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Alternatives to B&W 805 D4

Hello,

I’m planning to buy a pair of bookshelf speakers that I hope will last for the rest of my life. I’ll turn 50 next year, so it’s not too far fetched!

I’m thinking about the B&W 805 D4 because I'm familiar with this brand, but in this price range, there are certainly good alternatives. The ones I have in mind are the Totem Element Fire V2 and Focal Sopra No1.

My goal here if there is to use the collective mind to learn if there are other makes/models worth considering. Once I’ll have a shortlist, I’ll find places where I can try them to make a final choice because, in the end, we all know the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I’m using B&W V203/DS3 for decades with integrated amp Arcam Alpha 5 that I recently upgraded with second-hand McIntosh C712 + MC7100. The source is Sonos Connect.

I’m in Montreal, Québec - it could change the availability of some brands.

Thanks for your input.

Papyneau
papyneau

Showing 1 response by bigjonca

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bigjonca
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Papyneau, 

 

As a fellow Luxman owner (L-595ASE), I can tell you the Esoteric N-05XD is an excellent match. I had the L-507uxII (Class AB), the little brother to your 509X, and the Esoteric was a fantastic streaming DAC. Your Bluesound Node is the limiting factor and you'll be amazed at the difference an Aurender or Lumin unit can make. Or, for a better solution for your Mac gear could be the MB20, which outputs Bluetooth at 96KHz instead of the normal 44.1. You'll notice a difference compared to the Bluesound b/c the signal is upconverted early in the signal path. I had the McIntosh MB20 unit paired with the Chord M Scaler with good results, but even that paled compared to the Esoteric N-05XD. Good luck. 

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