B&W 800D or 802D Cosmetic Issues


Hello folks,

I am seeking feedback from 800D or 802D owners only. I have recently order a pair of 800D2 from my dealer. The pair arrived 2 weeks later and delivered to my home. Upon close inspection, I notice finish imperfections on one of the speaker's Marlan head and tweeter tube. There are several deep scratches embedded in the finish that are visible in day light or with the flash light. If you stand couple of feet away, you cannot spot these imperfections. The other speaker is perfect with no sign of scratches...the finish is smooth and inky glossy black.

The dealer sent over the field inspector to address the issue. The inspector notice the imperfections and gave the following explanation -

"800D are hand made, no two speaker will have the same finish and you may find these minor imperfections on another pair as well". He went on to say, that I am being 'picky' and no one really inspect these speakers with a flash light.

I feel bit disappointed with the craftsmanship and still in disbelief that these speaker passed the Q.C. test at B&W facility and no one noticed these imperfections.

I do realize that over time piano black finish tend to generate surface scratches....sort of nature of the beast. I can understand the disparity in wood grain finishes but these Marlan heads and tweeter are being painted and applied several coates of lacquer, shouldnt they be identical and spotless?

I wonder if anyone out there experienced these issues with the finish. For what I have seen at dealer showroom and another pair at local shop, a brand new pair shouldn't have these cosmetic issues. After all you're buying a flagship pair at a 24K price point.
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Zd, great post. Like you said, you can't under estimate the importance of a 'sound' dealer.

I have asked my dealer to replace the Marlan head and tweeter tube on the 2nd pair in his warehouse. And made it very clear that after this replacement, if the pair doesn't look 'new' he should be prepared to issue us a refund. Guess what, I have not heard back from my dealer since and it's been 5 days.

Clearly, he doesn't want to refund the money. I think he is in same predicament as I am, he is not 100% confident that the speaker will look as new after the replacement.

I feel that speakers were B-stock's and he received a pretty good 'kick' from B&W to move these speakers. Like you said, he gambled with these speakers thinking that buyer won't inspect the speakers with fine tooth and comb.

I look back at this transaction and couple of things bothers me now, my dealer knew that the newer D3 series will be out in couple of month, cause he admitted to me that B&W ceased production of D2 series around June. He could have told me that you may wanna wait for the newer series or the 800D's in B&W distribution center may have some cosmetic issues due to being the last batch.

He also told me that these speakers were special order for me. And I said, if you don't stock any high $$ merchandise and order once customer pays you then it shouldn't be considered as 'special' order. I inquired for 802 and 800 along with Classe M600 with this dealer for about 6 months and they never seem to have any of these items in stock for a walk-in customer.

As a consumer, it shouldn't be my problem what my dealer needs to pull to get me a factory fresh mint pair of 800D's. I walked into dealership thinking I am buying a brand new pair and that's what I should get for my money.
I had purchased a pair of 802d's a few years ago. They were considered B stock because they were taken out of sealed cartons and used as a show pair. Other than that, they were virtually perfect cosmetic wise. The cartons had small B-stock stickers all over the cartons. Like over a dozen of them. Due to my limited funds, this was my way of getting them at a discount. The Marlan heads were blemish free and perfect, as they should be from the dealer unless stated otherwise before purchase.
Just saw this thread.  I own 800D2's purchased used on Audiogon years ago.  The speakers have been a joy to own, sonically, and came without any blemishes on their piano black finish.  In a recent Stereophile article this summer, detailing a trip to the B and W factory, Kal Rubinson noted the high level of rejected assemblies in the factory, with defects so subtle that he couldn't spot them, aside from a circle placed in that area by the inspector in the plant.  So unless this is a new procedure,  I'd think something is truly amiss with this unfortunate purchase.  Did you think of calling B&W in the UK to at least let them know how difficult this purchase experience has been for you? I'd bet they'd try to offer some help. Hope all is resolved by now. 

Long story short, the dealer end up replacing the Marlan head and tweeter tube on one of the speaker.  The whole experience kinda left a bad taste and took away the joy of buying a 'new' pair.