I have the N802's powered by Mac's MC402. I run the 8 ohm taps. I tried the 4 ohm briefly. If I recall correctly, the sound was tinny sounding. It was very obvious 8 ohms was the way to go.
In my 16 x 15 x 8 room, the backs are 3.5' from the wall and the outer sides 2.5' from the side walls.
Relax, have a Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA and listen to some Count Basie... |
I see Guinness knows his beverage, dogfish is great. I've heard at-least 3' from back wall. Good to know with the 8 ohm.
thanks
beerdraft |
C500T is special you should really enjoy with the MC2301.
I listened to the 802 at a dealership and I remember it was at least 3' from the wall and 15' or longer spaced apart.
Discover your system by listening to the Yellowjackets.
Enjoy |
I'd go for the Dogfish Head Worldwide Stout; after one of those, even your clock radio will sound great! |
So the C500 is a good piece, I really needed to go a bit cheaper and almost did on the pre, but decided if I'm going to do it just do it. I almost went with c2300. Never had the stout, I like german wheats, but will try most anything. We service over 300 styles of beer here in atlanta, and I've had a lot of them. |
congratulations... i found the 802ds are VERY sensitive to placement... really chane sound. but with that, it will depend on the room. |
Yeah, I'm looking forward to the battle since they have some kind of caster which rolls. Hope it rolls on my carpet which is kindof short. It took me a while to get happy with my N804 and placement. then the wife didn't like it when I did get it right. I told her to stay upstairs, the basement is mine, ha, that went over real well. Wait'll she see's the new bigger speaker surprise, she really ain't gonna like that. Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission boys, remember that.
Beerdraft |
Okay, I've got the system hooked up. Let me start with the C500, wow, this thing is playing with great seperation and detail, this is no doubt the best pre amp I've ever heard. I was worried since I didn't listen at all to any of this before buying, very happy with it. The MC2301's, man huge tube amps and very powerful, liquid, just phenominal. The 802D's, man I knew this was my dream speaeker for a reason, they haven't disappointed me. I'm running the 4 ohm taps off the 2301 and man the detail and sound stage is just spectacular. The diamond tweeter is in another league from all I've heard. The mid range is as good as I've heard anywhere, this has always been a strong point for B&W. The bass, man I've never heard low level detail like this where every little bass note has its own signature and own suttle difference from other notes. Also the imageing and stage in the low end notes is fantastic, I couldn't be happier at this point. I will be hooking up my power conditioners this weekend and see what they add to the system as well as some of my upgraded cords.
beerdraft |
The 802D has an impedeance of around 4 ohms over most of the spectrum (not counting the bass peaks), but the impedance rises to well over 20 ohms at about 3 kHz. Here, take a look:
http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/1205bw/index4.html
A normal voltage-source-approximating solid state amp will deliver about 1/5 as much power (wattage) into that peak as into the 4-ohm portion of the spectrum. Presumably the speaker is "voiced" in anticipation of this sort of amplification.
Note that tube amps and McIntosh solid state amps have different characteristics, and will deliver closer to the same amount of power into that impedance peak as into the 4-ohm portion of the spectrum, resulting in a frequency response peak there. I suspect this is behind the "tinny" sound that Guiness heard with the 4-ohm taps on his Mac amps; there would be less tonal discrepancy with the 8-ohm taps. I also suspect that the tonal balance of this speaker would be smoother still when driven by a non-transformer-coupled solid state amp.
In my opinion, speakers with impedance curves like the 802D has are not good candidates for tube amps or for transformer-coupled solid state amps unless they were specifically "voiced" for such amps.
Duke |
I used to own the 802d and would recommend moving them away from the front wall and corners. I found their bass to be a bit boomy and loose. I was able to tame it a bit by upgrading my pre and amp because I was unable to position them well into the room. I also agree with the opinion that tube amps may not be best suited to this speaker. Given their sound characteristics, I would think about a powerful ss amp that is dynamic and fast. Anyway , just my 2 cents. |
Well I tell you Tboooe and Duke, I've heard the 802D's on MC501's and classe cam 400's, they've never sounded this good to me. This may be my room and placement versus the other place I've heard them but man, I'm as impressed with the sound of the 802D's at this point as I am anything. I just can't believe the detail and sound stage from top to bottom on frequency. Everyone has thier own listening taste but man so far this suits me to a T. Will be interesting to get some other Audiophiles opinions on this as I've got several people coming down soon from here to give a listen. Interesting to see if I'm crazy or if this system really sounds this good.
Thanks,
beerdraft |
beerdraft, dont get me wrong. I am not disparaging your satisfaction with your system. I actually applaud it! Only your opinion matters. Don't let your audiophile buddies convince you that your system is deficient in any way. Trust your own ears.
Congrats on putting together a system that appeals to you. You have achieved what many of us have not. |
Thanks Tboooe, I was really worried before I set it up since I've never heard the system and it was a lot of money. I've never owned mcintosh and never really heard the diamond series in a position to be a great sounding speaker, as I've only heard it at a dealer and not in the best sound enviroment. I was very nervous, I was really worried that my stuff would be on here for sale because if I didn't like it the least bit, it would be for sale. I must say so far it has exceeded my expectations. Can't wait to get my shunyata upgrades in and get everything broken in.
I know you're not trying to rain on my parade here, just opinions and I know you owned 802D's at one time or atleast auditioned them and they didn't do it for you, room and power and speaker, I geuss they all have to blend just right and we all definitely have different taste. I respect that and many told me to get another speaker but I had my mind made up that I like B&W and I'm going to give them a chance, glad I did so far.
beerdraft |
Real Beer and Audio Gear. Now theres a great hobby (good tagline too). You lovers of the Dogfish obviously appreciate the American hop; much more flavorful than the European variety.
I have some great recommendations, but I guess thats for another forum. Love the red grapes too! |
I've got some new Dogfish,or new to me. I got a few packs of the Dogfish, Burton Baton, will try for sure tonight. Kind of bummed, my TT is causing a static plunge which is shutting down my amps and have to unplug the pre in order to get it to play, I've informed Mcintosh and will just listen to cd's I geuss til they figure out the problem. CD's and beer, ha
Beerdraft |
