I have owned B&W 804S speakers and I did not have a problem with highs at all. Those speakers have the best highs I have ever heard. They are there but not harsh even when played loud. The 804S's were a bit mid-rangy though. The bass was quite good. I played one of my Poison CDs which has a heck of a bass note in it and they handled it incredibly well. My preamp and amp are Adcom and my CD player is a Carver. That equipment is around 15 years old.
