B&W 803 vs. 804

Rlb61, one of the main differences between the N804 and N803 is not only driver size but speaker cabinet volume and that plays a significant role in their sonic differences. The N804s can sound great in smaller rooms but can get lost in larger spaces. A very important determining factor between the two speakers is what size room they are going to be placed in. I am partly biased because I opted to go for the N803 because I felt they offered a $1500 improvement in terms of scale and realism over the N804, which I still feel are fantastic speakers.

My N803s took a couple of months of regular playing to finally open up. The bass will go deeper with better definiton, the highs will be smoother and the soundstage depth will also increase. One way to speed up the process (and not disturb the housemates) is to put the speakers face to face, as close together without touching, and wire ONE speaker out of phase (red to black and vice versa on amp OR speaker side). If you let the radio play in mono you will barely hear any sound but the speakers will still be getting quite a workout.