S805 vs 805S

[KenK]

Hi All,

I was able to compare to the S805 vs the 805S last week and I have a question regarding the Sig 805 voicing. First of all, they are different, 1) mid/wof is diff, 2) tweeter is diff, 3) box a little diff 4) flow port is diff. 5) they sound diff. The first thing that jumps out at me was the high end extension. Sig 805 highs were more refine and extended compared to the new 805N. The second thing was the bass, 805S appeared to have lower bass. Because of the extended high-end info of the Sig805, one could perceive Sig805 to be bettering sounding.

But…. the more I listened, the more I realized that Sig mid range was recessed. It is about balance as they have so much high-end info that make the mid range recessed. I ended up not buying because I know I don’t want this kind of sound. My question – is this the normal voicing of the Sig 805 or maybe the mid/wof is not broken in yet. But if they are not broken in, so should the 805S, and the 805S’ mid does not appear to be recessed. The final thing is the red sig 805 is sooooo beautiful.

Maybe I sould look into 804S.

[turbokuo]

Ken,

I also found similar results when I compared the two last weekend and I also feel that the 805S have a bit better low end.

Are you deciding between the two? How much were they offering the Sig 805 for?

[KenK]

I just PM you the $$

[turbokuo]

KenK,

Got your message. The reason I asked is to see if you were in the market...I've done some extensive listening tests comparing the Sig 805, new 805S and new 804S.

My conclusion was...save your $$$ for the the 804S new or used if you have the room!!! At first listening with my regular CD's (Nora Jones) the 804S seemed similar to the other 2 but with better bass and I thought I'll be happy with either bookself speaker, but when I popped in Patricia Barber's 1st song on the Companion CD...OMG!!! At ~10 secs there is a constant clap coming from the background and on the Sigs or 805S you can hear it but you can somewhat make out the sound but it's muddy. On the 804S, wow! You can not only hear the crispness but also the resonance the clap makes!!!

[KenK]

Thanks for the heads up. I might just have to save some more $$

[ti33er]

Just my humble opinion, but if you are going to buy 805S together with their respective stands, you might as well just go for the 804S - the difference in sound is well worth it and the difference in price is not that much...and they take up exactly the same 'amount' of floor/height/width space? ...I was going to buy 804S (and might still buy them in the future) but have to buy a house for now...that is the only reason I didn't go through with the purchase!