Hiiiiii from indonesia.... B&W 703 with 805s surround?

[santai33]

Hi i'm new owner of b&w 703, just bought it few days ago with onkyo sr875. This is my first HT set up, i m using this for 80%HT and 20%ST. I'm planning to buy htm7 or htm3s for the center (depending on the $$$) :cry: I read alot from the forum that htm7 is not a good match for the 703, but if the price of the htm3s is too high then i would have to buy htm7. Here is the problems, i'm wondering what speaker is the best for my surround. There is 3 option for me which are ds7, 705 or 805s (currently someone offering me USD$1500 for the 805s, i think it a good price not sure if in uk). I currently dont have a proper room for the set up but planning to make one in the future. Please give me some opions, the price of the speaker will also be a big issue for me. (sorry for my poor english, hopes all of u understand what i m writing :cry: )
*Is Onkyo sr875 good for 703 HT set up?
*What should i chose between 705, DS7 and 805s?
*Will 805s be a good match for 703 as a surround? (I m very interested 805 since someone offering me with the price)
*Can i use 805s as the center?
For my curiousity, is there going to be new 700 series like the new 680 series?
Thanks for sharing your opinions.

[WI Rotel]

Personally I think using 805's for surround is kind of a waste, but they will work. I would not use an 805 for center, its dispersion characteristics are not meant for that purpose. If I were you I'd use 705's for surround and the HTM7 for center. The different "series" have distinct tonal qualities thus its best to stay within the same series as your mains. However, you can use any sub you like.

[Iggurk]

+1, don't go with 805 for rear, it's useless.

Will be better choice to go for 705, or even CM will be nice.

Rear is 15% of sound in HT.

HTM7 is not that bad, but for sure better match with 704 (that are imo better suited for HT than 703)

[Briz vegas]

If the price is right the 805s is neither a waste nor useless. A new 705 is $1500 in the US according to the info I just googled. Getting a 805s for 705 price sounds like a nice deal.

I have the opposite set up with 804s at the front and my older 705 at the rear. I found that with these speakers relatively close to me that the tweeters kept drawing attention to themselves. My solution was simply to aim the speakers at an angle to the listening postion (would you call that off axis as the tweeters don't point at the listeners ears). Anyway with the better drivers the 805s should dissappear more than a 705. If it did not work out you just sell the 805 for what you paid, or maybe even end up falling for the 805 and selling the 703 for more 805s :B

For a center speaker get another 703 if you want a seemless front end, otherwise it is a matter of which compromise YOU are most happy with.

Welcome to the B&W club. Hope your speakers give you many happy hours of listening.

[santai33]

thanks for sharring your opinions. that means if 805s have almost the same price with 705 then i will buy the 805s.

[sandalsocks]

Depending on where you can setup the rears you may want to look at the ds7.

[santai33]

New problem occurs, the dealer from my place are willing to let me upgrade from 703 to 804s. but i m wondering if my onkyo 875 is able to drive the speaker well (i m thinking of buying rotel in the future). is the 800 series are much more better then 700 series. Since i m using 70%HT and 30%ST.

[Ted]

New problem occurs, the dealer from my place are willing to let me upgrade from 703 to 804s. but i m wondering if my onkyo 875 is able to drive the speaker well (i m thinking of buying rotel in the future). is the 800 series are much more better then 700 series. Since i m using 70%HT and 30%ST.

Welcome to the forum! I have the 703 and they are great speakers (mine are 2 channel only). I listened to both the 703 and 804 a lot before buying. I was willing to spend the extra $ if it was worth it, but I just couldn't justify it. However, having said that, I do believe the 804s are better speakers, especially in the higher frequencies. The Onkyo will probably not do justice to either the 703 or 804, but it is a place to start, and you can upgrade to Rotel in the future.

The 800 series has better matching speakers (center especially) for HT, so it should sound better and better matched than the 703/HTM7 system would. However, you also have the all around increase in $ to go with that. Tough decision. If you can swing it, go for the 804s, if not the 703 are still great speakers I think.

[hifiguymi]

I agree with Ted in that the Onkyo will work with both the 703 and 804S. Long term you will want to upgrade with either speaker, but it will work for the short term.

I do think the 804S is a better speaker than the 703 and worth the upgrade. To me, the bass is better integrated in the 804S. It sounds faster and does a better job of keeping up with the rest of the speaker. If you were thinking of an HTM3S for a possible center channel, then the 804S makes even more sense for your front left and right speakers.

Just my two cents.

Eric

[sandalsocks]

Don't forget the price increase that you'll spend on the center and rears. And those too will need some power. I'm not saying not to get the best fronts you can afford, which is the general consensus, but to also look at the big picture.

I'm in the same boat as well. While I can afford a pair of 703's, my wife would never left me spend more for anything else i.e. center, proper electronics, etc. If you got the funds and the green light go for it, I would.

[Pierre]

I have 703, and recently bought 805S, connected to Rotel amps (2 different rooms). 805S let the sound out, 703 keep the sound in. I didnt believe it until I compared. The 805S lack some bass (but bass is tighter with 805S), 805S are smoother, 805S highs are much clearer, 805S voices are "out of the box", not "in the box" like 703. The 703 can shake the room, but the 805S offer more pleasure.

[Briz vegas]

I agree with Ted in that the Onkyo will work with both the 703 and 804S. Long term you will want to upgrade with either speaker, but it will work for the short term.

Just my two cents.

Eric

On paper the Onkyo does not look encouraging as anything but a stop gap for the 703/804.

The 30watt increase from 8 to 6 ohm is the same as my marantz receiver which sounds pretty ordinary with 804s. Sure you get 30 more watts than my Marantz (2 channel) but feed it a 5.1 movie and the difference would be negligible. The 4 ohm figure seems to go backwards (Marantz does not even bother to quote 4 ohm. The 703 gets right down there at some frequencies)

805 makes much more sense with that receiver.