Are you planning to replace 804D3s? If yes, can you share what are the areas of improvement you’re seeking? What music genres do you typically listen to? Also, room size? Also, are there any speakers in this price range that you've had a chance to audition?
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Thank you all, good questions. I will keep the 804s and pair them with my McIntosh MA252 in my living room. We have a dedicated listening room that 13’x23’. We listening anything but rap and country. I don’t find the 804s unpleasant. Just wanting more - maybe detail, punch, bass. I have a LP12, so we listen to vinyl as well. Eventually I want to pair a McIntosh 462 amp with my C22 pre amp. Just thought I would get some feedback from a great resource of audio enthusiasts. I live in Seattle, we have a lot of the big brand names. Not sure who even carries Vandersteen anymore. |
Nice speakers. Based upon the overalls of the amp I would get that moving out of my possession ASAP. I just don’t feel maintenance on an amp is replacing the caps every 8yrs or so. Reselling the B&W’s and adding $8k will get you both a newer more reliable amp and a set of speakers noted above. A small amp like the 252 will run out of oomph really fast with the B&W's |
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+1 @jasonbourne71 Revel Salon 2's while you can find them. Used should be about 9K. We agree this time! :) |
Yamaha NS-5000PNST 3-Way Bookshelf Speakers with Stands | Hi-Fi Heaven (hifiheaven.net) $9,599.00 Need room for the "bookshelf" speakers to breath. They are big.
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For detail and punch, Monitor Audio Gold 300s might fit the bill or a set of used Monitor Audio Platinum 300s could be worth considering. I think they will have the speed and detail of your current B&Ws but just on the right side of the warmth vs harshness balance to my ears.. Speak with John who is the owner of The Audio Connection which is just north of the U-District. He can sound opinionated, but with respect to sound quality, his opinions are generally right on the mark. |
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Sonus Faber used. Klipsch new or used Revel (new/used a lot of bang for your bucks. More than your budget but..wow Wilson's
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Why does everyone tell everybody else to buy what they own? B&W 804D3 will have plenty of detail, more than most in fact. Try moving the speakers around a bit, toe in, closer to boundary's while aiming them at listening position, you know the drill. I love my Mac gear and it's much better in all areas compared to previous components, but maybe you need to try something different just for reference? I often get the bug to change speakers just for the sake of change, but I usually end up missing the specific attributes of the brand I'm most used to. That said, If you have the room to park a pair of speakers 3' or more from ANY reflecting surfaces the Paradigm Persona line will AMAZE!!! I sold my pair of 7f after a year or so because that's what I do, however I auditioned them over a year before buying(dealer is a patient man)and can say with confidence they have a very high ceiling. They have bass for days and don't need subs. I can't think of any other speaker a B&W 800 series owner would consider competition. 3f should be a drop in replacement for the 804. |
Honestly just speaking from experience. I have owned three pairs of N802s and a pair of N803s. I still have the one pair of N802s. To me, this was the heyday for B and W speakers. The Revel Salon 2's are, to me smoother and sweeter sounding than any of the 802s, play deep and large in a big room, and never make me cringe. I can not say that about the Persona or recent D series of Bowers and Wilkins, and I have demoed both several times. Just my opinions. |
Here’s a pair of Joseph Audio Perspective 2s near your price point (they do have some minor damage that is what brings them to your price level). I got to hear the smaller Pulsars and your 804 D3s in the same system and hands down thought the Pulsars were better all around. Amazingly bass was comparable and the Pulsars were the equal on detail but sounded more natural, musical, disappeared and imaged better, and threw a bigger and more expansive 3D soundstage. The Pulsars were just more effortlessly enjoyable and believable overall whereas the D3s called attention to themselves while showing their relative limitations. It’s not that the D3s were bad — in fact I liked them more than any previous iteration of the 804s, but the Pulsars were just flat-out better overall. No contest in my book, and obviously these Perspectives would give you even more in terms of bass impact/depth and overall dynamics than the Pulsars and the D3s. Just another option, and best of luck. |
Of course @jnovak ! But some are not so good at picking girlfriends! :) |
What type "punch" are you looking for? Chest hitting bass, bass that you feel on your bottom while sitting on the couch, or quick and taut bass. I'm learning more "punch" means different to some. If it's the first 2 I described you are looking for, getting a sub would be the place to upgrade to. If you are looking to get another pair of speaekrs, I'd recommend NSMT. I'm a big fan of this line lately. I'm really liking my NSMT 100's. They have active bandpass so I have the "punch" (quick/taut/solid) bass I'm looking for. I've just moved to them from using Magnepan 1.6's for 18yrs and couldn't be happier. If you can strecth the budget, I'd recommend the Clairvoyant's with 15EXP or System One.
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fastfreightour OP didn't ask for smooth and sweet, he asked for detail and slam. I understand ASR recommends revel speakers for everything and if someone doesn't prefer them they need to train themselves to listen correctly until they do prefer Revel. that song has been playing awhile now. |
You describe "wanting more - maybe detail, punch, bass." Have you considered keeping the B&W's and look into getting a quality subwoofer? You could buy a Rel No. 31 or 32, or a Martin Logan Balanced Force 212 with that budget. |
Opinions are like..... For my money, I'd ditch Macintosh because AFAIK all their gear is "warm" lacking detail. I'd go open baffle, Caladan, and if you want to better them, PureAudioProject, or the like. Caladans sound pretty bad for the first 300 hours or so, the capacitors are the biggest issue, but the bass drivers definitely improve as well, but they are punishingly bright at first, though perhaps not with a Mac preamp??? |
I still have a pair of the original 804's purchased back at the end of 2002. They still sound quite good, and they are now a part of my Son's system. Like all 3-way loudspeakers, they require optimal placement. With the refinements in the D4 model, they should be fantastic. In my setup, I never required much toe-in. You may have to experiment with moving them away from the back and side walls. I have moved on to a smaller home and a 2-way stand mount loudspeaker from Wilson Benesch. They are matched the W-B Torus system. Don't give up on the 804 D4's. I might suggest a different tube preamplifier. Have a look at the Quicksilver Audio Line Stage offering: https://quicksilveraudio.com/products/line-stage-preamp/ Happy listening |
Get the Mofi Sourcepoint 888... Erin’s Audio Corner - Mofi 888 Review When you realize what the tonally imbalanced, mid starved, fake detail B&W robbed from you all these years, sell it to a member of some B&W admirers club and get some money back. |
believe it or not your speakers will be hard to beat in your budget. maybe add subwoofers like RELT9x which pair nicely. your b&ws sound better than most speakers under 10k. something new will sound different but not better. try aiming your speakers straight out from the wall, about 3 feet from the wall and wider apart than the distance from your chair. |
