"The B&W Sound"

Very good. Thank you. Good to hear from B&W enthusiasts. I am one who believes that B&W makes quality products. I simple don't care for the 703 sound. Yes, it could be my upstream components. However, what I am hearing is the very same thing that many others, even the reviewer's who raved about the speaker, have sighted as a weak point. I, like many others, believe the sound of the 703 tends to be a bit fatiguing and bright. I also believe this has something to due with the metal dome design (perhaps, the cross-over design - I'm not that well informed about speaker design). I should have stated "That 703 Sound", rather than painting such a broad stroke in making the statement, "The B&W Sound." Any way, back to my original thought...would a design that utilizes a silk dome give a "better" sound (clearly, bright is not desirable)? Or, are there significant trade-offs when switching from metal to silk? Maybe the material has less to due with the sound than the way the crossover is designed - or other design characteristics??? I don't know. We all know who some of the true "B&W bashers" are. I am curious if what "they" say is reality...Can you get better sound from speakers that are designed differently than the 703's, but sell for less (or roughly the same - less would be great!), without giving up anything that the 703's do well? (Again, I consider "less bright" to be better - something smoother in the highs, but not laid-back. I appreciate the control the 703's have. especially in their bass-response

One thing that I believe will go a long way to rectifying the brightness of your speakers is a tube preamp...as opposed to all solid state. A great tube preamp will, to use an oft repeated descriptor, "warm" your sound and, in my opinion, render the sound rounder and more real. There are lots of very nice tube preamps in the 800-2000 dollar range that have the ability to transform your sound.

I'm actually an N804 owner. I auditioned some Thiel 2.4's that sounded awfully good and some ML Aeon's that I liked but not as much as the Thiels. I was able to do this in my own listening room. The thiels have a metal dome, so I don't know if you'd be happy with that or not, but they are certainly worth a listen if you can audition them in your room.

On the silk dome tweeter, I've also auditioned Wilson Benesch Arc and Vienna Acoustics. I thought they were both very good on the highs. The bass on VA wasn't to my liking, but it was a nicely balanced speaker. The Arc was really nice all around. It was just a bit small for my room. IMO, the silk dome does piano and male voices a bit better. But that just what I was hearing. You could try the new VA Mozart, or do give a listen to the WB Arc if your room is smallish. In any event, you should try to try to audition them in your listening room. Hope this helps.

Ben - There is a "Metal Dome" thread on AA. Check it out.

I have heard many people complain about B+W as well.I have both the martix 801s series 3 and nautilus 802s.The 801s are awesome.I initially hated the 802s but then I played around with the frontend etc.Now the nautilus are the best speakers I have ever heard.Another audiophile who recently heard my setup also stated the "it is by far the most natural and easy to listen to system I have ever heard."
I use a bryston bp26 and moon eclipse cd player on one circuit and my bryston 4b sst one another.Also don't use esoteric wires.Esoteric wires made it sound terrible.I just use elcheapo stuff.The one going to the amp is 30 feet and the one going from the cd to preamp is a 3 foot balanced.This same setup works just as well for the 801s.
I initially made the mistake of running them( the electronics) off the same circuit .They sounded quite grainy.I would not have believe it could make that much difference if I hadn't heard it for myself but it does.
This setup does not sound bright or fatiguing as before but very natural.Hope this helps other owners out there.