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B&W 800 D4's, Room size, & general Q's

Hey all,

Not sure if this was the appropriate sub-forum, I'm pretty new to all this stuff, and would appreciate any insight you can offer. I am building a new home (almost complete), and leaning towards adding a pair of B&W 800 series D4 to my office. The room is approximately 18'x17'x10'H. Not sure if this makes a difference, but my builder has sound proofed the right side wall where I plan to place the towers in front of (see picture link), as well as the ceiling. I'm not sure what he used to sound proof, but it's behind the dry wall & some wood paneling. In the pic, the "furniture" isn't to scale or anything, just a rough estimate. Link to room pic: https://imgur.com/a/MgpHATC

My questions:
  1. For this room size, would the B&W 802 D4 be the correct choice in the 800 series lineup? Or should I go bigger (801 D4) or smaller (803 D4)?
  2. Does it matter that my towers will be off center within the room itself?
  3. Would it be a waste to spend this much on a sound system when I did not specifically design the room to be used as a hifi listening room?
  4. What electronics would you recommend to pair with the B&W's? I was leaning towards all McIntosh.

My max budget is around $100,000 all in for this sound system. B&W 802 D4's + McIntosh would get me to around $50k, and I'd be content spending only that amount. That being said, I'm open to suggestions other than B&W and/or McIntosh electronics (i.e. if there are electronics that pair better with B&W). Thanks in advance!


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iseland's avatar
iseland
133 posts
 
Why not ATC instead of Bowers and Wilkinson? 
More pleasant to my ears,  not so glossy though 😁
james633
1,023 posts
 
Great post from verdantaudio above. 
robfinegold
1 posts
 
Hey,
firstly, any room can be optimized with room treatments. The best description I have heard is that low frequency behaves like water. It will build in the corner of your room depicted and it will wash out of the door opening. Not a big deal. I have GIK brand bass traps etc but there are many good alternatives. Try the room as it is first and then make adjustments. As for B&W, I have 802d2s with JL audio fathom 212s. Speakers really depend on the type of music and the volume level. Beware a lot of people say things who have never actually owned a pair. With a properly integrated sub you have many choices. The plus side of brands like B&W and Mac is that they are easily re-sellable down the road. The negatives are largely subjective. I don’t personally care for the aesthetics of Macs but they have a wide variety of products so you should be able to find one that’s right for you. It sounds however like you are new to this stuff and are basing decisions based on reputation- not a sin by any means. If that is your case I would consider buying clean second hand and sticking to well known brands. If your tastes change then you can resell (many resellers want clean name brand trade ins) and the hobby is the adventure it should be. Last thing, don’t believe all the reviews etc and constantly trade up. Buy decent quality and listen to music, that’s really why we are here right?
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
I listed the three places to try in DC/Virginia in my post above.

If you're nearer Richmond, make an appt. at Audio Exchange.

Crutchfield in Charlottesville is hopeless for serious auditioning of speakers.

If you're near Roanoke/Salem, you could try Uptown Audio.

Just please listen to some brands other than B&W.
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