Abbey Road studios use Classé amplification, as do many outside the USA.
In domestic situations if not Classé , another favourite is often the big McIntosh amplification. I’ve been to a couple of official B&W demos in Australia and McIntosh was used.
I believe that with the new Classé Delta series we will again see these products paired in demos.
That’s what I’ll be hoping to use in my demo of the 801 D4. I’ll take along the BHK Pre & BHK 300s for a comparison.
Outside of the USA, comparisons of USA manufacturers with B&W is different as the pricing of product are skewed compared with the USA pricing.
e.g Wilson Sasha Daw are $65K, Alexia 2 are 100K,
Rockport Avior 2 60K, Cygnus 95K etc.
So B&W 801 D4 at $53K - if they sound great are still a “relative” bargain.
Never been a BW fan but some of that has to do with sticking to brands I know. I have Wilson mains but I don’t need the main system fired up every time I just want some nice relaxing background music etc. I ended up with 606 S2 Anniversary Edition bookshelves. Connected to a Naim amp they sound really good especially for the price. I have had much more expensive speakers in this role but after a few days break in, these keep up with anything I have had there so far. I’m streaming Spotify at the moment and they sound great. They seem to do a great job with TV and whatever else I throw at them…
I have a pair of the 802D’s (1st gen diamonds). I bought them new and have had them about 20 years. Let me say they are rough to listen to. Bright, hard sounding upper midrange, weak bass.
I’ve changed components, cables, etc… and yet the voicing of the speaker comes across as irritating after about an hour.
Latest upgrade were the BHK preamp and 300 monoblocks to no avail.
I’ve been afraid to upgrade these speakers because the price of speakers in general is increasing almost every month. Also, there are very few stores that actually carry other high end brands, and if so the associated models.
I’ve went to Overture Audio in DE, and heard the Focal Sopra 3’s. Honestly, they seemed to sound very similar to 802Ds. The B&W salesperson actually argued with me that I don’t know what I’m listening for and that the new 802D4’s are the all knowing and all seeing speaker used around the world in studios. To me they sounded shrill and worse than mine.
So there you have it, where does one go at this point?
Invest the time in demoing speakers, in your region. This is going to require a commitment on your part in terms of time and travel.. Do not rush any decision to change. Have a realistic budget in mind and consider the consequences of the upgrade, as in speaker cables and amplification. I did this when I upgraded, and have since been very satisfied. The urge to change has left me.
I spent over two years auditioning and working through options.
The change:
Wilson Audio Sabrina X
Vitus RI 101 Mk II
Audience Front Row cables full loom
I considered the Gryphon Diablo 300 but slightly preferred the Vitus presentation. The Diablo 333 release had just been announced, and opportunities to audition were non-existent. I believe CDFOLEY acquired one of the first Gryphon Diablo 333 units, and is beyond pleased with it. His speakers, IIRC, are Wilson Audio Yvette.
What about the PSA Aspen series? You’ve probably read the very positive comments in this forum, and I don’t recall anyone mentioning an overly bright top end. There are also reviews in the audio press that have been linked here.
You can get an in-home demo, which is really the only way to be sure that you’ll like them long-term. If they don’t work with your other gear, it is a bit of a nuisance to send them back, but that’s better than keeping speakers you really don’t like.
I’m looking for the long term. Looking for components that will last 25 years or more.
I bought B&W 805 Matrix (used) in 1988 and gave to my son in 2020. They have been working flawlessly for 37 years now! I have 802D3 in my system and love them.
Exactly my point, my B&W’s are 20 years old and work flawlessly also. I did a sit down with the d3’s when they were the current models at two different locations. Wow, love them is quite a strong word.
loved my old B&Ws with Mcintosh driving them - back when I was an ‘analogue only’ guy…
I drove the 802D3s with McIntosh amp & preamp and DAC is PSA MKII, and added 2 REL carbon subs. To my ears, they sound great for both music listening and movies watching.
To me, a speaker like the 802’s shouldn’t require sub woofers to fill in the bass
That depends on one’s reference. I’ve had a sub in my system for over 34 years, and when I hear a system without a sub, I notice a loss of bass. Even if the speakers can go low, placing them out in the room for best imaging will minimize the lower bass.
The same sub for 34 years. Lol
And I KNOW you can’t go without at least two minimum, lol.
For me hearing everything on the recording exactly like it was recorded is not always a good thing, because a lot of recorderings suck, and don’t sound like the real thing.
A little bit of editorializing in our speakers or gear can be a good thing.
What is the smallest sub, white color, which can do a decent job in accompany FR30? 12wx15h will be idea. I can put two to replace my CD binders currently on each side of the rack. They are about 12x15 now.
But small ones like that are useless more than likely. So, I will probably not do anything, and I am fine with that. I like my bass now.
I’d hold off to see what PS Audio has coming-as it will likely be a great companion to the Aspen series, assume an Axpona ‘26 release.
Almost forgot about that and that is probably the best way to go. I am sure they will have a color match with their FR line.
or the 810? if you don’t want to wait for PSA