802D or 800D?

[PavelL]

they are a superior speaker to the 802 in almost every way.

great report, CBW :W

[norpus]

I added a pair of ASW-855 subs to the 800D's I own.I think without a sub there is a little miss of bass on the 800D's.I don't think you can call the 800D superior to the 802D but the bass is a little different and I would say the mid/high sounds a little more transparant on those 800D's but I think those 802D's are magnificent speakers as well

Thanks for that Jericho. I bet it sounds magnificent
The point I am offering up for discussion is the 802d with a good well integrated sub may be able to outperform a straight 800d , just because of the dynamics available with a big anchor in the subbass that most floorstanders (unless they are huge) find difficult to match. The 800d seemed to me to have fuller bass response than the 802d, as you'd expect with bigger cabinet and drivers and likely other tweaks for the flagship. But I have found nothing lacking now in any part of the system bass response once I coupled my 802d to an IB sub with twin 18" drivers - absolutely seamless, effortless and musical.

An 800d plus big quality sub would likely be just that bit better again - whether still now $5K better I guess depends on the person with the dosh?

[jericho]

Thanks for that Jericho. I bet it sounds magnificent
The point I am offering up for discussion is the 802d with a good well integrated sub may be able to outperform a straight 800d , just because of the dynamics available with a big anchor in the subbass that most floorstanders (unless they are huge) find difficult to match. The 800d seemed to me to have fuller bass response than the 802d, as you'd expect with bigger cabinet and drivers and likely other tweaks for the flagship. But I have found nothing lacking now in any part of the system bass response once I coupled my 802d to an IB sub with twin 18" drivers - absolutely seamless, effortless and musical.

An 800d plus big quality sub would likely be just that bit better again - whether still now $5K better I guess depends on the person with the dosh?

You're right Norpus, I think an 802D will sound better than an 800D if you ad a good sub to those 802D's.But the price you're paying for that sub and those 802D, you have almost those 800D's altough if you like much bass the sub is neccessary even with those 800D's.It all depends on your wallet and the WAF I think, because those 800 and 802 's are both very great speakers

[Jesse111]

You're right Norpus, I think an 802D will sound better than an 800D if you ad a good sub to those 802D's.But the price you're paying for that sub and those 802D, you have almost those 800D's altough if you like much bass the sub is neccessary even with those 800D's.It all depends on your wallet and the WAF I think, because those 800 and 802 's are both very great speakers

I suppose it depends on what is meant by sounding "better". I've not heard the 800D yet. But it has a larger cabinet, is 2 inches taller with a different crossover setup. From those who have heard both, as well as all the rieviews I've read, there is an obvious difference in sound mostly in the bass and upper bass frequencies. It seems reasonable to me that one may be able to better the bass response using a sub with the 802 over the stock 800, but as for sounding better? That would definately be something that would take much tinkering and time listening. In the end, it may turn out that one can't necessarily be made better over the other. It may just be too different sounds. An 802 with a sub will sound like and 802 with a sub. An 800 with a sub will sound like and 800 with a sub. Different. Sounding better would be a real gamble with that kind of money. I'm not sure if anyone in here has ever done a comparion of this nature. If money is an issue and you like the sound of the 802, then throw in a sub and don't look back. It would be awesome. If money is not and issure I think most folks with the 800D's might recommend going with the 800D.