803S and room Size?

[specialized]

In this class and in country where i live i have to get the fact, that i wont be able to sell them if i made a mistake.. I never consider 803D becouse of the fact i have to spend much more money for aplification as well.. But. I have a friend who have 803D and he think that there is much better speaker.. Becouse dealer organize appoitment with me about ordering in Friday, i want to just think and compare 803D as well.. If i get only the price difference 803S and 803D i'll go 803D (i read some test that say 803D vs 803S much bigger difference then 803D vs 802d), but seem that if i go 803D route i have to invest in everything else (which seem is not a case with 803S).

Beden, becouse u have 803D, can u compare the sound please with 803S (if u have compared at all of course). I just want to be sure that after a while i wont start thinking that it was much better to get better speaker..

Thank u

Darko

I'd really hate to sell you anything . . . you're new name should be Undecided!



I have the 803D's. In order to run them properly as they were designed, you will also need a very good pre-amp or pre-pro, and have a minimum of 200-350 watts of power per speaker, provded by a very good amp like a Classe.

You will also have to have a very good source player - CD or etc.

With the 803D's, and when you build an HT system, you will also need to spend up for the HTM2D. I know this, as I had to just do the same thing, moving from an HTM1 to an HTM2D.

Are they better? - Yes, but . . . you need to consider the extra costs involved to get the most out of your initial investment in the 803D's.

[specialized]

Probably, but remember the theory of diminishing returns. The best advice is to pick an upper limit, and stick to it.

Moving up the range doesn't just stop with the front pair, you'll need beefier amplification, a better centre/surround, upgrade the source, it just circles on and on.

The 803S is a really nice speaker - you'll be very happy with it.

Thank u Mike..


Darko

[beden1]

In this class and in country where i live i have to get the fact, that i wont be able to sell them if i made a mistake.. I never consider 803D becouse of the fact i have to spend much more money for aplification as well.. But. I have a friend who have 803D and he think that there is much better speaker.. Becouse dealer organize appoitment with me about ordering in Friday, i want to just think and compare 803D as well.. If i get only the price difference 803S and 803D i'll go 803D (i read some test that say 803D vs 803S much bigger difference then 803D vs 802d), but seem that if i go 803D route i have to invest in everything else (which seem is not a case with 803S).

Beden, becouse u have 803D, can u compare the sound please with 803S (if u have compared at all of course). I just want to be sure that after a while i wont start thinking that it was much better to get better speaker..

Thank u

Darko

I bought the 803D's, as I decided they were the best bang-for-the-buck to anchor a good home theater system within the 800 diamond series.

I already had the 703s that I initially bought thinking I was not going to seriously get back into the audiophile hobby, and they were good enough at the time. But like most of us, I didn't think it through, and the 703s turned out to be good enough to make me want to get back into building a very good system, afterall.

With the 803D, I was getting the diamond tweeter which is a better tweeter in the highs as compared to the 803S. I was also getting good tight bass that is better for me in primarily listening to Rock N' Roll. The mid range is good for me too, as sometimes I get the feeling from listening to the 802D and the 800D, that there is like a hollow background in the mids (could be the perception of looking at the marlin head).

In considering the 800 diamond series, I also felt that the 803D was the best balance for an HT system, along with the more manageable HTM2D center speaker that matches extremely well. The HTM2D also has very good bass output with it's rear firing ports.

While the 803D has a perfect mate in the HTM2D, the 802D also goes well with the HTM1D as it is virtually the same speaker on it's side. The 800D with the HTM1D is very good too, but is also kind of a compromise, IMO, as the 800D is a larger speaker. But, I'm not sure if you've physically seen the HTM1D center speaker, as it's almost shocking to see how big this monster really is in person. I knew my wife would hate it from the get go too, and I was not thrilled with the thought of lugging this behemoth around either.

In building my home theater system, I also went for the 803D's as I knew I could fill in with anything missing in the bass by using a sub (I now have two subs in the system).

The only issue I've found with the 803D's, is that I have a large room, and for just listening to stereo (two channel), I would have preferred the 800D's as stand-alone speakers, as they are a total speaker with full bass, IMO.

So, I now have 803D fronts, an HTM2D center, 703 surrounds, and two Velodyne 15" subs. The 803D's are powered by Classe CAM-350's (perfect match), as I have found they need power to perform at their peak.

If I was going to build a pure two channel system, I would go for the 800D's powered at least by the CAM-400's, and call it a day.

As for the 803S however, I think they are one of the most versatile speakers B&W makes. They are easier to power, and easier to match with other speakers, and they sound very good overall. If I was going to just build another home theater system again, I would use these as my L/R fronts, and possibly also the surrounds (or the 805S), and get the HTM3S center speaker, along with my two 15" Velodyne subs. I would also get the Classe CA-5200 amp to drive the five speakers. IMO, this would be an excellent and very balanced system, and one that is not as costly and probably delivers nearly as much, relatively.

The diamond tweeters are very good, but IMO, they need very clean ample power to deliver as designed. The tweeters in the 803S are also very good, albeit not quite as smooth/transparent, and possibly a bit on the brighter side. They are very clear and focused tweeters, and at times particularly with watching movies, I prefer them over the diamond tweeters. The diamond tweeters shine brighter when you're listening to female vocals, and some instruments like violins and cymbals. But, I'm not sure it is worth going into the diamonds, when all of your other costs escalate by having to pay up for better electronics, etc.

The mids and the bass output from the 803S, IMO, are very good. The mids are probably very similar, and the bass is a bit shy and possibly not as gutteral by comparison to the 803D's. But, if you feel like the bass is not as strong as you would like, you can always compensate with a sub woofer(s).

[Pedro]

Beden,

Just a suggestion: have you considered the 801D over the 800D? I´ve listened the 801D and being less expensive than 800D it has much more bass, less bright and forward but still detailed speakers.

For the price difference i ordered the 801D/Rosewood to my stereo

[beden1]

Beden,

Just a suggestion: have you considered the 801D over the 800D? I´ve listened the 801D and being less expensive than 800D it has much more bass, less bright and forward but still detailed speakers.

For the price difference i ordered the 801D/Rosewood to my stereo

I have only listened to the 801D's once, and only for a short time. They were at the dealer ready to be delivered to a customer, and the customer was checking them out before being delivered to his home.

The dealers I've been to don't stock the 801D's, saying that they don't like them. I really don't understand this, as from what I briefly heard, they sounded very good particularly in the bass.

The only downside is the massive size of these speakers, even over the 800D's. It had been mentioned by another that they would look best in black, and I agree with this statement.

I have the opportunity to buy a demo pair of 800D's at a very fair price (before any final negotiations). That is why I have been doing demos of them lately. Very nice speakers, but what has me concerned is the other cost for larger amps, and possibly the larger center HTM1D that I'm not a big fan of it's physical size.

I also just bought the new Classe SSP-800 that should get here within a month, and I'm going to see how my system does overall with this new addition.

[wettou]

I have only listened to the 801D's once, and only for a short time. They were at the dealer ready to be delivered to a customer, and the customer was checking them out before being delivered to his home.

Upgraditis....:lol: That is why they invented subs JL Audio Fathom F113 or 212 their new release. 801D are such beasts not my taste

[scanido]

...

As for the 803S however, I think they are one of the most versatile speakers B&W makes. They are easier to power, and easier to match with other speakers, and they sound very good overall. If I was going to just build another home theater system again, I would use these as my L/R fronts, and possibly also the surrounds (or the 805S), and get the HTM3S center speaker, along with my two 15" Velodyne subs. I would also get the Classe CA-5200 amp to drive the five speakers. IMO, this would be an excellent and very balanced system, and one that is not as costly and probably delivers nearly as much, relatively.

This sums is up nicely. Alos, the 803S has a flatter frequency than the 803D.

An 803S + HTM3S + 805S/SCMS system powered by classe or Mcintosh 200w is a very well balanced system and hard to beat value and performance wise. That is what I did and the system is amazing!