moving from house to an apartment.. goodbye 802D's
IF you need to downsize - then downsize. That’s what the 805s are for. They are not lacking in bass but a sub would duplicate your 802 experience. Maybe the platforms underneath the 802 will get the job done. Maybe not. If the latter or you don’t want to experiment to find out, just follow the path B&W has laid out for you so clearly. The dirty little secret as well is the butyl rubber surround on the 805 cancels breakup distortion even better than the other D3 models. The ball's in your court. |
I'd agree with the advice here to meet the neighbors and assess the specific situation first. If noise is going to be a problem, switching out your B&Ws for a subwoofer won't save you! Unless the point is that a subwoofer can be turned off. The issue is that bass travels easily through floors and walls, whereas higher frequency sound is more easily arrested. My downstairs neighbor has an inexpensive subwoofer, and I hear the basslines through my pillow when he puts on his "morning music" at 6 am. |
I wouldn't do anything until you meet the neighbors. Because you don't have a problem yet. I had one neighbor a retired school teacher that encouraged me to be 'loud' because she appreciated having younger folks around. I also have had neighbors that were pilots (never home) and lived above the model (no one there beyond the business day). |
I have these on my sub woofers: The SVS SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System They provide decoupling and isolate speakers and subwoofers from the floor. They really seem to work and are very well made. They come with different threaded stud sizes so they should just screw into the bottom of your speakers |
Keep all your equipment and what to see how noisy your neighbors are I live in an apartment with my system the neighbor across the hall with our connecting dinning room plays his music load very Sunday afternoon and the upstairs neighbor any time day or night if you make noise you have to except noise you can check out my apartment system in virtual systems So Keep it and Enjoy the Music Tom |
Yeah, good advice here ... if you love them that much, I'd figure out a way to keep them. Darko, gave overall good review of Revel but said a little light on bass so you'd probably need a sub ... then you'd be managing the same issue! https://darko.audio/2019/07/the-exquisite-revel-m126be-standmount-loudspeaker/ |
I would let the speakers go and get a RAAL SR1a earphones. I wish I had these when I was in an apartment. The enjoyment factor with these will be exponentially greater than any speaker in an apartment. When I was in an apartment, I tried monitors and desktop speakers and they did not come close to the sound quality and freedom I now have with the RAAL SR1a. I use them late at night in a house. People are comparing the sound out of these to mega expensive setups. My SR1a setup is almost as good as my floor stander setup. No joking on the quality of these phones. They are not like headphones. https://raalrequisite.com/store/ You need some warm electronics to make them shine. You can also use their dedicated amp which is also very good and I have demoed for a few weeks. It has only 2 inputs though, so I use a 2 channel setup for the SR1a that supports multiple sources. - CODA 07x preamp - AudioMirror Tubadour III SE tube DAC - Gustard X26 Pro ESS DAC - Tuner - SACD player - D-Sonic amp (though I have tried many others, KRELL, CODA, Benchmark) Listen as loud as you want with a 2 channel sound presentation. You also have the added benefit of removing the biggest obstacle to good sound, the room. I heard Stereophile will be reviewing the SR1a and the dedicated amp in an issue soon. |
@lovepianos, I went to the B&W 802D’s owner’s manual, see page 3 and you already have two types of telescoping types of speaker lifts to get the subs up off the floor. And they seem to be of very high quality with plenty of length, way more than normal screw in spikes/footers. And it appears you also have the very unusual half sphere option of high quality, extra long extensioned footers, along with the spike option too! I think you’re good to go with what you already have! Plus the fact they were made (engineered) specifically for that particular sub. Seems like a win to me. I’d say just extend the half sphered footers option down, as long as needed, to tune and or voice them to your liking and you’re done. The (basic) idea is to get the subs up off the floor. I hope this helps. |
Keep’em! Check out these Hudson Hi-Fi - BIgfoot Isolation Feet - Non Adhesive - 8 Pack for $49.95 https://www.amazon.com/Bigfoot-Isolation-Feet-8-Pack/dp/B08GLBKRYZ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UT... Make sure you scroll down and read the entire site and open all the thumbnails to get a more accurate scale (size) and description of what the Bigfeet are made of and what they do. And an added bonus is the site will show other isolation devices by the same manufacture for all other audio gear you may have and you will notice the prices aren’t bad either. They are made of a proprietary - density specific silicone and not rubber or sorbothane and will not leave any sticky black residue on your gear and come with weight charts to help you pick just exactly what you need per each audio gear piece weight. |
Like everyone else, I'd highly recommend keeping your speakers. No matter what speakers you have, you are going to have to find a listening level that works in your new environment. I'm in an apartment with a 5.2.4 home theatre system. The two subs are B&W BD4S. They go down to 10Hz at -3db and 8.5Hz at -6db and they are magnificent for movie soundtracks where you often feel the effect as much as you hear it. I'm able to set a decent listening level that doesn't annoy others. I should mention I don't use Audyssey so set a subwoofer confinement. |
Regardless of sound traveling into your neighbors' space, will the 802d work well in their new room? I'd try them in the apartment before moving on the anything else. Neighbors can be funny. For some, no matter what you do, it's way too loud and for others you could end up complaining about their noise levels. Best of luck. |
Put them on Townshend Podiums. They cut the bass leaving my room dramatically. They also controlled resonances that greatly making for tighter, deeper, but much smoother bass. Also make a great improvement in overall clarity, detail and tone. Instrumental timbre, nails it. Not cheap but the other stuff you can try won’t make near as much difference, not even close. With subs you can get away with Nobsound springs for cheap, or Pods if you can afford it. You could also try Nobsound for the B&W but I think the combination of downfiring port and immense improvement in detail will make Podiums the way to go. |
Keep the B&Ws’ don’t get rid of them. place the speakers on large stone or concrete pads as sold at Home Depot, or Lowe’s, menards, etc etc. in the garden section, old apartment neighbor did this under recommendation from his Dad. They were about 3 inches thick I think (memory poor) plus a 2-3 inch cut semi soft rubber pads cut exactly as stone squares. There is always a way,........don’t give up...... |
