805's vs. complete 685 series home theater

[vadarth]

Hey folks, I am close to deciding on a home theater package, and i need some advice. What do you think about using JUST 2 805's as my home theater speakers, vs. a whole 685 surround system? In other words, would the 805's be more realistic in a movie setting, or would the 5.1 685 system? I am going to buy a Rotel 1057 to use to push whatever I get. The 805's have always been my dream speaker, but I also want to get the most out of my movie watching. Thanks for any insight you can give me.

[scanido]

definitely go for your "dream" speaker today, otherwise you'll regret it later on and only will open doors to further upgrades. Having said that, I currently use a pair of SCMS as 2CH for fronts and for movies the sound is great. When your in the sweat spot, you'll swear there is a center speaker and on certain scenes you will be engulfed by the sound stage height and width!

I say go for the 805S!!

[vadarth]

Thanks, Scanido! I would like to keep the total under $4000.00, and i've listened to the 805's and 605's a lot at the local B&W dealer. I just want to be amazed when I watch a movie (and occasional videogame and music) with the best sound possible. I just hope I don't miss the full surround effects too much as a negative aspect of the setup. I would like to hear from others that may have done this, even for a little while, to see if they felt robbed of a complete surround experience. One other idea-would the 705's with htm7 center give the 805's a run for their money? This is an important decision, so any help is appreciated.

[yourtoys7]

For shure 805, at one point I was torn 804S or 703 and stretched my pockete to get 804S. I have enjoyed many hours of use and each time I looked at them as well.
Get the 805 and in time get the center.

[beden1]

This is tough to hear, but there is no surround sound with just two speakers. Going with B&W speakers in the 800 Series is tough on a budget. Plus, as far as I'm concerned, even though the 805S are very good speakers, they are not very good as main speakers, unless your room is relatively small and you also add a good sub or subs. You'll get caught up like many of us always wondering how much better they would sound with better electronics, more speakers, etc., etc., because something will be missing when you listen to HT.

If you went the 805S route, you would also need to add a sub woofer and a center channel speaker at minimum. Having these for fronts would give you an enjoyable listening experience. But, adding surrounds opens up the sound stage by a considerable amount. It's like another whole experience.

I would go with the 600 Series speakers in a 5.1 setup, and add a sub or subs. You will enjoy this type of a setup for HT much more than just having two front speakers, no matter how good the speakers are IMO.

[kmcheng]

The 805S are awesome speakers - I own them and I am more than happy that I overstreched my budget (by a mile) to go for these.

That said, I think for movies you will have a better experience with five 685 all around. I personally do not think that the 805S is worth the extra $$$ over the the 685 if they are just used for movies. It is only in two-channel music that the 805S distinguishes itself. Besides, one pair of 805S with the B&W stands will eat significantly into your budget.

My setup is somewhere in between your two options. I have the 805S as fronts, the M1 as rears, and have no center channel. I am very happy with the sound now, but hopefully you can hear the different combinations at your dealer before you decide.

If you do go for the the 685, then the savings might allow you to go for the Rotel 1058. If you are buying a new receiver, it should be future-proof and should be able to handle multi-channel PCM decoded from TrueHD and DTS-HD-MA sources via HDMI. These are significant improvements over previous Dolby Digital and DTS formats.

[jjahshik32]

I would say go with 2 805S and build slowly from that.

[speakerboy]

805S speakers that make great main speakers today will make great surround speakers in the future should you move up to floorstanders. The 800 Series were a dream of mine since 1998 and finally came to realization in 2004 with 4 N805 as surrounds, an HTM1 and demo N803 speakers. I thought N803 would be my front speakers for life. I have now upgraded to 4 SCMS wall-mounted surrounds and was lucky enough to get some discounted demo 803D speakers...and new HTM2D to match. I think the 803D will now be my speakers for life. Yeah...whatever!!! If I get my hands on demo/used 802D speakers, I'll upgrade to those! The moral of the story--go for your dream system! Both 685 and 805S speakers have excellent resale value should you change speakers in the future. Check with your local dealers for any demo/used 805S speakers...you might save enough to afford a center!

[jjahshik32]

Hehe, my future upgrade is wanting the 803D or 803S and moving the 685s to the rear.

[Briz vegas]

The 805 is a great speaker. There are ways of filling in the other channels on a budget such as our M1 example above. I really does come down to what you want and your taste. Be aware that we do not always know what we want - you may need to play with the options for a while before jumping.

If this is it for you (one off purchase) and you like your movies to death and music is not your thing I am sure that you will be happy with 685s all round. If your tastes are eclectic (all sorts of movies - a true film buff, DVD concerts, music generally) and you love the look of the 805 and you might be upgrading in the future (805 can go to the back to replace your M1s or whatever budget rears you might get) then 805 is the answer.

[vadarth]

Thanks everybody! I already have a JBL sub which, although small, will do for the part. The system will be in a bedroom (12 ft. x 12 ft.) so I don't need earth shattering bass, just some good sound. I will start on the system at the end of July, so I have a little time to see all of my options. I appreciate all of the good advice, and will be looking at all of my options-who knows, maybe i'll find some extra money between now and then!

[dknightd]

Some people find the rear channels disruptive. If I hear something significant behind me I expect to turn around and see it. But the video is only in front. so far I prefer to have good front speakers, and something in the back for ambiance. I might change my mind . . .

[N2siast]

FWIW, my bedroom setup is 685's up front and a pair of paradigm atoms v.4 at rear.
Sub is HSU VTF3.2. The set up cost me about $1200. The only thing I bought new is the 685's the rest were pre-owned. I'm very happy with the setup.

[kmcheng]

Thanks everybody! I already have a JBL sub which, although small, will do for the part. The system will be in a bedroom (12 ft. x 12 ft.) so I don't need earth shattering bass, just some good sound. I will start on the system at the end of July, so I have a little time to see all of my options. I appreciate all of the good advice, and will be looking at all of my options-who knows, maybe i'll find some extra money between now and then!

In that case I think the 685 will more than fill up your room. I think the 805 might be a little over-kill, but hey, if you can do a home demo then you can decide for yourself. The dealer should at least be willing to let you take two 685 for home demo. If not, find another dealer.

You may have a bigger problem though. Square rooms, especially those with dimensions of 3-feet multiples (12x12, 15x15, 18x18, etc.) pose special challenges to acoustics. You will probably need to play with furniture placements, rugs, etc. I would say that a home demo is very important in your situation.

Take time to try things out. You have more time than you think. Even if you are remodelling your house, you do not need to decide on the speakers right away. It is the frequent buying and selling that makes this hobby expensive.

[jjahshik32]

I guess if your going to stop with the 805S as being your fronts then I would go that route but if you want something more in the future I'd say the 685 does a nice job especially in HT as a whole than the 805S for fronts. Unless you want to add a sub for the 805S.

I've tried the 805S + HTM4 center piece and just 2 huge floorstand speakers that I got for free forgot which brand but it has 2 6" subs in each floorstanders to make my 5.1 for dts but I thought it was overrated.

I like 2 channel better and the 685 are awesome and feels full in my room. My room is not big but I would say its a medium sized room but half is used for ht so I would call it small and the 685 more than fills it up nicely and feels so full in sound in HT.

[vadarth]

There are so many options, I will have to go back to the dealer and spend a few hours listening to them again. Unfortunately, they aren't hooked up as surround sound , so I can't compare them that way. If anybody has more advice, i'm all ears!

[Ken49r]

What do you think about using JUST 2 805's as my home theater speakers, vs. a whole 685 surround system? In other words, would the 805's be more realistic in a movie setting, or would the 5.1 685 system? I am going to buy a Rotel 1057 to use to push whatever I get.

You wont get the 5.1 realism from two 805's obviously. Your audio preference and future upgrade plans are most important in this decision. Are you a Music or HT guy mostly? Sounds like mostly HT. In that case 5x 685 would best suit your needs and be a better match with the Rotel 1057.

The 805 would be a better choice if your preference were in Music. If you really want the 805 I would suggest take the $$$ for the Rotel 1057 and build a 2 ch setup 1st. and then add on a 5.1 from there. Or live with 2 speakers until you can afford to purchase the others.

You cant go wrong with B&W....enjoy!

[audioqueso]

VADarth, I currently have a 2.1 setup with just a pair of 805's. A few years back before getting the 805's, I had a complete 600 Series 3 5.1 setup. I copied this from an old post of mine from two years ago:

"Right now my system consists of a pair of Nautilus 805s combined with a Velodyne SPL-800R sub. My 805s are being driven by a Parasound HCU-1500A amp (200x2) & Marantz 6400 Pre-amp. My last setup was a complete 600 series surround set. For movies, the 800 series are amazing for movies. They produce such a nice soundstage that it feels a lot of time like you have more than 1 pair of speakers.

I'm not sure what you currently have, but here's my example of what a 2.1 setup with the 805s can do vs a 5.1 setup with 600 S3s. The Matrix. With the 600 series setup, the slow motion bullet scene on the roof was my favorite. I would play it all the time as it showed off what a properly setup up surround setup can do. Your ears can follow the bullet as it moves from the front to the back. Then the next scene where Neo fires the minigun from within the helicopter, you can hear the bullets falling from all around the room. With the 805/Velodyne combination there is a pro and con. The slow motion bullet scene on the roof isn't a big deal anymore. I can only hear the bullet travel to almost half way up my room, then the effects die, but your ears can locate more precisely where the agent's gun cocks after every shot. The helicopter scene though is very impressive. This scene really shows what the 800 series can do. 2.1 setup. When Neo starts to fire the gun, you can hear exactly where each bullet falls to the point that it seems like it's right there in your room. The 600 series gave me the feel of the bullets falling around in a circle, but the 800 series gives the feel that one bullet falls 1 foot in front of you, 4 fall 3 feet towards your right, 2 in another location, and so on. And when the agents run from the room, and Neo's shots pan towards the right, you can heard the water drops pan from left to middle to right very clearly. I've played this scene for my friends and they all leave with a big smile. Like I said, that scene is very impressive on what the 800 series can do."

Last year I had a pair of B&W M1s as my rears, and it was ok, but 5 identical speakers really make the movie so much more THERE. If you have REAL plans on upgrading your system and buying a matching center and rear for the 805, then go that route. If not, I would say go for the 600 series. Those really were awesome speakers, and I enjoyed them entirely. :T

[kuzma]

Last year I had a pair of B&W M1s as my rears, and it was ok, but 5 identical speakers really make the movie so much more THERE.

no doubt about it.
but as a compromise may i suggest identical 3 frontal speakers (805S's+HTM4's) in future you would be able to upgrade you system with matching rears and it would be much more sophisticated HT then one based on 68* series.

but

If you have REAL plans on upgrading your system and buying a matching center and rear for the 805, then go that route. If not, I would say go for the 600 series. Those really were awesome speakers, and I enjoyed them entirely.

+1
nothing to add

[SoundEngine355]

685 are great!

I downgraded from the B&W 803D's, haven't looked back since. They are fantastic for Home Theatre!

[Allegiance]

685 are great!

I downgraded from the B&W 803D's, haven't looked back since. They are fantastic for Home Theatre!

Wow, that would have killed me. :E

[superfula]

If you have REAL plans on upgrading your system and buying a matching center and rear for the 805, then go that route. If not, I would say go for the 600 series. Those really were awesome speakers, and I enjoyed them entirely. :T

Exactly my thought process.

I went looking for some nice speakers about 7-8 months ago. My choices were a 5.1 set (no sub yet) from the 6xx series, or the 805. I knew there was no way I'd be able to justify purchasing any more of the 8xx series for quite some time (if ever), so I purchased a pair of 683s, 685s, and the HTM61 center channel. No regrets at all.

[vadarth]

Thank you for all of your advice. I've been soaking it all in, and of course I'll have to listen to all of the B&W speakers AGAIN to make a final decision. It's always good to know the opinions of people who have been there, done that, and have different perspectives and ideas. When I finish the bedroom to home theater conversion (sometime in August), I'll put the pics of the finished product on here for you all to see.