Thinking of making the move from 703->804S pls advise

[george_k]

I've got the upgrade itch...

My dealer is nice about buying back speakers he sold at full retail value as credit towards new speaker purchases.

Doing the math (keep in mind these are cdn prices) reveals that the upgrade from 703 to 804S would cost me slightly over $1800 after taxes. The upgrade to 803's will cost a lot more at slightly under $4,100 after taxes so I've ruled this option out.

So I figure that $1800 isn't a whole lot more to pay considering you get:

- more minimalist crossover
- better tweeter
- nicer cabinetry

Also the two speakers (703, 804) appear to spec the same so I believe my present electronics will not need immediate upgrading (except for the preamp which is on it's way out)

The best I can do at this point is base my comparison on the tangibles, as comparing the two in store or at home will be difficult.

[dknightd]

If you have the itch, it is hard not to scratch.

Personally, when I listened to both 703 and 804 I didn't see the need to "upgrade" (my decision was probably influenced by how much money I had at the time - the 804 did sound better, but not $1200 (US) better - for me the big difference seemed to be 803, and above, and I couldn't afford that at the time).

One potential benefit to upgrading now is that your dealer may let you keep going up the line later on.

Too bad you can not listen to them both. That is really the only way to determine if you'll be happy. Personally I would not go from 703 to 804, but you may not feel the same way.

I've got the upgrade itch...

My dealer is nice about buying back speakers he sold at full retail value as credit towards new speaker purchases.

Doing the math (keep in mind these are cdn prices) reveals that the upgrade from 703 to 804S would cost me slightly over $1800 after taxes. The upgrade to 803's will cost a lot more at slightly under $4,100 after taxes so I've ruled this option out.

So I figure that $1800 isn't a whole lot more to pay considering you get:

- more minimalist crossover
- better tweeter
- nicer cabinetry

Also the two speakers (703, 804) appear to spec the same so I believe my present electronics will not need immediate upgrading (except for the preamp which is on it's way out)

The best I can do at this point is base my comparison on the tangibles, as comparing the two in store or at home will be difficult.

[cug]

I've got the upgrade itch...
Doing the math (keep in mind these are cdn prices) reveals that the upgrade from 703 to 804S would cost me slightly over $1800 after taxes. The upgrade to 803's will cost a lot more at slightly under $4,100 after taxes so I've ruled this option out.

We compared the 703 and 804S a couple of times before we decided on the 804S. We first hesitated because of the price difference, the sound was definitely much better with the 804S. The 703 is an amazing speaker and blew away everything I compared in the same price range (Canada too) but we did compare also with the 804S to be sure we're getting the right thing - the 804S was nearly within budget and after the price drops because of the strong CAD, it was well inside the budget.

Right now we are driving the 804S with a Rotel RA-1062, which is probably not optimal (sound and power) but the next step up was too big to take when we bought, but we can upgrade within the next 8 months.

About the differences between the two speakers we found:

- 703 bass was slightly stronger, but softer and not as controlled
- 804S has better imaging and soundstage
- 804S has brighter high freqs
- 804S was overall way more controlled and tight sounding
- 804S looks way better ;-)

The differences were more than worth the price difference for us. I also compared to 803S (not enough difference for the money) and 803D (too soft and smooth) but these weren't worth the money for me personally (compared all B&W speaker with Classe equipment at the dealer), the next real step for me is the 802D. But that won't happen anytime soon, maybe never.

But I definitely want to upgrade the electronics some day. Just don't know to what. Will depend on the money I can spend on that.

[wgriel]

Hey George,

there's no doubt that the 804 is a better speaker, and only you can determine if it's worth the difference. To me, it's not a big enough step, and I think my next upgrade (somewhere down the line) will be to the 803D.

I have to admit that I'm pretty happy with the 703 though, and I'm more interested in upgrading my electronics than speakers at this stage.

[george_k]

price drops because of the strong CAD

Price drops? I didn't know prices were adjusted when was this?

804S has brighter high freqs

Brighter in my books is not a good thing, I find that the 703 is already at the frontier of what I find acceptable. Is it indeed brighter or did the wrong word come to mind when your wrote?

[cug]

Price drops? I didn't know prices were adjusted when was this?

Don't know when they happened - some time in December here at our dealer. Also Rotel and Classe dropped about 10 to 15% in retail prices.

Brighter in my books is not a good thing, I find that the 703 is already at the frontier of what I find acceptable. Is it indeed brighter or did the wrong word come to mind when your wrote?

Maybe brighter wasn't the right word (I'm not a native english speaker and might not use the words that reflect what I mean properly). To explain it: it wasn't louder or crisper in the high freqs - just better, clearer defined, e.g. Vivaldi's "Queen of the Night" solo was just, yeah, I'd say brighter, clearer, finer articulated - hard to find the right word in a foreign language. It was plain better ...

cug

[Briz vegas]

What is bright or perceived brightness?

To some it means that there is less bass (real or perceived due to tighter sound) so there is more emphasis on the treble - which is likely to be correct with 703 vs 804. On the other hand it implies that there is generally too much treble and it has a nasty hard edge. That is not the case with the 804s. Ancillaries, cables, room reflections and the quality of the power supply can also make a big difference (although Classe is obviously excellent).

I can say that with _______ cables (which I evaluated in my system) the 804s treble is so polite that you could even call them dark sounding speakers will very restrained energy at the top end. Its all a matter of how the system is tuned.

More than happy to recommend the 804s, great speaker. With that sort of upgrade program you can't go wrong as you can continue to gradually upgrade if that is your wish.

[Ted]

Tough Choice. I compared the 703 and 804s a lot when I bought my 703s (thankfully I have a very patient dealer). For me, the 804s was certainly the better of the two and I was willing to spend the money if I felt the 804 justified it. I just didn't think it was so much better that I had to have it over the 703. I also decided, that I certainly could tell the difference when sitting at the dealer doing an A/B comparison, but realistically when at home with just my 703s I wouldn't (and don't) have any complaints.

For what it is worth, in terms I usually think of, the 703 is brighter than the 804, not the other way around I think that it is a translation issue on cug's part. I know other people have other big differences between the 804s and 703, but for me the biggest difference was the 703 are brighter.

No doubt the 804s are better speakers, but really only your ears and wallet can decide if they're that much better....

BTW, george_k, did you ever decide on a sub?

[george_k]

BTW, george_k, did you ever decide on a sub?

Nope, I'm going the preamp route instead cary slp-98 or 88 most likely unless I pinch pennies and get the F1 version from upscale :-)

[Pedro]

The differences were more than worth the price difference for us. I also compared to 803S (not enough difference for the money) and 803D (too soft and smooth) but these weren't worth the money for me personally (compared all B&W speaker with Classe equipment at the dealer),

Well from 804S to 803S the bass is the major diference

But from 804S to 803D there´s a huge step. The 803D has strong bass, and at same time a laidback midrange and smooth top end. You must not like the less bright midrange and bass sound, but i´ve prefered the 803D over the 800D just because the 800D as the 802D i think, have a better detailed midrange and less laidback, but at same time more balanced.

To my taste 803D and 801D have a sound wich i like more