N803 to 803D substantial?

[Blessedi]

Is there a huge jump upgrade from N803 to 803D? I have not heard the 803D before hence, no experience. What can you guys say about this?

[jim777]

To my ears, the 803D is more at the level of the N802 than the N803. IMO it's the best value in the 800 series!

[RobP]

Yes, there is a major jump, I own the N803's, I love them, but would jump at the chance to own a set of 803'ds. Great sounding speaker, the diamond tweeter is probably one of the best things that B&W has developed IMO. Along with the diamond tweeter you get three bass drivers that are acurate, much more so than the N803's.....

[beden1]

Yes, the 803Ds are great speakers, but . . . you'd have to spend $2,500 more than the 803S, plus another $1,500 more to match the center channel speaker. For the $4,000 difference, I'd rather invest in sub woofer(s).

[hifiguymi]

Is there a huge jump upgrade from N803 to 803D? I have not heard the 803D before hence, no experience. What can you guys say about this?

The 803D is better in every way. The diamond tweeter is quite a bit better than the metal domes in the Nautilus Series or the current 805S, 804S, and 803S. The bass is bigger (thanks to a bigger box and one more woofer) and faster (due to the Rohacell cones) and the new crossovers are much simpler so they are easier to run. Well worth the upgrade.

Eric

[KEF]

To my ears, the 803D is more at the level of the N802 than the N803. IMO it's the best value in the 800 series!

While I agree that the D tweeter is a smoother sounding tweeter than the AL version on the N802, IMO the overall sound field / image created by the N802 is vastly superior to the 803D, and simply sets is apart - again, in my opinion.

I did a side by side a long time ago and wrote about it here:

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=11929

Regards,
Keith

[KEF]

Is there a huge jump upgrade from N803 to 803D? I have not heard the 803D before hence, no experience. What can you guys say about this?

A few years ago I did some critical listening between the N802s and the 803Ds, at the time I really wanted to buy the 803Ds as they were in my price range - but in the end I couldn't justify it. I really liked the tweeter on the 803Ds, but IMO, they lacked something when directly compared to the N802s.

I opted to go from the N804s to the 803Ss and finally jump to the 802Ds (which should be in tomorrow... :T )

If the limit of you budget is the cost of new 803Ds, I think you should at least try to get a listen to a used set of N802s and then decide for yourself.

Cheers,
Keith

[Ben Diss]

Wait a sec. The OP wants a comparison of N803, not N802 to 803D.

[Blessedi]

Thanks for all your comments. I am currently running my N803 with HTM1 for home theatre. Hence an upgrade to diamond tweeter will mean a further upgrade to change the center also. Cost involved I believe is alot. On the other hand, a pre-owned N802 will match well in my setup and seemed logical, but I also have to consider my room size, which is about 5m long by 3.5m wide. Not big at all, worry about sound boom.

[melantone]

Thanks for all your comments. I am currently running my N803 with HTM1 for home theatre. Hence an upgrade to diamond tweeter will mean a further upgrade to change the center also. Cost involved I believe is alot. On the other hand, a pre-owned N802 will match well in my setup and seemed logical, but I also have to consider my room size, which is about 5m long by 3.5m wide. Not big at all, worry about sound boom.

Right to be worried1

[scanido]

I'm running my 803S in a small-ish room given the size of these speakers. My room is only 17' x 10' and find them not "boomy" at all. I used port plugs to tame the beasts and lowered my contour control to -2db for the bass.

I think it sounds great!

[gostan]

Is there a huge jump upgrade from N803 to 803D? I have not heard the 803D before hence, no experience. What can you guys say about this?

I have been considering such an upgrade myself. There is no doubt that the 803D gives the listener a superior musical experience over the N803. The speaker is just so much smoother than its' older sibling. And the bass response of the N cannot compare to the D. I can rationalize the investment in this upgrade. But, I am having difficulty rationalizing spending another 2K to upgrade my HTM1 to the HTM2D so that I have diamond tweeters across the front.

Before jumping in (up?) I am planning on listening to some Martin Logans and the new Paradigm Signature's with the beryllium tweeters (just released) in order to be sure that I really want to stay in B&W land.