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How much room do B&W 802s need?

I've been thinking about a pair of B&W 802s to go along with my McIntosh 402 amp and C2200 pre amp. I had the chance to hear this combination at a local dealer the other day, and I was stunned by the way the 802s performed. I have actually heard them quite a few times before, but they never sounded so good! I don't think that I have ever heard them image so well, or produce such musical bass.

The issue is that my listening space is not that large - about 15' long and 12' wide. I have always set up the speakers on the long wall - current speakers (Totem Mani2 Sigs) are about 7' apart, and about 3' from the rear wall. My listening position is about 6' or so from the speakers. If i were to get a pair of 802s, the rear of the speaker would probably only be 18" to 24" from the wall.

Does anyone have experience with 802s set up in a similar size space? The considerable size of the speaker makes an at home audition impractical, so I am turning to you for your advice / experience. Let me know what you think. There are some pretty good deals out there on 802s right now, I would like to make up my mind in the next week or two. FYI - my musical tastes are varied, but I don't usually listen at loud volume levels. I listen to a lot of pop, rock, electronic, reggae, dub, jazz and down tempo music. No classical or country.

It might be helpful for you to take a look at my virtual system here on the 'gon, so you can see a little bit of what my set up looks like.

Thanks!
skuras

Showing 1 response by tlday

tlday
137 posts
 
I have a room that is living room into dining room. If the living room ended at the dining room, my room dimensions would be similar to yours. I also have a doorway on the long wall at about 2 oclock. My 802s are on that ling wall. They are about 18 inches from the front wall and about 6 feet apart (all due to room limitations). I sit about 7 feet away.

I used to own 803s but upgraded a couple years ago because of the much larger sound stage of the 802s (and better midrange detail). I have not found the 802s to be very fussy about placement. Because of their large sound stage, they seem to be pretty flexible as to placement.
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