802D owners...question for you

**jim777** · 01 July 2006, 15:29 Saturday

This is the way I always saw 802D's;

ページが見つかりませんでした - PHILE WEB

http://www.phileweb.com/special/0502/report/bw-802d-sub-l.jpg

(the whole fst is not visible but it shows the idea..)

Yours doesn't look as good?

**RebelMan** · 01 July 2006, 15:45 Saturday

tboooe, can you provide a pic?

**tboooe** · 01 July 2006, 16:06 Saturday

Unfortunately, my seals do not look so nice. Attached are some pix. The first picture is indicative of the entire seal on both speakers...what do you think?

Attached Files

**r100gs** · 01 July 2006, 17:01 Saturday

Looks like the rubber damping gasket is not up to par, as in shitty quality. For $12k, I would pull out the baseball bat. When it comes down to it, how do they sound? Thank god for speaker grills.

**tboooe** · 01 July 2006, 17:05 Saturday

Hey Jay..the speakers sound AWESOME!!! BUT I am not happy at all. I will be contacting my dealer to see if they can do something. I am not sure how they would fix it though. Somebody would have to come out to my house because I am sure as heck not going to ship these behemoths back!

**Guy** · 01 July 2006, 21:19 Saturday

Mine are not perfect either but no where near as bad as yours. Definately call the dealer and see what they can do about it.

**chuck1801** · 02 July 2006, 01:17 Sunday

mine are perfect

**Joey_V** · 02 July 2006, 13:23 Sunday

That's a lot of micro-cracks..... I hope they are able to remedy your problem.

**misterdoggy** · 04 July 2006, 14:53 Tuesday

mine are perfect ?

but you could unmount the top unit and send ?

**tboooe** · 04 July 2006, 15:41 Tuesday

Ok, it seems that everyone has perfect seals but me. I am waiting for B&W to get back to me about this. Lets hope they do the right thing and repair it. I do have a gut feeling though that this is not going to turn out the way I want it to...maybe I should give B&W more credit but I just dont see how they are going to repair this without having me ship back both speakers. We"ll see...

**misterdoggy** · 04 July 2006, 16:39 Tuesday

I think they have to do this kind of repair in the shop. I mean sending technicians to peoples homes. Has anyone ever heard of it ?

**norpus** · 07 July 2006, 21:35 Friday

Originally posted by tboooe

I noticed that the thin seal/gasket that surrounds the FST driver on both of my speakers are ripped, cracked, poorly seated in multiple areas. Is this normal? I have a hard time believing this is how the seals should look, especially considering these are $12,000 speakers. Can they be replaced?

I assume these seals have no real affect on sound quality. Am I wrong? They just look so ugly. I am a little disappointed with the build quality. I think I got a Friday afternoon special!

Am I nuts?

Not wanting to sound like a b&w fanboy, but I'm not sure of the relevance to the function? That is a photo taken very close with a macro lens. Does this have anything to do with sound reproduction from the fst ?
I saw a photo of a new razor blade once and it was not 'smooth' like the Gillette ads would suggest - it was more like razor wire. Same diff
From the listening position, is there a difference in form or function tboooe?

**RebelMan** · 08 July 2006, 00:49 Saturday

Originally posted by norpus

Not wanting to sound like a b&w fanboy, but I'm not sure of the relevance to the function? That is a photo taken very close with a macro lens. Does this have anything to do with sound reproduction from the fst ? ... From the listening position, is there a difference in form or function tboooe?

We are all B&W fanboys here!

Not wanting to sound anal retentive, I believe everyone is entitled to receive new goods in new condition. I doubt the defects affect the sound but what we see is just as important as what we hear. So while I am sure tboooe's 802D's cast a pleasant sound to his ears, I believe his eyes were treated to a slightly bitter taste of eye candy. It would have been for me too!

**tboooe** · 08 July 2006, 01:29 Saturday

norphus, actually according to B&W bad seals could have a detrimental affect on the sound if air is escaping from around the fst driver. but the real point here is the build quality. for $12K i expect everything to be perfect on this speaker as advertised. if i had known that the cracking seals was "normal" and went ahead and bought the speakers then i have no right to complain. however, i cannot believe what i am seeing is normal. your comparison with the razor blade under the microscope is not fair. first of all, i can see the cracks with my naked eye. also, what you saw under the microscope is most probably absolutely normal with all razor blades. i am sure if you inspect 100 razor blades they would all look like razor wire. what i have is the exception not the norm. finally, i do not think it matters if the seals cause a "difference in form or function". the fact of the matter is i paid for speakers with normal seals. it is analogous to purchasing a new car with a small chip in the paint. the chip in the paint in no way affects how the car drives but you did not pay for a new car with a chip in the paint. you paid for a new car with the paint in like new condition. this is what i expect from $12K speakers that are 2 months old. but of course this is only my opinion...

**misterdoggy** · 08 July 2006, 02:34 Saturday

Here here !! No its not normal and yes it would affect the sound it air was leaking

**B&W 700 Guy** · 08 July 2006, 17:40 Saturday

Tbooose,

7/8 Saw your B&Ws up for sale, and you already have a buyer on Audiogone.

Man, that was fast!

7/9 wow now your add has been deleted from Audiogone wewbsite.

**Eliav** · 08 July 2006, 18:03 Saturday

Originally posted by tboooe

norphus, actually according to B&W bad seals could have a detrimental affect on the sound if air is escaping from around the fst driver. but the real point here is the build quality. for $12K i expect everything to be perfect on this speaker as advertised. if i had known that the cracking seals was "normal" and went ahead and bought the speakers then i have no right to complain. however, i cannot believe what i am seeing is normal. your comparison with the razor blade under the microscope is not fair. first of all, i can see the cracks with my naked eye. also, what you saw under the microscope is most probably absolutely normal with all razor blades. i am sure if you inspect 100 razor blades they would all look like razor wire. what i have is the exception not the norm. finally, i do not think it matters if the seals cause a "difference in form or function". the fact of the matter is i paid for speakers with normal seals. it is analogous to purchasing a new car with a small chip in the paint. the chip in the paint in no way affects how the car drives but you did not pay for a new car with a chip in the paint. you paid for a new car with the paint in like new condition. this is what i expect from $12K speakers that are 2 months old. but of course this is only my opinion...

I agree with you.. these babys cost a fortune. their reputation is not only for their sound but also for their look and quality of build. for 12K$, one should expect no less than100% satisfaction from ALL aspects these speakers can offer !
tboooe, are you going to purchase a brand new pair ?
Eliav

**Joey_V** · 09 July 2006, 01:55 Sunday

Not trying to step on your toes or anything... but on your ad, you said that your speakers are PERFECT. Why did you mention this when you know that your 802D's seals arent up to spec?

I sincerely hope there's a good explanation for this as I would hate to be the buyer of $9K used speakers that dont measure up to my definition (and yours as well) of "perfect".

It's probably not any of my business... but I just had to post it. Sorry.

**VictorHRS** · 09 July 2006, 10:40 Sunday

The seals on mine look much better than tboooe´s, but are not perfect...

If you are selling the speakers, I don´t see why. The dealer should give full refund.

**tboooe** · 09 July 2006, 11:22 Sunday

Yes, i decided to sell the 802d...more so because a friend of a friend really wanted to purchase some 802d but could never afford to buy a new pair. And yes he is completely aware of the seal issue.

By the way, B&W says my seals look "normal" and that there is no chance of air leaking from the FST driver.

**misterdoggy** · 09 July 2006, 11:32 Sunday

Originally posted by tboooe

By the way, B&W says my seals look "normal" and that there is no chance of air leaking from the FST driver.

End of story then.

Happy ending

**PavelL** · 09 July 2006, 12:56 Sunday

BTW the seals on my Nautili never looked perfect. No cracks of any kind but the seal is slightly protruding. No doubt it is a hand-crafted product. :W

Attached Files

**Eliav** · 09 July 2006, 13:12 Sunday

Originally posted by tboooe

Yes, i decided to sell the 802d...more so because a friend of a friend really wanted to purchase some 802d but could never afford to buy a new pair. And yes he is completely aware of the seal issue.

By the way, B&W says my seals look "normal" and that there is no chance of air leaking from the FST driver.

tboooe , excuse my curiosity, are you "done" with the b&w 802d or are you going to get a brand new pair ? is the seal issue what broke you or were there other sonic issues you were unhappy with ?
Thanks
Eliav

**Blaise** · 09 October 2009, 14:07 Friday

Hello,
I have the same problem on my 802D midrange. The seals of both speakers are dryed and craked. I had allways left the cover ahead of the speaker. Can they be replaced easily?

Attached Files

**multivac** · 09 October 2009, 18:54 Friday

Originally posted by tboooe

Unfortunately, my seals do not look so nice. Attached are some pix. The first picture is indicative of the entire seal on both speakers...what do you think?

I have seen that before. Nothing serious, but annoying it is.

A B&W technician can easily replace the "faulty" seals.

**aarsoe** · 11 October 2009, 04:32 Sunday

I have the same issue. Have always had suspicion that it had to do with the packaging as the seal may somehow have gotten "glued" to the wrapping and was ripped when it was take off.
If someone have success in getting B&W to ship a pair of new gasket rings then please let the rest of us know.

**mjb** · 11 October 2009, 04:44 Sunday

The gasket rings are quite thick. The fraying is only on the outside edge, and the effect is no more than cosmetic. There are no tonal implications.

**Blaise** · 12 October 2009, 04:33 Monday

I remember that the seals were "glue like" when I bought the speakers. I allways leave the cover ahead of the FST speaker. Maybe the contact between the cover and the seal can dry it and the seal cracks?
Does anybody leave the cover ahead of its speakers or did you remove it?

**Blaise** · 21 October 2009, 03:36 Wednesday

Can these isulators be easily changed by the owner or the unmounting of the medium transducer needs the intervention of a b&w technician?

**JargonGR** · 21 October 2009, 08:08 Wednesday

damn these things need oiling to remain "fresh"?

**1oldguy** · 21 October 2009, 10:58 Wednesday

Will my seals are perfect and will be going on Audiogon very soon.

**FST** · 21 October 2009, 15:26 Wednesday

Well the seals on my 801 seems to be on the way to leave the Marlon head.
I would sure like to replace them.

/FST

Attached Files

**Antus** · 22 October 2009, 01:30 Thursday

that look like a rubber-like meterial used to isolate the driver from the head. i think it will crack if people over tighten the driver. It shouldn't bee too hard to replace. i guess u can either order the part from B&W or (if still under warranty) ask b&w to fix it for u. should be a simple task, just lay down the entire speaker (driver facing up), unscrew the FST driver (by turning the alumium thing at the back.

**aarsoe** · 23 October 2009, 04:58 Friday

OK - but will B&W send those parts if they are cracked?

**wettou** · 23 October 2009, 18:29 Friday

Who's crack :rofl:

**Blaise** · 15 November 2009, 09:09 Sunday