New owner of a pair of 703's!!!

[karnaaj]

Hello everyone, I finally find myself the proud owner of a pair of 703's. After saving up for nearly a year I pulled the trigger yesterday. Right out of the box they sound great so I can't wait until they have broken in some more. They replace a pair of Soliloquy bookshelf speakers that were decent but didn't have nearly the bass I was looking for. Now I find myself in the position of upgrading my Onkyo 797 rec. probably to an Arcam 300 or 350.
Anybody out there use Arcam components with there B&W speakers? If so I would like to here of your experiences.

Also, how many of you use the port plugs that came with your speakers? I can't decide if I notice a difference either way but I have only been playing around with them for less than a day.

[Ted]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the 703s!! They will only get better with time! Sorry, I have Rotel equipment, so I don't have any experience with Arcam. I have never used the port plugs with mine, so I'm no help there either.

Good to have you here, have fun!!

[Shyamalan]

Congratulations!!
I'm also thinking about buying the 703 or the 804 so I'm very interesting in your oppinion. Do the 703 have enough bass? Thank you

[Ted]

Congratulations!!
I'm also thinking about buying the 703 or the 804 so I'm very interesting in your oppinion. Do the 703 have enough bass? Thank you

I had the same debate. It took me a year to save up and debated between those two the whole time. In the end, I went with the 703. I could certainly hear the difference between the two, but for me it just wasn't enough of a difference to justify the price difference. The 804 to me were a little warmer in the higher frequencies. To me, the bass was very close between the 703 and the 804, it was those higher frequencies where they were not the same. However, I have read other people's opinions and they feel the 804 does have better bass, so I guess it is up to your ears. I drive the 703 with a Rotel RB-1080 with 200 watts and feel the bass is very good. It could be better, but again, we are talking a lot more $$. Try to compare the two if you can and see what you think.

For me in the end, while I could hear a difference when they were side by side, I decided when the 703 were at home with nothing to compare them to, I'd be very happy (with the exception of that area of my brain that would think back and remember I liked the 804 just a little more).

I've been very happy and have started to think about some 704 for my HT (the 703 are for 2 channel only).

Good luck!!

[karnaaj]

Congratulations!!
I'm also thinking about buying the 703 or the 804 so I'm very interesting in your oppinion. Do the 703 have enough bass? Thank you

Compared to the bookshelf's they replaced, definitely? I would have to say if they were to be used exclusively for two channel music there is more than enough bass, at least for me. However, they will be used more than 50% for HT applications so I will most likely get a sub. Probably the ASW 700.

[scanido]

Compared to the bookshelf's they replaced, definitely? I would have to say if they were to be used exclusively for two channel music there is more than enough bass, at least for me. However, they will be used more than 50% for HT applications so I will most likely get a sub. Probably the ASW 700.

What size is your room where you find the 703's bass sufficient in 2CH?

[Tommy]

karnaaj,

I have 805S hooked up to an Arcam avr-250 biamped with 6+7 channels. They sound pretty impressive coming from a receiver. However, I do experience some listening fatique after about 45 mintues at my normal listening level. I heard that avr-350 is quite a bit better than the 250, so you should definately give it an audition. For the money, it's well worth it!

[Blindamood]

Hi karnaaj, welcome to the forum! I see you're in Cincinnati...I am in West Chester. I'm assuming you're shopping at Audible Elegance? I've done business with them for a number of years now, and am always happy with Lou's recommendations.

I currently use Rotel with B&W speakers in my 5.1 setup, and am quite happy.

[karnaaj]

Hi karnaaj, welcome to the forum! I see you're in Cincinnati...I am in West Chester. I'm assuming you're shopping at Audible Elegance? I've done business with them for a number of years now, and am always happy with Lou's recommendations.

I currently use Rotel with B&W speakers in my 5.1 setup, and am quite happy.

Yes, I did get them at AE. There is a new place over in Rookwood called Entertainment Solutions that carries them and they seem to be good people, but the price was better at AE and they seemed to know better about what they're talking about. What Rotel gear specifically are you using?

[karnaaj]

What size is your room where you find the 703's bass sufficient in 2CH?

My room is somewhat smaller than avg. (I would think anyway) at 16x12. I have my gear spread along one long wall and am only sitting about 8-9ft from the speakers. I live in an apt. and can't have too much bass w/o the neighbors noticing!

[joetama]

703 + RB-1080 is a very good match. It is what I use and I am very happy with it.

As for bass response. I only use my sub for movies. In music the speakers are well enough on their own.

[scanido]

My room is somewhat smaller than avg. (I would think anyway) at 16x12. I have my gear spread along one long wall and am only sitting about 8-9ft from the speakers. I live in an apt. and can't have too much bass w/o the neighbors noticing!

Thanks karnaaj;

I have a similar listening space (11x18) and find my 804s with plenty of bass. Good to hear you find the bass plenty for your space.

As for Arcam receivers, I had an AVP700, basically same processing as the AVR300 and found they match very well with B&W speakers. Nice smooth sound.

Also consider the Rotel receivers. I recently got rid of my seperates for a Rotel RSX-1057, (an interim solution until HDMI 1.3) and am pleased.

[Blindamood]

Yes, I did get them at AE. There is a new place over in Rookwood called Entertainment Solutions that carries them and they seem to be good people, but the price was better at AE and they seemed to know better about what they're talking about. What Rotel gear specifically are you using?

I'm using the RSP-1068 processor with the RMB-1075 5-channel amp. A bit more affordable than the Arcam, but I'm sure Arcam is worth a listen as well.

[joetama]

Yes, I did get them at AE. There is a new place over in Rookwood called Entertainment Solutions that carries them and they seem to be good people, but the price was better at AE and they seemed to know better about what they're talking about. What Rotel gear specifically are you using?

Did you see AE has McIntosh now?

Also, who did you work with there at AE?

[Blindamood]

Did you see AE has McIntosh now?

Also, who did you work with there at AE?

Yep...but McIntosh is a bit out of my range for the time being. I try to avoid listening to stuff I can't afford. :roll:

Depends who is in the store when I stop in...usually Mark or Julio. I usually email Lou (owner) with questions, however, since he's at the N. Kentucky store.

[karnaaj]

Did you see AE has McIntosh now?

Also, who did you work with there at AE?

I had Julio as my saleman, and yes I did see that they carry McIntosh. There were a couple of their amps I liked a lot but just couldn't afford.

[KRC]

Hey, welcome to the board. I picked up my 703's on 2 Jan 07 and they get better and better as they are broken in. I am running mine on a Arcam AVR 200. When I listen to two channel, I am getting 90 watts/side which gets them loud enough, however, there is nothing like a high current amp pushing the juice to bring out the tighter bottom end. At the dealer, I listened to them through a Bryston 4B and Krell Kav 250 watt amp so the sound character is the same but you can really see.......hear the extreme differences from bottom to the top frequencies. So you would be good on the newer Arcam products. I do not use the foam plugs and when I listen to two channel I turn off my sub (ASW 600) as the bass from the 703's is tighter and more precise, sub is good for HT.

Kevin

[joetama]

I had Julio as my saleman, and yes I did see that they carry McIntosh. There were a couple of their amps I liked a lot but just couldn't afford.

Well hell Julio has sold to 3 of us....

Julio or Mark are the only 2 guys I deal with there.... Great guys.....

[karnaaj]

Well hell Julio has sold to 3 of us....

Julio or Mark are the only 2 guys I deal with there.... Great guys.....

What part of Cincinnati are you in?

[Shyamalan]

I'm thinking about buying a pair of 703 and, as I'm going to listen music a low volume, I'd like ask to the owners of then how do they work at low volume. Do you think that the 804 works better in this case?
Thank you very much

[wackydesigner]

703 vs 804

I've heard 703 and N804's side by side using same equipment+source. The result was the 804 were a completely different speaker technology compared to the 700 series. Crisper+warmer and a very beautiful presentation. 703's had more bass but for me it was overbearing bass. But hey thats just me. Test test test it yourself! As far as the amp goes, one word: Tube amps. Try a TAD-60 or Primaluna Prologue's to make your B&W's sing.

Keep in mind that the N804 are not the same as the new 804's. The Nautilus is more neutral sounding that the new ones. Everyone Ive talked to prefer those over the new 804's. Oh yea and the N804s will cost the same as buying a new 703.

[Angioguy]

Welcome to the club!

When I upgraded from an Adcom GFA/P- 555 to the Arcam AVR-300, I used it with the B&W 803S, HTMS-4 and DM 330's with a Velodyne DD-12 sub. There really was a tremendous improvement in sound quality from the get-go, both for 2-channel and for 5.1 listenening. I especially like the preamp section built into the Arcam.... since then, I've upgraded from the 803S to the 802D and added a McIntosh power amp-- but I've kept the Arcam on as my preamp. It really does a nice job for $2000. I think you'll be happy with the 250, 300 or 350.

Good luck!

[Ted]

I'm thinking about buying a pair of 703 and, as I'm going to listen music a low volume, I'd like ask to the owners of then how do they work at low volume. Do you think that the 804 works better in this case?
Thank you very much

I usually listen to the 703s at low to moderate volumes, and I find them to be very pleasant. Though I'm used to their sound, when I do turn them up to louder levels, :-y that is when I notice them being a little bright. However, my room they are in is rather small, about 9 x 11ft, so I am fairly close to them when I listen. Again, if they are really loud, that's the only time they're too forward for me. I love them at lower levers. Since they are so detailed, even at low levels, I can hear things in music that I know well, that I'd never heard before, it is amazing (as I'm sure the 804 would be too!).

[joetama]

What part of Cincinnati are you in?

Clifton/Coryville Area...

I go to school at UC....

[joetama]

Just and update for the guys who got there stuff from Julio.

AE no longer sells B&W, which was a MAJOR shock to me, and Julio has moved on and now is at Entertainment Solutions.

Went in and talked to him yesterday, they sell all the B&W group products and much more. This new store is amazing, very nicely laid out and they seem like they are great people...

Just and FYI....