803D's too big for my room?

[Tony1]

My room is 13.5' by 26'. I've been thinking about upgrading to 803D's for mains but not sure if I will benefit from the upgrade. The speakers will be less than a foot away from the back wall. Not sure if I put acoustic treatment behind the 803d will help? I've heard that big speakers may sound worse if in a smaller room than a smaller speaker. Upgrade or stay with the 805s?

[MikeFL52]

13'6"x26' is not exactly small. the problem you might have (and it's not just related to 803Ds) is the length being 2x the width.

Also do not underestimate the physical rather than acoustic size of the 803D's. It may not seem like it at the dealers, but the footprint is larger than you think and with the fire there you might damage the speaker finish. I moved from N804's to 803D's and I was surprised by the size difference.

If you think you can make it work physically then I would not worry about it acoustically, with placement and or treatments they will sound great.

[htsteve]

My room is 13.5' by 26'. I've been thinking about upgrading to 803D's for mains but not sure if I will benefit from the upgrade. The speakers will be less than a foot away from the back wall. Not sure if I put acoustic treatment behind the 803d will help? I've heard that big speakers may sound worse if in a smaller room than a smaller speaker. Upgrade or stay with the 805s?

Tony1,

I tend to agree with MikeFL52's comments. Do some measuring and make sure the left speaker will fit well. If you can slide the whole setup to the right by 6 inches, it might help.

803D's are big speakers, both physically and sonically. The soundstage on those will be large. I believe they will fill your space very nicely and better the 805's.

What are you driving them with? 803D's love current. Thoe more you give them the better.

As to acoustic treatments, they definitely help. I have 802D's in a 11 X 16 room, which is acoustically treated. They sound AWESOME. I have no problems with a big speaker in a smaller room.


Hope this helps.



PS I love the sound anchors stands. I have some under my 804S's.

[Relentless]

My room is 14 x 15 and the 800D's sound incredible. I do have them 4 feet from the front wall and 3 feet from the sides with the corners and first reflection points treated. I think you can make the 803D's work for you if you can get them away from the wall a little more.

[ray5]

My room is 13.5' by 26'. I've been thinking about upgrading to 803D's for mains but not sure if I will benefit from the upgrade. The speakers will be less than a foot away from the back wall. Not sure if I put acoustic treatment behind the 803d will help? I've heard that big speakers may sound worse if in a smaller room than a smaller speaker. Upgrade or stay with the 805s?

Tony1,
What are those stands that you have with the 805S? Any specific model number? How much are they?
Ray

[Ken49r]

I think if you move the sub to another location you will have a more comfortable fit for the 803D's with that setup.

[htsteve]

Tony1,
What are those stands that you have with the 805S? Any specific model number? How much are they?
Ray

ray5,

See ths link. They're from Sound Anchors. Price is variable depending on height and # of posts. You're not cheap, but they work quite well.

http://www.soundanchors.com/page35.html

Hope this helps.

[ray5]

ray5,

See ths link. They're from Sound Anchors. Price is variable depending on height and # of posts. You're not cheap, but they work quite well.

http://www.soundanchors.com/page35.html

Hope this helps.

Thanks Steve.
Ray

[Tony1]

I did measure the footprints for the 803D's and they will fit that area. I don't use the fireplace so damaging the speaker is not an issue. I will have to get rid of the sub for space. I've heard that the 803d's has good bass and may not need the sub.

I am considering Bryston 3 channel 300 watt amp for the front. I currently have the Bryston 9BSST 5ch.

My other issue is what Relentless mentioned as far as the speakers needing to be away for the wall at least 2-3 feet. Heard that you are limiting the performance of the speaker by having it close to the wall. This is my main concern, will it be worth it? Especially for the speaker that will be in the corner where the fireplace is. Anyone have there 803d's close to the wall? What effect does having the speakers close to the wall, any bass or soundstaging issues?

[htsteve]

Tony1,

I like your idea to move the sub. I wouldn't consider getting rid of it since you do have an HT setup. I have 802D's and a Velodyne DD18 in a 11 X 16 room. Some might consider that overkill. But the bass response, especially the depth and soundstage of it, is truly amazing.


The 803D's will like the extra 'breathing' room the freed up space will bring.


The 803D's should do very nicely with the Bryston's.


Hope this helps.

[Relentless]

My other issue is what Relentless mentioned as far as the speakers needing to be away for the wall at least 2-3 feet. Heard that you are limiting the performance of the speaker by having it close to the wall.

Assuming you have auditioned the 803D's at your dealer, what about asking them to move the speaker close to the wall and take a listen for yourself and see if it is worth the upgrade to you...Having a speaker in a corner will effect the bass response but could be helped with treatments.

[James63]

I listened to a pair of 802Ds in a room about the same size.... They sounded pretty good when they were pulled 4+feet into the room. But when they were only 2 or so feet into the room the bass was too much....

Anyway I think the 803d will work in your room but will sound much better if you can pull them 3 or so feet out from the back wall.

[Tony1]

I went to demo the 803d's but local dealers did not carry anything higher than 804s. Called other dealers and no one had 803d's in stock(bad economy?, guess no one wants to stock them now). I asked the dealer if there was an issue of the 803d being close to the wall as I will not be able to bring it out into the room. He said that all the speakers and bass port on the 803d is facing forward so I should not have an issue with it being close to the wall. The 802, 801 and 800 however may have an issue as the bass port is pointed downward. Anyone agree or disagree with this?

[vernonl]

PS I love the sound anchors stands. I have some under my 804S's.

I just got these for my 804S's and I can say they REALLY opened up the soundstage and removed some muddiness from my 804S's that I didn't even realise was there. They also tookaway some of the over brightness from the highs which I found were a little too harsh on my 804S's

[1oldguy]

I went to demo the 803d's but local dealers did not carry anything higher than 804s. Called other dealers and no one had 803d's in stock(bad economy?, guess no one wants to stock them now). I asked the dealer if there was an issue of the 803d being close to the wall as I will not be able to bring it out into the room. He said that all the speakers and bass port on the 803d is facing forward so I should not have an issue with it being close to the wall. The 802, 801 and 800 however may have an issue as the bass port is pointed downward. Anyone agree or disagree with this?

While you may still have problems.......Your Dealers logic seems to make sense.

[Relentless]

He said that all the speakers and bass port on the 803d is facing forward so I should not have an issue with it being close to the wall. The 802, 801 and 800 however may have an issue as the bass port is pointed downward. Anyone agree or disagree with this?

Bass is non directional. You will need to get the 803D's away from the wall if you want the best performance out of them.... Has your dealer sold the 803D's to anyone in your area that would be willing to give you an audition?.... just a thought.

[Tony1]

If I just use my Bryston, which is 160w/ch, with the 803D will I still hear a big improvement over the 805s?

Reason I ask is I don't have the room for another amp without getting a wider rack and want to hold off buying a new amp right now.

Relentless, my dealer could not find anyone that will allow me to demo the 803d's. Thanks for the idea.

[MikeFL52]

Tony,

The 805S and 803D despite both being 800 series speakers are entirely different in their sound characteritics. I moved up form a pair of N804s and there was a world of difference, more than enough to justify the price difference.

160W/ch is hardly a slouch and so it is my belief that they will power the 803D without problems. I use an Anthem P5 which is a lot more than 160W/ch, but it hardly breaks a sweat even at very high volumes and so I think you will be fine with 160W/ch and Brystons are pretty good amplifiers.