I was looking to upgrade my HiFi speakers, so been doing a few auditions /evaluations on Magico A5/S5/M2 , Focal Maestro Utopia, B&W 800D3 (while waiting to get a chance to hear 801D4).
It seems to me that the B&W 800D3 as Hi Fi Speakers is like Porsche GT3 as Sport Car.
It is not the most exotic, most expensive but seems to hit the sweet spot for performance, resale, spare parts, looks.
The Z06 C6 have better measurement in term of HP, 0-100, static g-force traction limit but in real life road and track driving , 991 GT3 wins.
800D3 wins on the same real life listening to most people so I think I may just get 800D3 or get on wait list for 801D4 [image]
B&W 800D3 & 801D4 both can sound very nice, but are finicky with matching equipment. What preamp and poweramp do you intend to use drive the B&W speakers?
I had the 800D3 in my system for a few years, it is a fantastic speaker and would be my choice over the others mentioned on your list (aside from the D4 of course). I agree with your analogy, aside from resale. What you see people asking and what the actual resale price on them ends up being are two different things [at least in my own resale experience with the 800D3].
If you haven’t considered yet, I would try to audition the new KEF Blade Meta as well.