No bass on B&W 800D2


Hi,

I’ve been a B&W fan Since the late 90s and have owned many different speakers over the years. I’ve owned a pair of 802Ds (first gen) For a long time and those had always been my dream speaker. 

I recently had the opportunity to upgrade to a pair of 800D2. I had never heard the 800 or the second generation diamonds before, but was tempted by the idea of owning the flagships. I don’t like the looks and sound of the newer generation 800 so in my mind, I was upgrading to the top of the line speaker of the last generation that I like.

I’ve had these speakers for three months now, and I’ve played around with positioning and levels of my subwoofers. when I first set them up I immediately noticed a lack of bass compared to the 802’s. I listen in the near field and have the 800 approximately in the same position as the 802, although with slightly more toe in and a little further away from the wall as they seem more sensitive to room placement than the 802s did. Even pushed up to the wall there is not more bass, just boom. 
 

I’m powering them with a Classé sigma amp 2, which doubles to 400W a channel on 4 ohms. Before you say it’s the amp, the 802s sounded exactly the same on my Denon 4520 as they did on the Classé amp after I upgraded to that - so I don’t really subscribe to the “more power” idea and believe an amp won’t change the sound dramatically as long as it’s decent quality and has enough power. I mostly listen at lower levels anyhow. 
 

Has anybody had the same issue with the 800D2 lacking so much bass compared to the 802D? The midrange sounds about the same and the highs are way more tame, which I like, but this lack of low end authority is making me seriously consider selling these again which makes me sad - since they are absolutely gorgeous in the looks department. 
 

thanks for your thoughts in advance - would appreciate hearing from actual owners of these. 

seb_audio

Have you tried a test cd with signal sweeps?  That would help understand what frequencies are missing and you can do some calculations with your room dimensions to see if room interactions could be the cause. 

There’s absolutely no reason quadruple 10” drivers produce no bass.  You could use a receiver and still have bass output.  You’re in a bass null.

 

walk to some other part of the room, see if you have bass 

Thanks everybody for reading this post. 
 

@joey_v yes, they are producing bass. Just not very much of it compared to the 802s. 

It’s possible I’m sitting in a null, but I’ve had my set up this way for six years and the 802s were located in the exact same position so how would I all of a sudden be sitting in a null?

based on all the reviews, I’ve read the 802s have a slight peak in the mid bass around 100 Hz but the difference I’m hearing feels greater than that. 
 

That’s why I was hoping I could hear from an owner who has experienced both the 802s and 800 in the same room to see if they had the same experience.

 

thanks all

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Having the known quantity should lead you to the answer. I must also point out that I completely disagree with your observation about sufficiently powered amps all sounding the same. I've read that before too, but it just doesn't line up with my experience with different power amps. In addition to soundstage, tonal presentation, presence of bass/treble/mid there is also a technical performance synergy that may favor one over another with specific speakers.