HOLY Fricking Crap Batman!!!

[audiofreak7]

Greetings all,
Its no doubt that B&W speakers are among the best out there, but it always surprises me as to how much some of you will spend on your systems. I'm not knocking anyone, cuz hey........if its your passion and you have the $ , then by all means go for it. I guess I'm just amazed. Some people are dropping $7k on one amp to drive one speaker.....holy crap! Does a $15k system really sound 5k better than a $10k system. Ya....you could debate that till the cows come home, but I think everyone knows what I'm getting at. I have 805's and ASW825 (Stereo use only)....pretty modest system compared to some but the sound is unbelievable. Maybe I'm just old school, but $5k on speaks is enough for me. 8O

[JKalman]

Well, if you are going to spend a lot of money, you definitely get more out of spending most of the money on the speakers, as long as you don't buy total crap for the other components IMO. You don't see as much of an exponential fall off in the returns of sound quality compared to the rise in product pricing when dealing with speaker prices (for the most part :W).

[JKalman]

Do I feel that spending an extra $9500 on 802Ds vs the 805s was worth it? Yes, 100%. I traded in a whole 7 series 5.1 setup and some extra cash to buy the 802Ds, they sounded that much better than anything else I had heard in the store besides the 800Ds.

[JKalman]

Besides which, it has also been nice watching all the Product of the year awards confirming my initial listening impressions.

[audiofreak7]

I,m sure they sound better, but for myself, I just can't see dropping that kind of cheese. Maybe if I made $150k a year.

[JKalman]

The d4mn forum is buggy again, I can't edit posts... Otherwise I would have added these last few posts to my intial post.

[JKalman]

I,m sure they sound better, but for myself, I just can't see dropping that kind of cheese. Maybe if I made $150k a year.

I understand, I want the 800Ds but I can't throw that much cash down on a pair of speakers...

[audiofreak7]

No doubt! I'd rather take a month long vaca in Figi.

[JKalman]

Hehe, I want the best of both worlds, I take a 2-3 hour vacation every night when I listen to my 802Ds.

Sadly, this causes much pain and suffering when my wife realizes I'm not in bed and have snuck down to my office... Doh! :cry:

[audiofreak7]

Oops! I meant Fiji.

[audiofreak7]

Thats what I'm talk'in about! My neighbors hate my ASW825.

[audiofreak7]

Well, at least your speaker obsession hasn't cost you your marriage..............yet.

[JKalman]

Speakers have a longer shelf life anyway... J/K

[audioqueso]

Speakers have a longer shelf life anyway... J/K

Just kidding? Why? It's true. lol

[shadow]

Do I feel that spending an extra $9500 on 802Ds vs the 805s was worth it? Yes, 100%. I traded in a whole 7 series 5.1 setup and some extra cash to buy the 802Ds, they sounded that much better than anything else I had heard in the store besides the 800Ds.

You can look vainly on every forum for audio and never find a person who will not defend his purchase of whatever he bought. That does not mean what you expererienced is not true, but the guys that surely must have bought a clunker with all that money never seem to post their experience.

[bleeding ears]

Guys, I also think the amount of money spent on some systems is absurd,
however it is possible to get a great system without spending a fortune.

Firstly never pay full retail prices, and secondly look at the second hand market. Good quality speakers from say 10 years ago are generally (in my experience) not much different sounding to the latest models. From what I can gather speakers basicly work the same and have the same components now, as they did many years ago. In fact the older ones may be better as they may not have been made in China and I think mdf did not exist back then, and possibly plastic was not used either.

When you take into account differing room acoustics, differing amplifiers, sources, cables etc etc the high price paid for the latest speaker may not be the best way to go. Perhaps the money saved on buying used speakers or other components can be put towards better amps etc etc and may give more (sound) quality / value for your dollar.

Having said that, I broke my rules and purchased speakers new from a shop. LOL

However the Energy Connoisseur C9's were half price and were reviewed as sounding as good in some respects as B&W 804's that cost approx 3 times the price.

So if the prices seem too high, there are alternatives to B&W for the poor such as myself ,LOL

thanks pete.

[GregLett]

http://www.dali.dk/Page.asp?MMID=1&MID=3&UMID=2&PID=52

These bad boys are nice! Worth 42K???

[RobP]

Greetings all,
Its no doubt that B&W speakers are among the best out there, but it always surprises me as to how much some of you will spend on your systems. I'm not knocking anyone, cuz hey........if its your passion and you have the $ , then by all means go for it. I guess I'm just amazed. Some people are dropping $7k on one amp to drive one speaker.....holy crap! Does a $15k system really sound 5k better than a $10k system. Ya....you could debate that till the cows come home, but I think everyone knows what I'm getting at. I have 805's and ASW825 (Stereo use only)....pretty modest system compared to some but the sound is unbelievable. Maybe I'm just old school, but $5k on speaks is enough for me. 8O

Audiofreak, If you think about, to the normal person 5K on a system is nuts, I have a few neighbors that think that a $1000 system is esoteric. It just depends on what is important to you and if you have the means to do so. Hell I know people that people that will spend hundreds of thousands dollars on a hobby yet drive a really cheap car, case in point: There was a man I knew named Stan Durwood, he owned AMC Theatres inc. Probably one of the largest theatre chains in the world, he had a huge mansion but you know what he drove? A old Honda Civic.

[Cowanrg]

i had a client once that had a net worth of over $100M. he bought a USED acura something or other (just a sedan) because it was reliable and did what he needed it to.

just because you have money, doesnt mean you have to spend it, and just because you DONT have money doesnt mean you cant spend it an interesting world we live in. some of the best audio systems ive seen have been in some crappy houses and the guys didnt have anything else of ANY value. they drove old rusting cars and had no furniture. i know a guy who has 802D's in a 2-br apartment with all musical fidelity gear. the guy doesnt own a couch, just a chair to sit in and listen. priorities.

[JKalman]

Just kidding? Why? It's true. lol

Shhh... My wife might be monitoring my computer. :E

[Ryx]

Its all about what your personal hobbies are. If your main hobby is you audio system then chances are that you are going to put most of you "extra" cash towards that hobby. ("extra" being the amount of money over your usuall bills)

Myself I have 2 hobbies, 4X4ing, and my audio. the first of which takes the greater persentage of my $$$s. I own 2 4x4s the one of which I have put well over $10,000 into with mods and parts. if it hadn't had that hobby then that money would likely have been added to what I have put into my audio equipment which is my other hobby. People need there toys, and depending on what their hobbies are, that will define what they put their hobby funds into.

[JKalman]

Its all about what your personal hobbies are. If your main hobby is you audio system then chances are that you are going to put most of you "extra" cash towards that hobby. ("extra" being the amount of money over your usuall bills)

Myself I have 2 hobbies, 4X4ing, and my audio. the first of which takes the greater persentage of my $$$s. I own 2 4x4s the one of which I have put well over $10,000 into with mods and parts. if it hadn't had that hobby then that money would likely have been added to what I have put into my audio equipment which is my other hobby. People need there toys, and depending on what their hobbies are, that will define what they put their hobby funds into.

Good point, I've put a hell of a lot more money into my sports cars than all my home theatre equipment in my entire house.

[Race Car Driver]

Me too! Its all priorities.

My cars, > my audio.... but that is slowly balancing out.. Ive been driving for.... 7-8 years... ive had.... 21 motor vehicles.... LOL.. starting to get old, im down to 9 currently... still too many! Too many toys!

Im really enjoying my audio, and with the minus teens today in the Minnesota cold, more time inside listening to my music... I love it!
I want more better now! And with that, i can see me selling off 3 of my bikes, and my boat to do that.

I dont make a lot of money, but I spend alot on whats important to me, the very few things that are.
Cars and Audio, used to be car audio, now "maturing" to home audio.

[JKalman]

I love my E55, but if I knew this Lotus was going to cause so many problems... I would have bought B&W Prestige Speakers or 800Ds instead, and still would have had enough left for high end monoblocks and other high end gear. No big deal really, eventually I will own a top of the line system all around, just not in the next couple of years.

Besides which, moving slowly up the chain definitely causes a deeper appreciation for the equipment than just starting at the top. What good is the best system in the world if you have not had the time to aquire the ability to appreciate it by hearing the spaces inbetween.

[Eliav]

It is really interesting to read these threads, Most of us are obviously freaks of excellence in sound quality and would spend a lot to hear better sound, the question is when this hobby transforms into an obsession; "got to have these 802d's," got to have this great amp. it has much more power/punch/control" etc. There is no question that a decent upgrade is a true pleasure ,however,
When do you reach a point where you say : OK , I have to stop...I am not going to audition those 800d's or to these sweet monoblocks 'cause then my old system will never be the same for me!

I am curious where is you guys "stop" point, is it money, your wife/partner, other reasons?
Eliav

[JKalman]

I listened to the 800Ds before I heard the 802Ds. It didn't ruin my appreciation of my 802Ds, but it did make me aware that 802Ds are not 800Ds. Fortunately there is no absolute perfect sound reproduction, or we would all be completely ravenous trying to make it happen. Reproduction is reproduction and it can never be perfect. Funny enough a lot of speakers out there that are not accurate are found to sound better, or even, more live. Live performance is far from perfect; sometimes having a speaker that represents a signal incorrectly helps make it sound more live. This is the beauty of being an audiophile, because there is no correct sound, just your enthusiasm for one sound over another. I prefer a speaker to represent the signal, as true to its nature as possible, because I like listening to live recordings, some of which are concerts I have been at!

I'm extremely happy with my 802Ds ATM. My amplifier leaves me in a bit of a quandary though. I want my 802Ds to have plenty of power, and I want to add 805s to the back to have a 4.0 system as I upgrade to a 5.1 setup. So in the interim I'm stuck trying to decide when to upgrade my front speaker amplifiers. If I upgrade them before I buy the backs, I have a useless amp lying around for a few months. If I upgrade them after, I am using my 802Ds with less power reserve, though, to be honest, I tried out my 9B SST bi-wired and didn't notice any loss of sound quality at all. Then the other issue is whether or not I should stick with Bryston still or move to Classe, Meridian, Bel Canto or Ayre, and will those match up well with speakers on a Bryston amp for the back channels. I love the Bryston sound, but it isn't the only game in town, and even the 9B paired with a 14B might not work well since the 14B might sound different due to balanced mode.

In either case, I am coming from a 7 series 5.1 setup, so I am grateful and happy with my 802Ds, even if I only have two speakers now instead of 6.

[JKalman]

My stop point is money, but that is something you can always earn more of IMO.

[Race Car Driver]

Money is always the deciding factor for me, if I had enough, i wouldnt stop...

Why would I? Why should I?

[JKalman]

Speaking of Tom Cruise (Days of Thunder), I've seen Paul Newman racing his Corvette at Lime Rock during the summers. He blows everyone away on test days. I've never seen so many electronic instruments in a race car in my life! That car is amazing...

[JKalman]

Race, though, if you had enough, you would stop because you would run out of things to buy at the high end. The top end of audio isn't too high, not like the high end of cars. heheh

[JKalman]

Of course, I guess the argument can go... Well in order to get those 100K+ speakers working right, I need a dedicated house for them... heheh

[Jeff]

Aquiring a top notch system isn't something most of us do overnight.

When we first pursue our audio dream we notice the prices. OH MY GOSH, THE PRICES!!!! We say to ourselves "you'd have to be nuts to spend that much on a pair of speakers, etc." And slowly we get our feet wet , in my case, 5 yrs ago, a pair of B&W DM302 bookshelf speakers ($300 a pair)

When I was first visited the store I had never heard of B&W. In the store there was also a new pair of Nautilus 802's. At $8,000 i just marveled at the fool or the "I don't care" rich person who would make such a purchase. Little did I know that 4 years later those N802's would be in my house. Am I now the fool? With some debate, NO!

It takes a while to appreciate fine audio. To understand how much a world class speaker can offer. The BEST part about it, is not regreting your purchase. Knowing you could live with this item for a very long time. :T

Jeff

[Race Car Driver]

Race, though, if you had enough, you would stop because you would run out of things to buy at the high end. The top end of audio isn't too high, not like the high end of cars. heheh

Hehe, thats when you start to get multiples..... 8)

"Gotta" have a dedicated room for audio right?!, then the 7.1 room with the projector and stadium seating... but best of all, "gotta" have the pimp bedroom setup.... :T

And after that was said and done, id have a fleet of vehicles that would rival Jay Leno.......



One can dream right!??? ;x(

[JKalman]

My wife won't let me build anything outside my office until our kids don't need the playroom anymore. Then it will be time to build a theatre with projector and stadium seating.