803D vs N802

[bnieman]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone had personal experience with both the 803D and N802? If both were the same price, which would you purchase?

What are sonic differences aside from the timbre of the tweeter?

Cheers,
Bryan

[miner]

I have only compared them i the showroom. I prefered the 803D - the 3 bass drivers really did it for me along with the diamind tweet. I was also more favorable to the footprint of the 803D. Both are excellent speakers - I just prefered the D series.

[bnieman]

Thanks for your input miner, appreciated!

Any idea whether or not the 803D is easier to drive than the N802? Initially I may need to rely on a Rotel RMB-1075 (5x125w) to drive the speakers.

[kmcheng]

Not exactly on topic, but I will give it a go anyway.

When I was comparing the 802D vs. the 803D, my dealer commented that the 802D would benefit more from better electronics. When both were powered by the same Esoteric amp (I forgot the model, but I think it is rated at 150w), I think the 802D did have a slightly fuller bass. Other than that I could not really tell the difference in the upper and middle frequencies. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that a more powerful amp mostly benefits the lower frequencies in the speakers. I do not care much about low frequencies because (1) I am not a bass heavy listener and (2) I have two subwoofers already.

I ended up with the 803D and have been very happy. The diamond tweeters are VERY sweet.

[bnieman]

Great input kmcheng, thanks!

[sikoniko]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone had personal experience with both the 803D and N802? If both were the same price, which would you purchase?

What are sonic differences aside from the timbre of the tweeter?

Cheers,
Bryan

I have compared the two on many occassions and was posed with the same question. I chose the N802s. The reason? The Marlan head makes a huge difference in soundstage. The 803d's still sound like a box speaker to me and failed to disappear in the room like a speaker with a marlan head can.

What you have to figure out is which is more important to you... The soundstage and imaging, or accuracy and detail. The N is a bit harsher sounding.

Life is a compromise. Where do you want to make it?

[bnieman]

I would say soundstage is more important to me... but i do love detail...

Life's not a compromise if you have a budget conducive of the 802D best of both worlds

[sikoniko]

I would say soundstage is more important to me... but i do love detail...

Life's not a compromise if you have a budget conducive of the 802D best of both worlds

802D's are a compromise of getting 800D's... :W

[wettou]

802D's are a compromise of getting 800D's... :W

Sure and it's a compromise to getting the Focal Grand Utopia 3 ($180K)

[sikoniko]

Sure and it's a compromise to getting the Focal Grand Utopia 3 ($180K)

nah... that is past the point of excess. After hearing half a million dollar systems, I think 800d's are the peak of return. Of course I reserve the right to change my opinion, but I'm just not impressed by the Wilson's, Focal's and Revel's of the world...

While I realize people can appreciate different systems, I do not think someone looking at those Utopia's would have b&w's today, even at different scales of economy, as they do things differently.

[wettou]

nah... that is past the point of excess. After hearing half a million dollar systems, I think 800d's are the peak of return. Of course I reserve the right to change my opinion, but I'm just not impressed by the Wilson's, Focal's and Revel's of the world...

While I realize people can appreciate different systems, I do not think someone looking at those Utopia's would have b&w's today, even at different scales of economy, as they do things differently.

To each is own :roll:

[btf1980]

nah... that is past the point of excess. After hearing half a million dollar systems, I think 800d's are the peak of return. Of course I reserve the right to change my opinion, but I'm just not impressed by the Wilson's, Focal's and Revel's of the world...

I've had the pleasure of hearing Watt Puppy speakers on several occasions, and they sound phenomenal. However, even if I had the money I would never buy them. They are just too gaudy and funky looking. They look like giant garbage receptacles. In every space I have seen them in, both real life and in photoshoots, they look grossly out of place.