Next step after B&W 802D

..mmmboy...those Cardas cables were awful in my system... You might try others see see if you like others better.

Having owned B&Ws & moved on to Wilsons, I would 2nd the Sophia Recommendation. But... the 802D is a good speaker. It needs power. A class D or digital amp should let the speaker come to life. It will lack to tube magic, but the B&W is warm already. Room size is a big part of it. B&Ws sound best loud. The Kevlar drivers are slow IME and only open up when pushed.

I would seriously consider the Manger Swing.

I have a pair of Eggleston Nines that I throughly enjoy and have had for a few months. I am familiar with the 802 as well and there is no comparison. The Egglestons are much more extended and their sound is truely holographic when used with the right equipment. They may not have the slam that the B&W's do with my sytem because I ony have 75 watts of tube power but they are truely magical. I want my speakers to disappear and these do that very well. I have heard and owned many other great speakers but these are truly at another level. Bass definition is a good as it gets, no boom just music. Please audition a pair and if you are in South Florida let me know.

Give a listen to the Vandersteen 5A's. They are easier to drive, can be tuned to your room, and sounds much better.

it's because he uses Bose 901's as a reference.

Maybe you should try (more?)room treatments at the 1st reflection points before changing any components. Those bare walls(pic have got to seriously affect imaging, soundstage, clarity, etc.

Proper treatment might even raise the performance of your system, overall, to the point that a speaker change is not necessary.

With your amp, its not enough to drive the N802 as many here aired out.
I think your amp would work better with the Sophia 2 Or get one of those solid state amp from Accuphase and it will drive your N802 well.

I had the B&W 802 (non diamond) and went to the Wilson Sophia 2. The Sophia 2 is a great speaker. I'm now using Dynaudio C2 but I still prefer the Sophia to the C2 and the B&W 802. Agree with Bar81, see what you want to improve on. I wanted to improve on the bass and I couldn't get Bass from the B&W 802 because I was on the 2nd floor with cheap floor boards and I think the downward firing bass just went down stairs. My friend put them on concrete and they sounded completely different with much better bass.

Depending on your musical preference:

Airy and holographic - Elac with mushroom head, Venture
Holographic with more weight - MBL 111 or 101
Razor sharp with details - Usher BE10/20
Pleasant with details - Analysis (forgot the model)
Dynamic & musical - Avantgarde Duo or above

Your amp speaker combo is a mismatch. You either need a 200 wpc plus solid state amp or speakers that can be driven by your 50 wpc tube amp IMO.

Sean

By the way, with those speakers you really need a reference digital front end like a dCS or Esoteric before you can hear what they can really do. I would upgrade front-end components first.

Well, I would look at speakers by Wilson, Eggleston Works, and Magnepan. I would also look at the B&W Nautilus 800D.

Davt, i do believe audiofeil was being sarcastic. at least i got a chortle out of it.;)

I would also agree with some of the above posts, increased cost is not always an upgrade, as an example Audiofeil seems to like the sound of the Bose 901 which is a much cheaper speaker than the 802D and generally not considered top of the line. Defining what sound you are looking for and/or what your current system is lacking is the key. You may even find an "upgrade" for you and your system is less expensive. That being said there is also the fun of spending money. If that is the case try to identify the sound you are looking for and the "look" you want. I am surprised how much of the cost is the look. I have spent a lot of time with the 802D's and like them alot. One speaker that I felt was a significant step up in bass, detail, imaging, and naturalness of sound was the Verity Audio parsifal ovation. There are many others as well I am sure.

I had the opportunity to listen to the Krell LAT-1000 series speakers, which were absolutely stunning. While, I’ve not owned the 802’s, I have heard them many times paired with exceptional equipment. The big Krells are truly in a different league.
Of course, there’s the Magico V3, which has received quite a bit of industry hype. I’ve never heard them – but, I’d like to.

KEF 207/2 Reference

Speakers are very personal - you need to give more guidance.

Have you considered bass traps and acoustic treatments- this might be be the best improvement you could make - given you have a great speaker already...

Bose 901 any series.

Definite upgrade.

I agree with Bar81. Define what you think you are lacking and, also, question whether the issues are not related to room acoustics. Along with speaker choice, that is the most critical and significant element. All else pales in comparison.

Kal

What is lacking with your 802D? Also what amps are you using?

I think 802D are pretty good all around speaker. But you can find better speakers. You also do not need to break the bank to do so. There are many speakers in the 802D price-range with different sounds you might like better. Just because you spend $25,000 on speakers does not mean you will like them better than your $14,000 802Ds....

What specifically are you looking to improve over the performance of your current speakers? Further, why do you think the speakers are the problem as opposed to the electronics and/or cabling?

I would suggest Wilson Audio Sophia II speakers. I have heard a direct comparo between Sophia II and Nautilus 800D (so even more expensive model than 802D) anc clearly prefered the Sophias, which I bought eventually. To tell you the truth, I was surprised how much better, and less coloured the Sophias were. My previous speakers were Avalon Eidolon Vision.