B&W 801D or 802Ds

I would think your room size would be a major factor; I sold earlier generations of 801s and they like a large room.

The 801Ds, as i recall, are even tougher to drive. So if 802D has tighter bass, you might need to go back and consider which amp was driving the 801s. And of course, you need to ensure that at home, you have such power (both current and wattage).

Assuming you do, my recollection is i preferred the 801s...but not like i could not be happy with 802s in the right system. The right system here will do better than the wrong system with the "better" speaker. Two good speakers there, so enjoy! good luck and pls keep us posted.

The 801D sound much better than the 802D. One woofer is better than two. The sound is more coherent. One of my good customers upgraded to the 801D from the 802D and it is a dramatic upgrade. The 802D was overly warm and the bass is muddy by comparison to the 801D. That two woofer thing in per channel does not work so well. I have also experienced this with other speakers like the Usher BE 10 with one woofer sounds better than the BE20 with 2 woofers, and also with the Avalon Acoustics, they do not even know it but their best & most realistic sound is the Eidolon Diamonds, All the others with multiple woofers do not sound as good as the Eidolon Diamonds.

Hmm...sounds like the 801Ds are the better choice. I agree that they're harder to drive, and that would require more power than what I've got on hand (300W into 8 Ohms, 500 into 4 Ohms) I'll either go with Bryston, Pass Labs, or something else altogether. But, that shouldn't be a problem, really. As far as the 800Ds, I entertained them, but they're too pricey for me new. Anyone know if there's any old stock of the 801Ds floating around?

Oh and my room isn't too big. 16'x14'

"That two woofer thing in per channel does not work so well" is one of those sweeping statments that is almost always wrong. My Gamut L5s have two, my friends Sasha have two, my Mini Utopias had two etc. Sure, two can sound bad; one can sound bad. All the D'Apaleto [ can't spell it] designs have two woofers; are they ALL bad?

Dave72

regarding s/hand 801s, talk to Jack Tozzi at Spearit Sound. They are some of the best audio dealers i have ever done business with...for 10+ years. Please send him my regards. Based in Massachusetts.

Lloyd Lee

In my opinion, the 801D is too much speaker for your room. The 802D is probably too much for the room as well.

The 801Ds are the ultimate beast of B&W. I havent heard properly the new series but i bet the new 800Di couldnt be pair especially when we are talking about naturality and bass. The 801 speakers are far the most natural sounding B&W ever produced, not just 801D their predecessors also. If you have the oportunity to pick the 801D over 802D go ahead. But the only problem is your room, you have just a bit more than 20sqm which is unnaceptable for them, and you will face many bass problems. I own them and I am building an exclusive 40sqm room for them. Don´t forget the amps, they will sound brilliant with a big Krell like the EVO 600 monoblocks (wich I already own).

Good luck

PS: THe 802D are just ok for your space.

16 x 14 foot room?

Look for a nice pair of monitors or some small floorstanders.

Dave,

I happened to speak with Jack Tozzi at Spearit Sound and asked for you. They have a pair of Signature 800 speakers s/hand for quite a good price. Feel free to call and ask for Jack Tozzi.

Sorry, Lloydelee21, but "quite a good price" doesn't matter when it's not the right speaker for the room. That speaker is just too much for his room.

i hear you EVerest. i thought i would suggest it in case he was focused on getting big speakers no matter what. in my own case, for the right price, i would do it...so i get the speaker i want. since i still rent, i know i could always move and find a bigger room within a year or 2...but in a 1 i might not necessarily get that rare opportunity to get the speaker i want at great s/hand price. for example, Jack did say the last time they sold a s/hand pair of 801Ds was over 4-5 years ago, and they are a pretty big seller of audio.

My current speakers (JBL L890s) work fine in my room. They have 2 8 inch woofers per side. I can see the 801Ds not working, but I don't see why the 802Ds wouldn't work. No way am I getting small speakers. Sorry about that.

I respect your convictions! Enjoy.

I would listen to the competition....I had B&W's and sold them.

The cabinet width of the 801 in that size room would be a problem both sonically and visually in my opinion. I have a similar size room 15 X 14 and the 802's are just right.

Good point. Perhaps I should lean towards the 802Ds.

the 80Ds can be very, very good w the right upstream components; not so much if the system has any tendency toward brightness or distortion in the upper frequencies.

In my opinion the 804 diamonds are superior to the older 802D( which I owned). I now have the 800 diamond which is in an entirely different legue(imo).

Cool, thanks for the info. Congrats on the 800 Diamonds. That's one Hell of a speaker.

I think the 802D's are very good speakers. I have a pair in a listening room of 12'X 15 ft.with vaulted ceiling. It is fully carpeted with drapes on two of the four walls. along with some overstuffed furniture. My point is controlling the acoustics of the room go along way with the way these speakers sound. I also chose my upstream components and cables carefully to achieve what I think is some good sound from them. And don't forget speaker placement. A quarter of an inch toe-in makes a big difference with the imaging of them,along with proper distance from rear and side walls to control the speakers low frequency output. I also compared the 802D's to the new 802 Diamonds. As I said in other threads, I listened to them in the same dealers properly set up show room. Same gear,same music same volume levels. All in a lengthy listening session. In my opinion and the salesman's the two systems sounded very much alike with only very minor differences. I think the 802D's would work well in your room and with their slim elegant appearance would also look very nice.IMO.

Dave 72

there is a review of the 802D in one of the audio mags this month. HiFi+? The 802D is featured on the cover of the magazine so it shouldn't be hard for you to find it.

Thanks! Much appreciated!

Thanks, Mr_m for sharing your experience. I have no problem with distance from the side walls...the back wall distance gets a little problematic, but I plan on getting some Sonex for that.

What are your components and cables?

Dave 72. I use a Mac C-45 preamp and a Mac MC-402 power amp,high current 400 watts per side. Plenty of drive for the power these speakers need. CD player is Cambridge Audio Azur 840-C. Interconnects are Purist Audio Musaeus. Of all the interconnects I've used over the years these offered the best improvement for me to date. Get a nice deep wide soundstage and nice control of the diamond tweeters high freq. Also use MIT avt 1 bi-wire speaker cables, which as funds permit, may switch to Purist Audio speaker cables. I'm sure there are alot of people out there that would give you other gear recommendations, but as to what I had access to demo these pieces of gear gave me the overall best sound. Hope I've been of some help to you. Good luck!

Ok, cool. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Sounds like a great setup. Yes, you've helped.

I am sure you will be amazed with 802D. As the friend said with great eletronic and cable they will sound excellent. I would also try Siltech cables, and Krell for the amps. Matching with a good tube pre you´ll be in heaven :)

hi Dave72...any update? ;)

No, I haven't found a pair of 801Ds. There's some 802Ds here and on Ebay, but I'm a little short at the moment.

Ok, cool. Siltech is indeed top notch. And new or old Krell?

Not into tubes, sorry.

I think older krell is very good. fpb 750mx, fpb450mcx, 700cx, fpb650cx, 600c...all excellent. all available for 40-50cents on the dollar if you look. newer krell is also good...evo series 402 is well regarded...not cheap.

Ok, cool. I'll check those out. Would you say better than Pass Labs?

Hi...cannot say. Not heard, though obviously read good things...others here can certainly help. would imagine some would say Pass emphasis on purity of tonality is a key differentiating factor. Krell probably the edge on full-out assault on bass control. Some might prefer see through transparency of the Krell more...again, leave it to those who have truly A/Bd. good luck and enjoy!

Well from my experiences, the FPB or Evolution Krells are a great match with B&W 802D or 801D. I´ve been for a while researching good electronics to my 801D. I´ve picked EVO 600e, they are really expensive but worth what they cost. They are transparent but at same time musical, extreme bass control etc.. I think no other amp at its price range would beat them.

I would suggest you a Krell amp and a tube pre. Man, I´ve listened the 801D loaded by Krell EVO402 amp and Audio research (tube) pre and the sound was EXCELLENT. In my opinion I would never more use just SS. You have to make some combinations with tubexSS to get the best performance from your speakers with the most warm sound without loosing any bass attack. Also for the cables, this setup was connected with Siltech reference cables. Friend this brand is one of the best, they are builtin gold+silver which can produce a balanced sound!!

Ok, thanks again guys.

801's are not made now only the 800D and 802D are made. Thats why you cant find them.

I understand that. I was referring to the used market.

I'm absolutely torn between 801D and the new 800 Diamond for my Electrocompaniet Nemo amps. I know the NEMOs can drive both. It's weird that by now I haven't seen a single serious A/B comparison between the two models. Most people seemed to prefer 801's to 800D but what about 800 Diamond? Are the finally as good in terms of bass and as smooth as 801D were?

I have a pair of 801D's that I might be willing to part with. They are in mint condition. I'm the only owner. I paid full retail price. How much are you willing to pay for them if you're still looking for a pair?

That was for dave_72.

Oops...sorry, I have 800D's not 801's. Sorry dave_72.