+1 @Ihasaguy — The market is the final arbiter of what “overpriced” is. While I think $9000 is steep for the 804D3, many are being sold so who the hell cares what I think? And, despite not being a huge fan, I doubt B&W is jacking up the price unreasonably and probably charging what they need to make a fair profit given their development costs, parts, labor, overhead, etc.
But I will say that I much prefer the new Continuum drivers over the old yellow drivers, which I did not like at all, and I also think the Diamond tweet is their best ever as well. That said, I still find B&Ws to be speakers I can respect but not love. To me, they play the notes but don’t involve me in the music as much as others. At every price point I’d easily take Joseph Audio, Vandersteen, ProAc, Silverline, or Nola (just to name a few) over B&W in a heartbeat. To me, they all do everything as well or better but also convey the soul and emotion of the music that I just don’t get from B&Ws. But that’s me, and there’s still a lot to like about B&Ws — especially their latest models — and I can certainly understand why they have the number of fans they do. So are B&Ws overpriced? I’d say no. But hey, it’s speakers, and it’s personal, so value can be somewhat fungible IMHO and the market will be the ultimate judge.
But I will say that I much prefer the new Continuum drivers over the old yellow drivers, which I did not like at all, and I also think the Diamond tweet is their best ever as well. That said, I still find B&Ws to be speakers I can respect but not love. To me, they play the notes but don’t involve me in the music as much as others. At every price point I’d easily take Joseph Audio, Vandersteen, ProAc, Silverline, or Nola (just to name a few) over B&W in a heartbeat. To me, they all do everything as well or better but also convey the soul and emotion of the music that I just don’t get from B&Ws. But that’s me, and there’s still a lot to like about B&Ws — especially their latest models — and I can certainly understand why they have the number of fans they do. So are B&Ws overpriced? I’d say no. But hey, it’s speakers, and it’s personal, so value can be somewhat fungible IMHO and the market will be the ultimate judge.