Focal Electra VS B&W 800 Series

[nick.h]

B&W 805s VS Electra be1007
B&W 803s VS Electra be1024
B&W HTM3s VS CC1000

Im going to have a listen to both on saturday, just wondering if anyone else has done this comparision before?

Cheers

Nick

[norpus]

I think you meant the Be1027 - a speaker I personally am very fond of

I think it would be a close call, and I'd go the Electras myself ( waits to get stoned by the masses). They are the later model out, have the nice Be tweeter and are just about as good looking (not quite I agree) and a lower price point , allowing more to be spent on other gear.

[nick.h]

ahahah very brave to say that.

Im looking forward to hearing them, going to get them both demo'd on the same receiver to get a good gauge.

[Aussie Geoff]

Nick,

Interesting choice... Two brilliant but very different sounding speakers. I hope you can hear them in the same room with the same source components etc...

Personally I would take the Electra 1027Be over the B&W 803S - but they sound quite different... My reasons would be the (to my ears) cleaner midrange of the 1027be's... I'd need to go to the 802D to prefer the B&W sound... And hey, I'm the co-moderator of this forum... So who say's I'm biased to B&W...

You are likely to clearly prefer one or the other. The 1027BE's are very analytical and clean, possibly a little less liquid and musical than the 803S... Oh, and they have amazing upper midrange and treble (right up there with the D series B&Ws... The B&W 803S are very musical and sweet, they just play music and disappear/

BTW - both need a good break in period - ideally 50 hours or so as they can sound a little harsh "out of the box".

Nick - Oh and do let us know your impressions once you have listened.

Geoff

[alebonau]

ahahah very brave to say that.

Im looking forward to hearing them, going to get them both demo'd on the same receiver to get a good gauge.

receiver ?! 8O yeesh ! I would have thought speakers of this calibre might deserve a bit better than that driving them to make them shine?. but hey theres no harm in checking them out in any way that takes your fancy.

But yes do post back how you go.

[VictorHRS]

How much does the 1027Be cost for you? Here in Brasil the 803S is considerably cheaper, the Be is between the pricing of the 803D and S.

I haven't had the chance to listen to the 1027s yet, but I think that comparing them to the 803Ds is a fairer test.

[yourtoys7]

I really liked the Electra 1027Be, I found them warmer/ softer then B&W 805S/ 804S. Very satisfying and I would be very happy with them as well, my problem was: 1. Local dealer wasn't good discount at all (Canada) and 2. Their resale value is not the best compare to B&W (I always look at that as well).
The B&W 804S cost me less in CAD. (bought them in US.) and dealer was very honest, open and gave me very good discount.

[tboooe]

I listened to the Alto and Nova speakers extensively before buying my 802D. The JM speakers are VERY nice and also more expensive than BW. Yes, they look stunning. Yes the BE tweeter produces clear, smooth, extended highs. I would compare the Be tweeter to BW's diamond tweeter. Perhaps the BW was a bit smoother and not quite as sharp sounding. The bass was also very comparable. What really separated the two was the midrange. For me, I preferred the slightly warm midrange of the BW which sounded more realistic to me. That is not to say the mids of the Focals was not great. In fact, I would say it is very detailed and clean. To some people, this could be the holy grail of sound. I guess I am not a true audiophile because I think too much clarity and resolution makes the music sound sterile. I prefer a sound that is "listenable" and reminiscent of being in a small, intimate setting.

By the way, if you are looking at 805 alternatives and like the Focal sound I suggest you give the Dynaudio Confidence C1 bookshelf and C4 a listen. I heard these paired with Simaudio gear and the sound reminded me of the Focals...clear, crisp, detailed, airy.

Good luck!

[fauzigarib]

Can we pleeeeease switch places!?!?!

Nick!

Nice going! You're in for a treat!

I don't have any experience with the Be Tweeter, but I had a chance to in-home audition a pair of Electra 836 (I think that's the model number of the range before the Be came into being).

They were also physically different looking from the current line... The Be models are more in-line driver arrangements from what I can tell from the pics. The older line was a lot like the Grande Utopia - off axis with the tweeters and upper ranges looking like they're pointing downwards slightly, and the mids and lowers pointing straight at you. And just like in the current model, I believe the bass was downward vented from an opening in the bottom of the speaker.

Personally I think I still prefer the 800 series sound, but that's probably because I just heard B&W for the first time a few days ago, as opposed to having the Electras in my house a year and a half ago.

But they are some FIIIINE sounding loudspeakers... Probably in the top three speakers that I have EVER heard. I also had them paired with an old pair of Bryston NT 212's running as mono blocks, as these speakers ate my poor McIntosh SS Integrated for breakfast! Poor thing! :cry:

Good luck and take me with you if you like a second opinion... I'm always ready willing and able! Good luck!!!

-Fauzi

[norpus]

In Hong Kong where prices are levelled IMO, I listened to a range of Focals (Be1027, Nova), the be1027 was 45000HKD (1st price, no bargaining yet)
compared to 106000 for the 802d. So good value I thought, at a different price point of course.

The Nova was a bit pricier, but boy was it's midrange nice. I'd just listened to the 800's upstairs 20 mins earlier and I thought the novas actually outshone them. May have been the source too, as altho the 800's were running seriuos classe monoblocs and source, the focals were running enormous chord monos and the 5 box esoteric. Gorgeous on my diana krall cd. Would have eaten my poor 802d for brekky - unashamed at admitting it, even tho I love my B&W's