I own the 8B's, I previously had the 8, they tightened up the bass and midrange 8b's, the original 8 could be a little sloppy on base,the 8b's are my favorite aerial speaker , I actually sold a pair of 10's just to buy the 8B's, IMO, the 8B's give you the best of both ht and music,they are very dynamic in ht, but very sweet and smooth on music, but you must have a good amp to bring out their best, I am using krell amps, good luck