Levinson 383 a good match for B&W 803D's

I saw a big difference in imaging when A/Bing the 803 D to S. The diamond tweeter and the extra bass driver do a lot to expand on the dynamic platform of the 803S. Sweeter mids and highs, more impactful and defined bottom-end. Better depth and soundstage coupled to a wonderful ease of listening. I've been living with the 803S on MC501's and loving them save for some sibilance occasionally, the D tweeter puts that to bed however and I am excited to own them soon! At the bottom of the evaluation list, I also appreciate the asthetics of the non-plinth look.

This comparison wad done first on an MC402 and then on a pair of MC501's (the most illustrative of this). I have 803S and am trading for the 803D. I was trully impressed and enough so that having planned to upgrade to 802D, I have switched to the 803D. It really is the sweetspot for value in the 800 line-up I think (assuming room size requirements are met and output capabilities met).

These speakers are at the very least lovers of power. They sounded great with Mcintosh, Krell (my favorite second only to the Mac as I find Krell a little too resolving for my tastes, although the D tweeter makes it so much more fun to listen to Krell for me). I didn't like them with Rotel or NAD or Bryston. Heard them with Levinson (very nice but lacking something...). They were very nice with Classe (smooooth....but less dynamic involvement for me than the Krell or Mac gear. And finally with Ayre acoustics which was great. WOnderful musicality and timing. Like the Classe but more life-like. However, not as much oomph as the Krell or Mac and way more expensive.

Found out that the Halcros do not match well with the Wilsons...Just bought a pair of Sophias...Heard them with ML, McIntosh, Naim and all sounded fantastic

I heard ML gear with the 803 Ds last weekend and was blown away-do not remember the model #s but I can tell you that the amp, pre-amp, cd player combo was about 14K. There were a pair of Wilson Sophias hooked up in the room next door with Halcro electronics and some other very high end gear and the B&W ML combo was much better sounding to my ears and literally 1/4 the cost.

The Wilson combo seemed overly bright and while Wilson's are known to be very neutral and detailed, I actually heard more detail out of the B&Ws.

Thanks for the advice. I found a good deal on a pre-owned CA2200 and am going to pick it up tomorrow. Gotta love it when someone buys something you want, changes their tastes and resells at a loss.

How do the 803D compare to the 803S's for imaging? I know that they probably can't compare in the bass but how much difference does that diamond tweeter make? My dealer will let me upgrade from an 803 to 803D anytime w/i the first six months at full credit so I might do this to save some $$$ up front.

Have a pair of 803d powered with a pair of classe ca m400 delta series monoblocks excellent sound top to bottom with no solid state artifacts,both speaker and amps do take awhile to break in though ,great resolution ,soundstage etc ,also a classe ca2200 200wpc stereo amp also sounds very good with the 803d..

There are many better combinations (especially eliminating the 803) that will give you better sonics for less money. Consider Merlin, Proac, Coincident, Silverline, and Von Schweikert. All of these offer models that require a lot less power and offer superior sound.

I'd be careful. I heard some B & W Nautilus 800's powered by a Mark Levinson 333.5. The sound was way too bright for my tastes. I ended up with McIntosh amplification. In your posting you're talking about different model of speakers and a different model of Mark Levinson; so maybe they work okay. But from my previous experience, I'd be inclined to be careful. Make sure you audition before buying.

I think the ML 383 is grainy and 2 dimensional on anything I have heard it with, including B&W N803....

Vhuang,

Well here it goes. I prefer MF and B&W per my system there for I am biased.

I have listened to the 803D with classe' electronics and was very impressed with the overall sonic characteristics.

I have also listened to the 800D with the MF KW500. This is also an execelent combination although I thought it was a little bass heavy in this setup (includes the room).

Sorry I could not be of more help. At this price point or any for that matter I recomend listening to the electronics with your speakers in your system.

Michael

Eldarado is exactly right. Classe is owned by B&W and does, usually, have great synergy with B&W. You may want to try their new integrated, but again, may be a little light on power, unless you listen at quite low volumes regularly.

the levinson is perfect for the 803

I would think Classe would be a good match. If I am not mistaken, Classe and B&W are connected some how and B&W tests out their speakers with Classe amplification.

Good Luck

My friend had the 383 with Nautilus 803's. It was alright, but so much better once he added the Jeff Rowland Concentra II integrated. I'm pretty sure you'll want more than 100 wpc for the 803D's. The KW 500 from Musical Fidelity does a great job also.