I want to get 804S

[Nicodimas]

Hi all,

Could you all yell me if I am completely crazy to want to make the jump into 804s. I would really like to get them. Here is my ordeal I would like to get this to power it.

Onkyo 805(850 Amazon)+ The upcoming Rotel 1085(1200 Store).

I want the most I can get out of these speakers, but spending the least? Or is it feasible to get the 1076 and biamp this speaker with 200 watts? with the other 2 going to the future center.

I am basically going to build one part of this system each year, or as my budget allows. Well without taking money out on the house.

Thanks for your help.

[ShadowZA]

Welcome to the club, Nicodimas.

A few years ago I had a pair of Nautilus 804's as fronts (still have, but now they're doing surround duty), powered by a Rotel RMB-1075 amp. I did not bi-amp and I don't think I even bi-wired then. Still, I was very satisfied with the sound that the Rotel + N804 produced. Imho, you can't go wrong with the 804S's. They're a little improved on the old N804's and a worthy "investment" in terms of sound equipment quality.

I cannot give you any opinions on the Onkyo, but imho Rotel & the 804S's are a great match. If you can feed the 804S's 200 watts of Rotel ... they'll be very happy.

Good luck & keep us posted.

[Briz vegas]

The 1085 sounds like the 1077 - five by 100 watts D Class. I wonder how they might differ - maybe a few tweaks to the existing design. Oh hang on, the 1077 is seven channel isn't it!

You want the most out of your speakers while spending the least. Ok, thats where I was 12 months ago after I got my 804s. Beware, once over the psychological barrier of spending silly money on hi-fi suddenly spending the same again or more is no longer the barrier it once was. Its why we still have a high end hifi industry. Addiction.

Good luck :W

[angelface]

I would get something of better quality than Onkyo / Rotel - perhaps Naim or Classé.
I reckon you should spend 30-40 % on CD player, 30-40 % on amps and the rest (20-40 %) on speakers in a CD based stereo system.

[hifiguymi]

I haven't heard the RMB-1076 or the RMB-1085 yet but the amp modules are slightly different than the ones in the RMB-1077. There were changes made on the new amps that, from what my rep says, don't give them the same "drive and punch" as the RMB-1077. Rotel did it so the RMB-1085 is not a huge price jump from the RMB-1075 for similar power. That being said, I'm sure they will work great with the 804S. I've had a couple of 50 watt per channel amps hooked up to my 804S's and they were plenty of power. The 100 watts in those amps will be fine as long as the room isn't to big or you listen at really high volumes.

Eric

[Nicodimas]

I think the highest I would/could go is 100db on a Radioshack meter. That is extremely loud though to my ears. I would be willing to look at something better than rotel, but Classe jumps up to 5k from the 2k I am looking at.

[Sounder]

Not that you asked this... but I think you get 95% of the same speaker for a LOT less money if you get the 703s instead of the 804s. The drivers and tweeter are almost the same, and the sound (to my ears) is very VERY similar. Not worth the extra money to me, unless you can afford to go up the 803s. I think you'd get better results for less money with the 703s and the more expensive amp.

[Pedro]

Ive heard the 703 and 804S. THe diference between them is the accuracy at mid, and high tones that 804S gives. BUT paying more atention then, i dont think why, but the 703 sounded more fuller giving the impression that have more bass and punch then the 804S. So in this way, if you go from 703 you have to go with 803S or 803D to keep the fuller and huge bass. The 804S to me have some problem, they have exactly freq bass response as the 703 (in the paper), but listening they have less bass

[SoCalCM]

The 804S are IMO the better speaker and it isn't close. They have better drivers throughout and a better cabinet. They sound terrific and are far better looking. They really don't need a lot of power to sound great either.

[Ted]

Not that you asked this... but I think you get 95% of the same speaker for a LOT less money if you get the 703s instead of the 804s. The drivers and tweeter are almost the same, and the sound (to my ears) is very VERY similar. Not worth the extra money to me, unless you can afford to go up the 803s. I think you'd get better results for less money with the 703s and the more expensive amp.

I agree with this. I was really wanting the 804s, but when comparing the 703 and 804, the 703 was close enough that I just couldn't justify the extra $ for the 804. I do think the 804 is a better sounding speaker, just not that much better sounding (both are great!).

I personally don't think you'd go wrong either way.

[Briz vegas]

Whatever! 804s is far prettier. :W

I love the eternal 805 v 703 v 804 debate. Mention one of the 3, even if the question was not about speaker options, and someone will say - "yeah but........."

Nicodimas, 100 dB is pretty loud. As you seem prepared to go with a second hand Onkyo you may also want to consider a second hand Classe.


PS Did you know that the capital B in decibel is due to the measure being named after that Bell guy, referred to by his friends as "Alex my man!".

[skuzzyb]

Not to throw a spanner in the works but it may not hurt looking at the new 6 series. FST technology and from all that I have read on here and professional reviews they are great speakers. I am not saying that they are equal to the 804s but they do share some of the technology of the 8 series but for a lot less. I know, they are not as pretty as the 8 series. May be worth a look.

[dknightd]

If you want the 804 you should go with the 804. As you say, you can always upgrade other parts of your system later. The Rotel will get most of the performance out of the speaker. Unless you need 5 channels of amplification, you might consider
a 2-channel 200w amp.

[jack667]

Not to throw a spanner in the works but it may not hurt looking at the new 6 series. FST technology and from all that I have read on here and professional reviews they are great speakers. I am not saying that they are equal to the 804s but they do share some of the technology of the 8 series but for a lot less. I know, they are not as pretty as the 8 series. May be worth a look.

Yes I totally agree - but I'm bound to say that aren't I? hehe.

I have heard the 703 (£2000), 804S (£2700) and of course 683 (£900). 804 is the best, but £1800 better? No way. Are the 703s £1100 better than the 683? No way, but it's better jump in quality for a lot less money, as the gap between the 703 and 804 isn't massive to my ears.

Looks - for sure, I think the 804s are perfect! However, I like the look of all B&W speakers - and the new 600 series REALLY need to be seen in real life to appreciate how well built they are.

Just my opinion

[Nicodimas]

The aesthetics of this speaker are worth the extra money imo. It is more of a piece of furniture than the traditional box.

Thank you for all your help I am defiantely considering making a big jump, but like you all have said one upgrade a year and a system looks really nice in five years.

[Boone38]

Not sure where some of the others are leading you.... I have a pair of the 804S and they are heads better then the 703. The best way is to put them both side by side and listen. That is what I did. The cost was not that much different if your dealer will give you a deal. In my case I got 20%. As for the electronics I started with a Rotel 1075 and the 120 watts was plenty of power. They can be had used for 700.00. I then bought the Classe CAV 75 used for 1000.00 and sold the 1075. The Classe was much more detailed and smooth. It was only 75 watt per channel and still played as loud as I wanted.
I then upgraded to an Anthem AVM30 over the Rotel 1068 and the system really opened up. Listen is the best advise....

[BassThatHz]

From what I have heard, the 804S is no doubt a better speaker in every department of functionality compared to the 703.

In particular the mid/upper ranges; the difference to me was like listening to a speaker box or actually being there in person (ok almost). The 703 sounds slightly "boxy" and "bright" but not distractingly so, had I never heard the 804 I would have never known the difference. I am scared to hear the 802D as I just might like it :W

The thing I disliked the most of the 804S was the bass, there is a noticable amount of distortion to it, as seen here: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...05-part-2.html
So I would recommend a good low distortion subwoofer and cross it over at 80-100hz.

Taking this into account I decided to bypass this a go for the N803, as it has slightly larger drivers and hopefully removes the issue of playing full-range. I might post back here to let you know how it pans out when it arrives in a week or so; I am curious to know how close it is to the S series.

Other than that, the 804S was near perfect in execution. It plays just as good at lower volumes as it does at higher levels. The 703 seemed to have a higher sensitivity, I feel that this would work out better for some with weaker amplification or for movies in general.

[Briz vegas]

The thing I disliked the most of the 804S was the bass, there is a noticable amount of distortion to it, as seen here: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...05-part-2.html
So I would recommend a good low distortion subwoofer and cross it over at 80-100hz.

But the article says "At 31.5 Hz, and 100 dB, THD+N was less than 10%, which is good for woofers in a floor-standing speaker." Its also pretty good for a sub from what I have read. Many well respected brands have much higher distortion levels (probably why you refer to a low distortion sub) and they stray up to 100hz even when the low pass filter is set in the vicinity of 35hz. On top of that the human ear gets pretty inaccurate in the lower registers.

Having said that there will always be folks that can't stand things like tiny amounts of digital distortion, crossovers, aluminium tweeters, dynamic drivers, etc etc. For me what drives me crazy is that guy across the road that has been turning over his bl##dy engine without success for the past 1/2 hour ...................and nails down the backboard.

I have found that my 804s sound better in 2 channel without my Rel Strata 5. Less authority, true, but cleaner and no timing issues between the sub and main speaker.

This is all a bit off topic of course. The question was about amps for the 804s.

OMG he got his engine started, three cheers! :hb arty:

[colinjohnson]

804s are wonderful speakers.. but you need a big amp to drive them or they will sound really horrible ( the top end will be shrill, the mnid range muffled, and the bass will be non-existent ) and you will regret ever buying them. I currently use a Parasound A51 and have previously used a Mc2500 and Arcam P90/3 and AVR300. An AVReceiver such as the Arcam will not do a very good job. I suspect the Rotel or Onkyo or Yamaha will be similar. You need an amp that can deliver AMPs, and loads of them. Little amplifiers like those in AVReceivers boast up to the 100W ouput and usually only have a single pair of output transistors. They rarely give the goods when its needed. Don't bother with bi-amping or bi-wiring.. that's a fad. You need a real amplifier that can deliver real power and short cable runs.

That's my 5 cents

p.s. they look really neat too!!!!

[Shyamalan]

Not that you asked this... but I think you get 95% of the same speaker for a LOT less money if you get the 703s instead of the 804s. The drivers and tweeter are almost the same, and the sound (to my ears) is very VERY similar. Not worth the extra money to me, unless you can afford to go up the 803s. I think you'd get better results for less money with the 703s and the more expensive amp.

I've read many post telling that the 805 are much better than the 703 so I suppose that the 804 are even better than the 805. Another thing is that they deserve the money they cost....I suppose they do.

[Shyamalan]

Not that you asked this... but I think you get 95% of the same speaker for a LOT less money if you get the 703s instead of the 804s. The drivers and tweeter are almost the same, and the sound (to my ears) is very VERY similar. Not worth the extra money to me, unless you can afford to go up the 803s. I think you'd get better results for less money with the 703s and the more expensive amp.

I've read many post telling that the 805 are better than the 703 so I suppose that the 804 are better than the 703. We should say that the 703 doesn't have a good center speaker for ht.

[Race Car Driver]

What about BOSE speakers, I hear they are good.

[jack667]

Hahaha. What about an Aiwa midi system from Bestbuy? I hear they're awesome