Upgrading to B&W 802D for L/R speakers

[Gremal]

Well, everything is set. The freight company delivers them today between noon and 4:00 PST. On Monday the buyers of my Nautilus 802 came and took the pair. I managed to survive for two whole days without them for the first time in 8 yrs.

Tonight I'll be breaking in the 802Ds with some SACDs and then Pirates of the Carribean which I just got on Monday. Wooooohooooooo!!!!!

[Blindamood]

Congrats! I'm a B&W fan too, but I've got the monitors (805S, HTM4S, and SCMS) plus an ASW 850 sub. Won't be upgrading anytime soon...

[Filterlab]

Originally Posted by Gremal

Well, everything is set. The freight company delivers them today between noon and 4:00 PST. On Monday the buyers of my Nautilus 802 came and took the pair. I managed to survive for two whole days without them for the first time in 8 yrs.

Tonight I'll be breaking in the 802Ds with some SACDs and then Pirates of the Carribean which I just got on Monday. Wooooohooooooo!!!!!

Cool beans mate! When you've got them all run in I'd like to hear your personal review. Even I'm excited!

[Gremal]

First thing I noticed was more bass slam/extension. It will be impressive for HT/movies, but I wasn't all that pleased in terms of music reproduction because at first I was not hearing definition in the bass. But then I put on the Mingus Ah Um SACD and the definition was there in spades.

The changes to the treble/midrange are even more dramatic and more difficult to explain. There is a new kind of linearity that seems to open up a window on a range of details I was not hearing before. The horns and voices on Ah Um made me think the new diamond tweeter/midrange advances could be described as a paradigm shift.

The imaging is very strong, and very similar to the N802. It may be a little more effortless with the 802D...hard to say. I need to do a lot more listening. That's the fun part.

These are demo models by the way, so they already have a couple hundred hours on them.

[Helicon]

Hi Gremal!

Nice choice with the 802D, I just purchased the 803D, my girlfriend wouldn't allow me to buy 802D, she thinks it's ugly, well women don't know speakers

I work at a Hi-fi sotre which sells B&W, HTM1D will be the perfect choice for you but the HTM2D could do. The HTM1D will is bigger than your front speakers. It's insanely big

It's okay to use your "old" 805 og SCMS as rear speakers, the new editions does represent some upgrades, but they don't feature the Diamond tweeter.

I think the Diamond tweeter is then main feature of the new series, it can play open with a lot details, without getting harsh like the metal models. Also the rohacell bass-drivers are more controlled and punchy, and not as muddy as the earlier models.

[Gremal]

Originally Posted by Helicon

Nice choice with the 802D, I just purchased the 803D, my girlfriend wouldn't allow me to buy 802D, she thinks it's ugly, well women don't know speakers

Congrats on your 803D...I'm loving these 802D.

I work at a Hi-fi sotre which sells B&W, HTM1D will be the perfect choice for you but the HTM2D could do. The HTM1D will is bigger than your front speakers. It's insanely big

Yes, it would have to go on the floor. The reason I'm so interested in the HTM1D is of course the marlin head that matches the 802D

It's okay to use your "old" 805 og SCMS as rear speakers, the new editions does represent some upgrades, but they don't feature the Diamond tweeter.

Yes, although the rohacell makes such a difference I'm finding. The entire attack and slam of the bass performance is much different and the impact is really good for home theater. So much so that I decided to upgrade my ASW800 sub to the ASW825. After listening to the Rohacell's advantages over the paper cones of the previous speakers, I feel I need that in my sub.

I think the Diamond tweeter is then main feature of the new series, it can play open with a lot details, without getting harsh like the metal models. Also the rohacell bass-drivers are more controlled and punchy, and not as muddy as the earlier models.

The differences are really amazing! B&W hit a home run with these. My buddy was over here for a few hours yesterday and he said that soon I will not understand how I lived with the N802...considering how much I loved those speakers, that really says something.