B&W 802 N vs. D

I owned WP 3/2 for many years. Have to say I think the 802N are better. Haven't listened to Wilson recently, but newer version would be much more expensive.

Actually I currently have 5 803N's in my system, and am thinking about upgrading the front 3. Hence the question about comparing 802N and 802D. I could get either in red cherry to match my rear speakers.

Not that I am permanently wedded to B&W, but to change manufacturers totally would probably require eventual replacement of all 5 speakers for additional expense. Not to mention that all the speakers you mentioned are on sale in all sorts of bizarro color combinations (at least currently on Agon), making it difficult to match even just the front 3!

Since I doubt anyone will sell me a single 802D (or 3), we are probably talking about 2 pair. So the cost differential between the 802N and 802D mounts up. I am curious about the direct comparison, for those who are familiar with both...

Bombaywalla:

Do you think my Theta Dreadnaught II would be sufficient to cope with the issues you mention, or would it be more like the Classe in design?
By the way, I enjoyed looking at the pictures of your Scintillas. Now that brings me back to another era! Don't think I could make a surround system out of 5 Apogee's though:)

I would like to "take back" my thread. I wish you folks could turn the emotion down a notch.

My favorite all-time speakers (that I owned) were M-L CLS, I spent many years with them and a variety of subwoofing options. When I wanted to change to something more practical, I went to Wilson W/P 3/2's, which definitely did not suck, but were among the best small ultra high end speakers available at the time. Remember, at the time to buy something more expensive than W/P 3/2's, you had to go up to the really "big" speakers like the top of the line Wilsons or IRS V's. The IRS V's that I heard at Lyric were the best speaker that I have ever heard, but a little impractical for us folks. When I got into SACD and made the transition to multichannel, around the time that the Pio 47a came out (you remember, the first "universal player"), I bought 5 identical B&W Nautilus 805's. That was somewhat random in choice, it all started when I saw a single 805N for sale on Ebay. Obviously, I then upgraded to 803N's to get a full range sound.

I currently have a Theta Dreadnaught II, which is a wonderful 5 channel amp, and an Anthem D2V prepro. I still have my Esoteric DV-50, but more I am using my Oppo 83 to take advantage of the Anthem ARC room correction software. I don't feel the need for a subwoofer with the 803N's, but I would like to get back to the more precise imaging and "true" upper-echelon sound that my Wilson's had. Around the time that I sold my Wilsons, a good audiophile buddy bought a pair of 802N's (he got a spectacular deal) and even my wife agreed they sounded more natural than my Watt/Puppies.

Unfortunately, Stereophile hasn't had a show in NYC in several years, I didn't enjoy the environment of a stereo show, but it was a good way to quickly get a taste of a large number of different components. From those shows, I always wanted to try and create a surround system from MBL speakers, but they are really expensive and I think my wife would kill me if she saw them in our house:)

3 802D's for the front 3 speakers is lot of cash, which is why I started this thread. The idea of going to a new company for the system is not out of the question, but then I would probably be looking at eventually purchasing 5 new speakers.

There's my story. Don't beat me up too much...

By the way, I should mention that one of the key issues for me is getting a center channel which is identical to the Right and Left front speakers. Not that easy to buy a single "uber-high-end" speaker. So if anyone is willing to sell me a single Wilson, Kharma, etc., that could send me down the road of a new manufacturers' speakers!

I've been thinking about what the "B&W sound" is. The folks here who think they sound slow remind of every time I've listened to the 801's (of various vintages). I always thought that was a poorly balanced speaker, with a ponderous bottom end. Maybe it was the shape of the speaker influencing my perception of the sound:) The first time I listened to 802N's, they were driven by the TACT amp and room correction system. And they were very quick. B&W may not be as transparent as Wilson's, but sound warmer (in a good way) and more natural to me. Then again, I haven't heard the Wilson 7, 8, or Sophias. But that's how I would characterize it up through the W/P6.

My Dreadnaught drives my 803's quite well, thank you. A very quiet amp, despite the distortion stats quoted.

Now how many years ago did they stop making the N series? How old would an 802N on A'gon have to be?
Does anyone here think I should be considering Revel?