with the M600s makes a lot of sense.

Bryston's are reasonably priced here in Canada, heck they better be considering the company is Canadian and the amps are in fact made in Canada Classe is also a Canadian company but I believe the equipment is now made in China (not sure if that was a side affect of being bought by B&W) however I have never actually priced any Classe equipment so I'm not sure how the street prices compare to the Brystons over here. Looking at US MSRP prices the amps of similar power to the Brystons are very close in price.

What speakers are you using for your center and surrounds?

[80B]

Originally Posted by Rod#S

So you are currently running one of the configurations I am considering. Very nice. I'm glad to hear you are pleased with the pairing of the 803D and 802D. How far behind or beside are your 803Ds from the main seating position? In that all 802 demo you heard, how far were the speakers from the listener?

Rod, my 803s are way too close to the listening position, less than 3 feet, so they're toned down and not used anywhere near to their potential. As most of my use is stereo, the idea was to have overkill in anticipation of another house with a larger listening space at some point. In the demo the setup was 25 feet (~7m) a side in a hotel meeting room, taking up about 1/4 of the total floor area roughly in the center of the room, with a fairly tall ceiling.

[skyblue]

Originally Posted by Rod#S

Can't ask for better than a dealer related by blood

I'm sure you will hear a noticeable improvement across the board when you get the M600s and seeing as you all ready have the SSP800 than going with the M600s makes a lot of sense.

Bryston's are reasonably priced here in Canada, heck they better be considering the company is Canadian and the amps are in fact made in Canada Classe is also a Canadian company but I believe the equipment is now made in China (not sure if that was a side affect of being bought by B&W) however I have never actually priced any Classe equipment so I'm not sure how the street prices compare to the Brystons over here. Looking at US MSRP prices the amps of similar power to the Brystons are very close in price.

What speakers are you using for your center and surrounds?

Dont have a center. I am actually mostly a 2 channel guy. But I have some 805s for rears. So, amps, center, new rears in that order.

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by 80B

Rod, my 803s are way too close to the listening position, less than 3 feet, so they're toned down and not used anywhere near to their potential. As most of my use is stereo, the idea was to have overkill in anticipation of another house with a larger listening space at some point. In the demo the setup was 25 feet (~7m) a side in a hotel meeting room, taking up about 1/4 of the total floor area roughly in the center of the room, with a fairly tall ceiling.

With me being an an apartment I'm in a similar situation, my Studio 100s are positioned directly beside the sofa, roughly 8" and angled toward the front rather than directly at the listener. Like you I'm not buying equipment for where I live now but for a dedicated room in a house at some point in the future.

Wow, that was a huge room for the 802s. At 25 feet apart I would think that would far exceed the recommened distance, 25 feet would seem really excessive even for 800s.

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by skyblue

Dont have a center. I am actually mostly a 2 channel guy. But I have some 805s for rears. So, amps, center, new rears in that order.

If I were a mainly 2 channel guy then like you would have definitely gone for the 800s. Do you think you'll get a 3rd 800 for the center or will you be looking to the HTM2 Diamond to fill that role? Once you get it all it will be a very fine system multi purpose system.

[skyblue]

Originally Posted by Rod#S

If I were a mainly 2 channel guy then like you would have definitely gone for the 800s. Do you think you'll get a 3rd 800 for the center or will you be looking to the HTM2 Diamond to fill that role? Once you get it all it will be a very fine system multi purpose system.

Its actually very nice already

As for a 3rd 800 vs a htm2, an 800 for center would be best. However, having that for me would require having a screen above the center speaker. My cieling simply isnt high enough So when I get a center, it will most likely be a htm2diamond. I wish I could have a dedicated room for multichannel music only, and another for movies, and another for 2 channel, however, that is not how life is.