upgrade B&W 704 to...what?...

[slick]

Hi all,

I think most of you are familiar with B&W's trade up program. Well, I have had my 704's for almost 6 months now, and if I understand the program correctly, its only vaild within the first year of ownership. In six months, I can probably have $2500-$3000 saved up. Is it worth it for me to upgrade?

Don't get me wrong, I love my 704's and B&W in general, but the trade up program is a really easy way for me to get "better" speakers and I wouldn't want to kick myself for missing an opportunity.

Money wise, 704 to 803S would be the most I can do, is that a worthy upgrade in sound? I can't demo them because the store doesn't stock them. I was also thinking about doing 805S (to get that 800 series sound) and a subwoofer, but subwoofers and apartments don't go so well together.

I'm really wondering if I should start saving now or not.

[Aussie Geoff]

Slick,

The 803S will be a excellent upgrade, especially for music if you have the amplification to do them justice.... Can you describe the rest of your system

Geoff

[Parsonsk]

I'm amazed that so many people go through this. I had just purchased the 703's and 2 days later, i went back to the store cancelled my order and purchased the 804S.
For you I think the 803S are the way to go. IMO speakers are the foundation of the system and although you can always change, i imagine you'll be changing your amps and pre's and cd players long before your speakers change.....that is if you buy the speakers you REALLY want to begin with.

[tboooe]

can someone explain the tradeup program to me? what percentage of retail will i get? do i have to go back to the same dealer I bought it from?

[BlazeMaster]

i believe each dealer's policy is a little bit different. With my dealer's is that:
it has to be purchased from them and at original price ( no discounts )
it has to be traded in within one year of the original purchase date
and it has to be traded in towards something double the MSRP of the original purchase.
So for example, when it was time for me to upgrade my 603s, I had to get something twice as expensive, so hence, I ended up with the 704s.

[Rolex]

slick, another option to explore would be to go with the 804S, and then the following year make the jump to the 803D. That's probably the way I would go. The 804 is more comparable to the 704 in terms of size and would give you an example of what the 800 series is all about, in your own living space. Then when you are able, the jump to the 803D would be that much more dramatic. Just a thought..

[ChrissB]

Tradeup program??? is that a b&w program or a dealer one? Is it valid only in the US or in Europe 2?

[RebelMan]

i believe each dealer's policy is a little bit different. With my dealer's is that:
it has to be purchased from them and at original price ( no discounts )
it has to be traded in within one year of the original purchase date
and it has to be traded in towards something double the MSRP of the original purchase.
So for example, when it was time for me to upgrade my 603s, I had to get something twice as expensive, so hence, I ended up with the 704s.

Most dealers that I have encountered seem to follow these rules pretty closely. My dealer offers a similar program but I believe the trade up only needs to be one and one half the MSRP of the original purchase. Furthermore, the delers will only credit you what you paid for it not the original MSRP, unless of course that is what you paid.

[slick]

Hi all,

Sorry for the late reply, I had to make a last minute trip to Iowa, wow, what a drive.

Anyways, the rest of my setup will contain a Parasound Halo P3 and A23 and a Marantz DV6400 for a DVD Player/CD Player, also have a Roku Soundbridge for streaming music off my Mac Mini.

I thank everyone for there input. I like the idea of going with the 804S right now, and then upgrading to the 803D's, I can easily come up with the money for the 804S right now (6 months actually).

I think i'll go ahead and get the 32" LCD I wanted, and after I upgrade to the 804S, i'll see if I need the extra amplification or not and look into that, maybe another A23 or sell the A23 I have and get a A21, that's another issue though, and another time.

[jim777]

Most dealers that I have encountered seem to follow these rules pretty closely.

Does your dealers offer the same thing for other stuff? (AMPs, CD players, etc.)

[RebelMan]

Does your dealers offer the same thing for other stuff? (AMPs, CD players, etc.)

My experience has been that electronics do not qualify for dealer incentive upgrades.