803D versus 802D

[Linmuse]

Gsengmaq I to have a similar problem as your initial question.

I called my B&W shop today to place an order for:
803D
HTM2D
Velodyne DD15
Infocus IN82 1080p projector

He threw me a curve ball by offering me a pair of 2 year old 802Ss for the same price. These are going to be traded by someone moving up to 802D.
I am unable to listen to the 802s as he still has them at home waiting for the Ds to arrive.

My question is this. How do they compare musically? They will be driven off a Rotel 1098 pro and Adcom 555 II 200w/ch amp. The electronics i'm stuck with for a while as i've well & truly busted my budget on speakers and projector. My rears will be my existing B&W 580s which were prviously fronts.
The Adcom amps are supposed to be high current but to drive 802s I dont know. Would they have the quality grunt required to make either of these speakers sing???

I listen to 50/50 music/movies.
Any thoughts, advice accepted graciously.

While we're at it I dont know a lot about projectors. Just going on what i've heard Infocus is supposed to be a quality brand. Any thoughts.

If i've broken any rules by changing the subject i apologise in advance. Please disreguard.

[jack667]

I'd stick with the 803D - that diamond tweeter is magical.

[ShadowZA]

I'd stick with the 803D - that diamond tweeter is magical.

I second that.

The HTM2D is also the perfect centre match to the 803D's as they share the same tweeter. A good match to the 802D's too but not to the Nautilus 802's.

[gsengmaq]

Unfortunately I can't help you since I never auditioned the 803S's. I can only confirm what others have said, i.e. that the 803D's are spectacular. I don't think I've heard speakers handle the highs so well. Smooth and without that stridency you often times hear with lesser speakers.

I run them with the McIntosh MC207 which is a 7-channel 200W/channel amp and I don't feel I need more power and I play them fairly loudly. I have the cross-over at 60Hz to the Velodyne so I guess I get a bit of a bi-amping effect.

I'm with the others, stay with the 803D's.

[RebelMan]

I called my B&W shop today to place an order for:
803D
HTM2D

He threw me a curve ball by offering me a pair of 2 year old 802Ss for the same price. These are going to be traded by someone moving up to 802D.
I am unable to listen to the 802s as he still has them at home waiting for the Ds to arrive.

My question is this. How do they compare musically? Would they have the quality grunt required to make either of these speakers sing???

I listen to 50/50 music/movies.
Any thoughts, advice accepted graciously.

Unless your dealer is including the NHTM1 to go along with the N802 then you will be better off with the 803D and HTM2D combination given your 50/50 mix. The NHTM1 and HTM2D are very different animals. The HTM2D will not blend seamlessly with the N802. I used an HTM3S (which is more similar to the NHTM1 than the HTM2D) with my 800D for a spell and the results were awful. I am running with a phantom center for the time being, until I get the HTM1D, and the results have far surpassed the dedicated center I was using before.

The difference between the N802 and 803D is a decision that will be based primarily on better sonic imaging and sound-staging of the N802 versus better time coherence and accuracy of the 803D. The diamond tweeter is sweet but do not underestimate the Marlan loaded midrange driver. Your ears are most sensitive to frequencies that lie between 400 and 4000 Hz. It's no coincidence that B&W chose the Marlan mounted FST for optimal performance at these frequencies.

[Linmuse]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

What your saying does make sense and I will inform my dealer i'll stick with the 803s. Im sure the 802s are an impressive speaker but in my set up probably not the best match.

Gsengmaq good luck with your tuning, sounds like your nearly there. Enjoy.
I've got a little bit of a wait due to delays with fitting out but look forward to the task. Any problems and I know where to come.