Will the 802's be too big for my room?

[RebelMan]

I am evaluating future upgrade possibilities and I have the 802D's under consideration. I currently own the 803S's and they fit my living space well. However, I am concerned that the larger 802D's may not be suitable and may lock me into an 803D's only upgrade. That wouldn't be a bad thing but I like to have choices.

The room is 12 feet wide and I currently have my 803S's parked about 8 feet apart, from center to center. What are the width constraints of your room and how far apart are your 802's?

P.S. Please note if a center channel is also included in your arrangement.

P.S. P.S. Other's are welcome to chime in but I am primarily interested in 802(N,D) owner feedback.

[misterdoggy]

Rebelman,

My 802D's are 8-9 ft apart and angled in. With a HTM2D center channel. Room is about 14 ft wide at that point.

IMHO no room is too small for a pair of 802's !!

[xk8boy]

I have a very simular setup to mr.doggy here. My 802Ds are about 8 foot apart. As too whether they are suitable for you living area, well urm?, i say go for it. you only live once. I love the 802D, sound, function and form.

[Dmantis]

Word of advice when choosing speaker distance.

Take the measurement from the seating position to the speaker position and make a equal triangle. Distance between the speakers should be equal to the distance from the speakers.

This is a great starting point to start tweaking from. Most cases this is the proper distance.

[misterdoggy]

Word of advice when choosing speaker distance.

Take the measurement from the seating position to the speaker position and make a equal triangle. Distance between the speakers should be equal to the distance from the speakers.

This is a great starting point to start tweaking from. Most cases this is the proper distance.

Dmantis is right there. That's by the book. My couch is about 12 feet away, but with the speakers that far apart the soundstage was much too big for HT and TV. Actually I found everything sounded better (n my house) at 8-9 feet apart.

When you find the "sweet" spot, you will know it. Also you need to live with it to really get close, then the last little adjustments are fine tuning until BOOM thats it.

[McGlentosh]

My N802's are six feet apart, with an HTM1 in between.

[RebelMan]

Dmantis, thanks for the input. Actually, I am already aware of the best practices for speaker placement but these are only guidelines not the rule. My room seems to approximate misterdoggy's in that my listening position is about 12' away from the L and R channels. It also seems from the pictures that I have seen that people generally place their speakers closer together. Is this because of room contraints, the sweet spot or both? That's what I am trying to ascertain by posing the original question.

Thanks for the feedback thus far everyone, it is appreciated.

[RebelMan]

I was sure hoping for a lot more feedback from the 802 owners out there. Please don't take my inquiry lightly. It's not like I can try before I buy with these puppies.

Aussie Geoff here - I have changed your title to make it more specific - this may help to get more people to read it and reply ...

My A/V room which also serves as our family room and which we spend about 50% of our time in is about 12' x 18' (feet). My 803S's seem to fit pretty well in this space, maybe a little on the small side. The 802D's have about a 50% larger foot print and are about 50% larger overall. I am really concerned that a speaker of this size will overwhelm the room. The 803D's are only slightly larger at about 10%, so I know those would work.

If you ever had that feeling when you thought that piece of furniture you bought from the store would look great in your home only to discover later that it was tooooooo BIG, then you'll know exactly where I am coming from. I would like to avoid that if I could.

I changed the title with the hope that more people will respond. Thanks everyone.

[SRT-10 Viper]

Rebelman; I have a little larger room. I went with the 802Ns then upgraded to 800Ds and put the 802ns in the rear of the room. Go for it!

[Gump]

Would it be feasible to ask your dealer/salesman to bring the store demo's to your home to see how they sound? I know they're big and hard to move around, but after all you are going to drop 12 grand in their pocket if you decide to buy.

My salesman brought over a couple of demo amps for me to hear in my home and I'm glad he did because they didnt sound that great to me and I chose to head in a different direction.

Just a thought.

[misterdoggy]

Rebelman

The 802D's come deliverd on Rollers. The spikes are an option to buy 'after', so if you buy 802D's don't forget to have the dealer "include" them in the price.

The reason for the rollers becomes clear and you really shold move them around until you find the best spot which could take a process of weeks until you are sure.

Then when you are 'sure' put the spikes on and you will hear even more. :T

Bruce

[caleb]

Rebelman, the sizes you gave for y our room will easily accomodate the 802s.

Just remember that when you place them - they need space all around - I would say a metre from any walls back or side.

[RebelMan]

Gump, I haven't tried asking the local dealer about demoing the speakers in my home. Though I doubt that they would be willing to shuffle two awkward 175 pound speakers back and forth. It's not like lifting a compact 100 pound power amplifier which is, comparitively speaking, trivial.

Caleb, my room is 12 feet wide and 18 feet long. The speakers would be situated with in the 12 feet of space. The left channel is free from any walls but the right is not so lucky. To keep the right spreaker 1 meter away from the wall will create, in effect, a 6 foot (~2 meter) separation between the two speakers. I also have an HTM3S center. This seems like it might be too close for comfort. Are you using a simliar arrangement?

[dyazdani]

I gave my pair of 802s to my dad who put them in a dedicated listening room. His room is about 12' wide as well. I'd say they are close to what caleb said, about 1 meter from the back wall and about 2.5' from the side walls, so they are 6-7' apart. They sound great with that setup.

I don't think you'll have any trouble, even with the center channel.

In fact, the dealer where I went to college had N802s in a room only about 10' wide. They were placed within 2' of the side walls and still sounded great.

[Blazar]

I had my 802N's in a tiny little apartment living room around the dimensions you described and they sounded great.

They will sound even better if you throw a set of bass traps into the corners of the room behind the speakers.

[dyazdani]

Here is a picture of the setup - room width is about the same as yours...

[RebelMan]

Viper, are the 800D's noticebly larger than the N802's with respect to your room?

Blazar, thanks for sharing. I also intend to add a bass trap to reduce noticeable room gain from the right side.

dyazdani, the photo and room description you provided is very helpful and encouraging. Although, a 2.5 foot center might be a little snug sitting between the two. Then again, I suppose some positional exceptions can be made with respect to the L and R.

Thanks.

[dyazdani]

Glad you feel better... one of the other members of the forum has some 803S about 6.5 feet apart with a HTM3 in between and it seems to work fine.

[Matt M.]

Gump, I haven't tried asking the local dealer about demoing the speakers in my home. Though I doubt that they would be willing to shuffle two awkward 175 pound speakers back and forth. It's not like lifting a compact 100 pound power amplifier which is, comparitively speaking, trivial.

Caleb, my room is 12 feet wide and 18 feet long. The speakers would be situated with in the 12 feet of space. The left channel is free from any walls but the right is not so lucky. To keep the right spreaker 1 meter away from the wall will create, in effect, a 6 foot (~2 meter) separation between the two speakers. I also have an HTM3S center. This seems like it might be too close for comfort. Are you using a simliar arrangement?

It is hard to answer your question since we don't know exactly your room.
Regarding only your room's size, I suppose it is large enough for 802s,
although, 2 meters between them is clearly short for such speakers.

However, another aspect to take into account is that 802s are more
demanding than 803S and 803D. A suitable amplifier for 803s can be
"short" for 802s. What is your amplifier ?

Moreover, whatever your choice (803D or 802D), you will have also to
consider a center change. If you want to keep a total tone homogeneity
between your 3 front speakers, a HMT2D would be more suitable.



Matt M.

[SRT-10 Viper]

800D size compared to 802Ns

Rebelman;

I was surprised that my wife said "They look similar" (i.e. to the 802Ns). I thought she would complain about them being to big for the room!

I have added the HTM2D speaker on a shelf above the TV since the picture was taken.

[misterdoggy]

Viper

Nice looking setup. What kind of screen is that.

[SRT-10 Viper]

Qualia 70inch screen... Great TV.

[misterdoggy]

Looks it !! It would take a 70 inch screen to make those speakers seem the right size !! :T

Its what I want to do, but components ie Amps, and stuff my wife doesn't pay much attention to, but the introduction of a 70 inch screen would be a major confrontation time :boohoo:

[RebelMan]

I was surprised that my wife said "They look similar" (i.e. to the 802Ns). I thought she would complain about them being to big for the room!

Hey, if it passes the WAF test then that is good enough for me! Thanks for the visual Viper.

[SRT-10 Viper]

Misterdoggy; Find out where they have the Qualia and make sure they are showing HDTV on it. Then, take your wife in and show her the TV... She'll love it. My wife actually watches the TV more than I do! If you want the Sony SXRD technology, they have come out with a 50 and 60 inch version which is much cheaper than what the Qualia's sell for today. Rumor is Sony will come out with a 70 inch XBR using the SXRD technology. That would be a similar TV to the 70 inch Qualia at a much better price.

[EAmin]

Rebelman;

I was surprised that my wife said "They look similar" (i.e. to the 802Ns). I thought she would complain about them being to big for the room!

I have added the HTM2D speaker on a shelf above the TV since the picture was taken.

Viper, how far are your 800Ds from the backwall? They look like they are kinda close. Have you tried moving them away from the walls more? Just wondering if you'd get better sound this way. Beautiful setup.

[SRT-10 Viper]

EAmin; They are out about 3 feet now (post picture)... I would like to move them out further but that's where the wife wins. So when she's not around, I move them out until she returns.

[McGlentosh]

Rebelman
The 802D's come delivered on Rollers. The spikes are an option to buy 'after', so if you buy 802D's don't forget to have the dealer "include" them in the price.

Rebelman,

You don't have to buy the spikes. If your 802's didn't come with them, and your dealer can't/won't get them for you, B&W will send them to you gratis. I know, because I just got a set for my N802's. B&W was very courteous and prompt. Now, I just have to figure out how to put the suckers on!