B&W 705 Signature Feedback ?


Looking for some feedback from any 705 Sig owners out there. From your experience with these speakers, are they more suitable for smaller listening areas  In this case, 10 x 12.5 room or approx 125sq ft with 8.5ft celing height. Would for example the 805 D4 be overkill in this outlined scenario?. There is of course quite a saving to be made with the 705 Sig over the 805 D4. Normal operating levels for the speakers and amp , which likely will be a Rotel SA 6000, would be in the low to moderate range. Nothing ever above 4 - 4.5 on a scale of 10. So as you can see it is sound quality over volume levels being the most important factor of all. 

Last of all, has anyone any direct experience with the B&W and Rotel amp pairing & how does Rotel handle the well known brightness tendency of the speakers. In the case of the 705 Sig much has improved in that regard , so choosing an amp to continue that trend is vitally important. 

chaseton

I have a Rotel RA1570 running a pair of B&W 805S’s in my den system and the synergy is pretty good. I have also ran my Rotel with my B&W 705 S2 and found the sound to be just a tad bright but still very detailed and full sounding. I’m sure the 705 signature are going to be excellent! I personally like Bowers stand mount speakers, especially if they are powered by an amp with a good bit of power as the two ways can be power hungry, at least in my experience. 

I worked for Magnolia and am very familiar with both speakers. If I were you I’d highly recommend going to listen to similarly priced models from Joseph Audio, ProAc, or Usher if you can. Pairing the 805s with that amp is a mismatch in quality and you won’t get the most out of them. Personally, I’d take the new LSA Signature 80 sold direct through Underwood Hifi over the 705 Sigs and save $2000 and they’re more attractive IMHO, but that’s me (read review on Tone Audio for more info). Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck.

Don't concern yourself with the room size. I would also suggest listening to other speakers as I think the N805 is a more natural sounding speaker than D4. Best of luck. 

All great and well received points above. In my case, been looking to upgrade my 16 years old LSA1 bookshelf speakers , which have been superb it must be said over the years. On doing some basic research  rounds in various Youtube channels, in addition to reading online reviews from owers and pro reviewers alike, some speakers in particular have taken the lead. I began with a shortlist of Joseph Audio Pulsar (far too many on the secondary market does beg some qsts), Dali Opticon (overrrated/overpriced overall), Marten Duke 2 ( discontinued , better than the Oscar , still a contender), TAD ME1 ( kind of pricey , really cool , overall value in question), Wharfedale Elysian 1 (  quite a decent offering , soild sound delivery, careful about color choice ), ........Now for B&W, not even on my radar to begin with , all hype and no substance ?.....I was wrong , as on numerous tests , the 805 D4 in particular was on another level to the rest re: clarity , transparency , dynamics and presentation of vocals are the best I have heard in bookshelf speakers. Then by pure chance , one day I sat and listened to their sibling the 705 signature. Had to do a doubletake and check the price again , it was half the price of the 805 D4 with sound that was incredibly impressive for a speaker of it's size. Everything seelms to be there , just be careful when matching the amp to this speaker , as many have said here and elsewhere. Just yesterday , got feedback from 705 Signature owner and B&W fan for many years , advising to stay away from Rotel ???.......In his words , not the match made in Heaven both companies claim. . Instead , Accuphase, Cambridge Audio Edge A, Musical Fidelity, Luxman or Macintosh would be recommended, The Cambridge Audio Edge A and 705 Signature was in fact part of a review in one of the online audio rags, receiving quite some praise along the way. This may very well be the path to take . The QPR on the 705 Signature is quite amazing. 

 

I got to hear the 805 D3 vs. the Pulsar in my system and the Pulsar just did everything better. The 805s did a great job with detail and transparency and in producing very good sound, but the Pulsar equaled it in detail/transparency and far surpassed it in 3D imaging/soundstage, tonality, dynamics, disappearing act, bass depth and definition, and producing the experience of listening to a musical performance as opposed to just very good sound. That’s the best I can describe it FWIW. As far as Pulsars showing up on the used market, I wouldn’t take that too seriously as many sell them to move up to Perspectives or to go in a completely different direction. I don’t think I’ve ever read a negative word about Pulsars, which I can’t say about many speakers, and I think that says a lot more than the used market. Anyway, just some actual personal experience in case it might be helpful.  And I agree with staying away from Rotel. Both of these speakers deserve quality more along the lines of Ayre, Hegel, Parasound, Pass, Luxman, etc. to get the most out of them.

Marten Duke 2 is very revealing and requires proper amp matching. I’m not sure if the Rotel will match well. If there’s brightness or glare in the treble with the amp, the speaker will reveal it. Other speakers may not reveal the character and this may be useful for the owner as the undesirable aspects are all swept under the carpet.

The Pulsar 2 in particular is so well crafted with excellent build quality. SQ is so mellow and composed & can handle most any genre of source material without causing a fuss.

Marten Duke 2 has a glorious midrange and correctly needs proper amp selection to attain an integrated full range sound. From my listening tests, Luxman and Macintosh seem to pair well with the Duke 2. 

Already striking the Rotel amp combo with most any choice of speaker going forward. As overall SQ and not to mention build quality ( take a look at those side panels , enough said ) are quite mediocre. 

Would it be too far off the mark to suggest (after some testing and comparisons) the Usher Dancer Mini X is in ways a Taiwanese take on the venerable Joseph Audio Pulsar bookshelf speakers?. Not just the exterior design but sound signature has some definite similarities.

No, because it doesn’t employ JA’s Infinite Slope patented crossover that is so instrumental to their sound. That said, Usher pretty much matches JA speakers IME (albeit via different means) and offers extremely high value, look great, and they even manufacture their own drivers! JA, Usher, Vandy, Verity, and ProAc are among my favorite reasonably-priced speakers as they are all excellent and share similar performance strengths. Personally I’d be thrilled with any of them, and I don’t think you could possibly go wrong with the Mini X especially if you get the DMD tweeter.  Just my $0.02 FWIW.