Dynaudio 5s are too good for most listeners......they need lots of clean power and big damping from the amp...I run Belles 350a amps........ I have owned many systems and for perfect tonal pitch.......these do it.
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Sorry, I got alittle mixed up there at the end. I realize you hadn't heard the 10t but had the 802s. |
I owned a pair of 10Ts for about 8 mos. in 1997. I don't know if they have changed since then. I liked the bass, but found the speaker someshat closed in and veiled like there was too much crossover or wire in the speaker. I also had a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.8 Mk. IIs which I ended up preferring because they simply sounded more open and alive sounding. I was driving them with Bryston 7BSTs. Perhaps the amp was not right, but the Dynaudios sounded good with them. Of course the Dynaudios have their problems which led me to keep looking. I tried the Gallo Solo which was wonderfully transparent but tonally thin to my ears in the upper bass and lower midrange and then the Merlin VSM SE all the while thinking I needed to stay with a 2-way design to achieve the clarity and liveness I wanted. I played with subwoofers for the bass. The Merlin just is ment to be driven with tubes if the tonal balance is to be right and I didn't want to have a tube amp. I tried many amps, wires, cables and tweeks but ended up selling the Merlins. At the time I had a Joule Vamp amp and a Clayton S-40 amp. The Merlins sounded best with the Joule. I have a Joule LA 100 Mk,III preamp. This was the first of this year and my tech funds were doing well so I thought I would throw some money at my speaker situation. I was interested in the Vandersteen 5 speakers and the B&W 802s. I took a trip to Atlanta to hear the Vandys and was quite impressed with the clarity and particularly the bass. The best bass I have ever heard. I felt there was a sterility to the sound however which of course may not have had anything to do with the speakers, but the demo did not overwhelm me. I then went to a B&W dealer to listen to the 802s if I could. He had to rearrange things a bit and did rather a sloppy job setting them up but from the first thing I listened to I was blown away by the tonal beauty. Instruments sounded just right. I love big band music and Basie and Kenton reed sections were extremely convincing. Granted they were set up with Krell 250Ms and Krell CD player, but that was the sound I wanted. I came back home and went to my local B&W dealer who didn't have a pair of 802s to listen to, but did have 803s which I took home to try. I really liked them and almost bought them but in the end couldn't resist the 802s particularly when I found out that the tweeter and midrange drivers are not the same in the 803s and 802s. The 801s and 802s share the same drivers. I was sceptical that the 802s would sound better, but they didn't disappoint. I am thrilled with them. They Have the clarity and liveness of two ways with enormous loudness capability. I did not think the bass was lacking at all but since I had a REL StadiumII sub woofer I was using with the Merlins I put it in and found more and better bass. The REL is an amazing product.I didn't like the 802s with the Joule amp but I did with the Clayton although not nearly enough power. I tried the Plinius 100 Mk.III and that had great bass, but was really boring--just no life to the sound. I tried the new McCormak 225 which was good and very good in a vertical bi-amp configuration, but just didn't have the life and tonal verity of the Clayton. So I traded the Plinius and Clayton s-40 for a pair of Clayton M-100 monos. This is the best so far and where I am now wwith Analysis Plus silver speaker wire. I still know I am not getting everything the speaker is capable of. Maybe if the market comes back I will get into even more serious amplification. Sorry to bore you but high end audio is tricky and quite complex. Probably if you hear the two speakers you will immediately know which you prefer. Let me assure you that the 802 is a great speaker and you should hear it before you buy a 10T. |
I had a terrible experience auditioning the Aerial 10t. May be the setup was not optimized, but the sound stage was muddy and unfocus. They were powered by Bryston mono blocks and Theta Digital front end. The N802 powered by Krell equipment, in my opinion, was a little better, however they still did not sound right. I ended up buying the Dynaudio Confidence 5 after auditioning more speakers including Hales, Thiel, and Wilson Audio (Too expensive)... Before buying your speakers, I recommend you audition the Dynaudio Confidence 5. Dynaudio dealers don't usually have the Confidence 5 in store for demo, but Dynaudio is more than willing to send a pair to a local dealer for you to audition. With a little more money (With the right deal), you can get a much better speakers in the Dynaudio C5. |
Since I'm an Aerial speaker lover, I've got to chime in. The 10Ts, which I have, are a different animal than B&Ws. I do not like the 801 with any electronics, including Levinson. I've got all Krell amps running my SS system, and I got the 10Ts because I listen to music about 80% of the time. George, the reason that 10Ts are associated with SS is because Aerial makes outstanding speakers for the setup, and the 10T is awesome for stereo. All who say that you need outstanding electronics, and I might add cables, with the 10Ts is because they are such a good transducer. When you look at the size of the bass cabinet, one shouldn't be surprised that the speaker loves a lot of juice. I find the speaker to offer everything I need for the music that I enjoy. But I will always say to go listen to speakers and find what you personally will enjoy. Ideally listen to them at home. I brought home the Aerial 5s, and was extremely pleased. So it wasn't hard for me to imagine how outstanding the somewhat heavier (heh heh) 10Ts would sound at home. |
Aeriels by far. I think that you should also consider Meadowlarks. The new Heron i is great, I understand that the Blue Heron will be in the same price range as the Ariels, and if it is better than the Heron i, will be pure heaven. I have owned both Ariels and Meadowlark and the Meadowlarks just have an ease and naturalness about them that make them stand out. While I liked the Aeriels, they just seemed to make make my amp work to drive them, even when I biamped two Classe 151s, at 500 watts each. The Herons just do everything well. |
Thanks a lot to all who responded. Anyone also has experience with KEF reference Model 4? Shenzhi |
0I am neither an 802 or 10T owner although I have auditioned both speakers. To me, the two speakers sound incredibly different, so, based on your personal taste, I don't think you should have any trouble choosing between the two. I auditioned the 802's with BAT electronics (VK-50 and VK-500). I found them to be bright (typical B&W sound, to me) with a moderately overemphasized midbass and not a lot of bass extension. Also, in this audition, I found them to be kind of lifeless, which may be the fault of the setup rather than the actual fault of the speakers themselves. The 10T was auditioned at a different store, different day. The 10T had better bass extension, no midbass bloat, excellent treble, but had a range of upper midrange brightness that, to my ears, bordered on harshness or stridency. This speaker was auditioned with McCormack DNA 1 and Aragon 8008BB amplifiers. No preamps were used. I didn't end up buying either speaker, and based on my own personal criteria, would not recommend either. I did prefer the Aerial over the B&W. I think you wil be making a mistake to rely on other's opinions since speaker evaluation, more than any audio evaluation, is an extremely subjective exercise. Different rooms, different electronics and cables, even the music which you bring all play huge factors in how any speaker sounds to any individual. Go listen for yourself. But in my opinion, these speakers sound as different as night and day (even the Aerial 7's and the B&W 802's are radically different), so you really should be able to find one which you like better very quickly between those two. |
I came down to the 802s and the 10ts for a system. I chose the 10ts because they had great sound at all volume levels. Thew 802s needed higher volumes to sound alive. I can listen all day to the 10ts. |
As a 10t owner, I can tell ya, these need a quality frontend to show their stuff. 10t has no sonics of it's own, it's a mirror of the source. I've owned mine a year, and have completely replace my entire frontend in that time. Pure magic now! System: BAT VK50SE preamp, BAT VKD5 tube CD, Sony SCD777ES SACD, Pair of Levinson 33H, 10t's. I do not regret a penny of what I spent. Awesome! |
Yup,one of those 10 tees owners on a rant.I have KKnow idea why so many folks think 8's; when they cost less than 10's new; but seem to be worth more used/or about the same.Listen to the 10's if you can; and the B&W's.Then you'll be closer to the orchid. These speakers NEED good ancillary eqpt.If your equipt. ain't good enough now;when you do upgrade they will sound better and better as in they won't be the limiting factor.I've read a few who say they don't immage or dissapear well.Few do until they are in the right room/and set up well. As I have upgraded to better stuff/the soundstage gets deeper/and beyond the speaker boundrys (sides) I'm also not quite sure why most people think 10T's and HT at the same time.Well they are a 2 channel speak.1st/then bodacious SS next. Sorry if this sounds like a paid disclaimer--?? |
I have had the B&W 802's in my home for audition, but I prefer the sound of Aerial. I purchased the 10t for my audio only system 5 years ago and could not be more happy. For my second system used for home theatre and music I went with the Aerial 7 with a single 5 for the center. I don't think you can go wrong with Aerial and it's a great company to deal with. However, either would be a good choice and only your ears will know for sure. |
Like to add to my previous comments. Its not that the 802 sounded bad, but was lacking on the bottom end. The 802 is a better looking speaker in my opinion and might sound better with proper subs than without. The amps and pre that were used were the Pass X350 and Pre and Various Classe and Theta equip. The 801 were auditioned with a Krell FPB 300 and HT Standard, did not like the FPB300 and 801 at all. The Krell HT Standard and Krell 5ch amp had a good sound. Your better off in spending the time and travel and listen for yourself. We all have different taste, after all we are only human and this stuff is not cheap ---------> happy hunting |
When i purchased my 10Ts i listened to the 801 in a different showroom and the 802 side by side with the 10T. I preferred the 10t over both the 801 and 802.To me the B+W's are not very good sounding. My dealer sold all his 10t's and the 802's were still standing in the showroom months later. JMHO |
