B&W 805 Diamond Unboxing

[scanido]

to be honest the 805s though had a soft spot for, found to be outclassed by a few other options not only in sound but build and fit and finish as well. Something the 805D certainly appears to have made quite a few strides forward with. Hopefully something get to check out for my self in person at some stage.

Let's be honest here; the 805S and 805di are essentially the same speaker minus of course the driver upgrades. I would imagine the 805S can quite easily be outfitted with the newer components and you would have yourself 99% the same speaker as the newer 805Di. :T

Not sure if AV-OCD had 800 series speakers before, but from my initial observation with the newer and older series, quality is the same.

[sikoniko]

Let's be honest here; the 805S and 805di are essentially the same speaker minus of course the driver upgrades. I would imagine the 805S can quite easily be outfitted with the newer components and you would have yourself 99% the same speaker as the newer 805Di. :T

Not sure if AV-OCD had 800 series speakers before, but from my initial observation with the newer and older series, quality is the same.

the body and matrix bracing might be the same, but I believe everything else is different. different flow port, different bindings, different speakers, different tweeters, different crossover...

[jonesy805]

Congrats AV-OCD. One day I hope to own a pair of the "D" versions of the 805.
Has anyone compared the 805S and the 805D directly? If so, what were the differences?

[AV-OCD]

Congrats AV-OCD. One day I hope to own a pair of the "D" versions of the 805.
Has anyone compared the 805S and the 805D directly? If so, what were the differences?

Thanks.

I wish I could offer up my opinion on the 805S vs. the 805Di, but I have not heard the former. I do get the impression though that the 805S is very well-liked speaker that might only show its weaknesses in direct comparison to the Di version.

[hifiguymi]

Don't you mean the former version? This thread is about you owning the 805 Diamond is it not? I had to read your post twice just to make sure I read it correctly.

Eric

[AV-OCD]

Don't you mean the former version? This thread is about you owning the 805 Diamond is it not? I had to read your post twice just to make sure I read it correctly.

Eric

Oops, I meant "the former" not "the later". OP corrected. ops:

[wettou]

A friend of mine has the Grand Utopias and they sound great. He feels they are worth the money every time he turns on his system, and that's all that really matters.

For him, the money is the secondary consideration.

Cool I just don't have taht kind of $$$$ more power to him :T

[wettou]

Al -

Your wish is my command. :W

It looks like you can't use Banana Plugs!!!!

[AV-OCD]

It looks like you can't use Banana Plugs!!!!

Actually you can and I am at the moment. The plastic bits in the center of the binding posts are removable.

[AV-OCD]

805Di Wall mount project

Don't know if this pic will make much sense right now, but it is the start of my custom wall-mount project for the rear speakers in my 5.1 system.




I've punched so many holes in my rear wall over the years, that this time I wanted to try to use the existing holes from my last set of speakers. To do this, I decided to create a "plate" to cover the mounting holes from the last mount. It took several weeks of thinking of different solutions before it dawned on me that I wanted to try to mimic the look of the 805Di floor stands in the wall mount. So what you see above traced out in the piece of MDF is the "base" of the stand that will go against the wall. The articulating wall mount in the lower right of the pic will attach to this.

[John22614]

Very cool Tim......should look great. I like the idea of mimicking the floor stands.

[AV-OCD]

Thanks John.

I searched and searched for speaker wall mounts that were worthy of the 805Di's and all of them were just so damn cheap looking. Dynaudio makes a nice wall mount, but it was too angular and didn't match the rounded aesthetic of the 800 series.

I'm confident that this custom mount will look the part.

[boarder1995]

You going to router the edges and then sand sand sand, sand sand sand...and more sanding, then paint glossy black? The base shape of the 805 as a wall plate is a great idea. I think it'll look superb.

[AV-OCD]

You going to router the edges and then sand sand sand, sand sand sand...and more sanding, then paint glossy black? The base shape of the 805 as a wall plate is a great idea. I think it'll look superb.

There will be sanding and painting involved, but thankfully the stands that go with the 805Di's are a textured matte black, so it won't be that labor intensive to match this finish in my wall-mounts.

[ShadowZA]

Great stuff, Tim! This is going to look stunning, Tim. Please be sure to show us some photos once done. :T

[kobestonecold]

u can screw into the heart of 805D (hahaha)

[AV-OCD]

Made some progress on my custom wall mount project for the B&W 805Di's that I'll be using for my surround channels.

I took the templates for the wall-plates (shown a few posts back) to a friend up the street who's a cabinet maker to have them cut. Over the past couple of days I've done my best to try to match the textured matte finish of the dedicated 805Di floorstands. Thankfully, the local hardware store sells a couple of different textured spray paints, which got me most of the way there, but the texture was a bit too rough, so I tried to knock it down with some very fine sandpaper. I was a bit heavy handed with the sanding the first time, so I had to reapply the texture a second time and sand lightly over that. Anyway, I've got the texture as close as I can, but I think I might have to change from a satin black paint to flat black to get the finish closer to the look of the stands.

Here's where the wall-plates are at right now.



The piece on the right will attach to the wall, and the piece on the left goes over the top of that to hide the mounting screws and the speaker wire channel. The two will be held together by attaching the articulating mount to the face of the top piece, creating a sandwich of sorts.

Here are the two pieces temporarily screwed together.


I'm still waiting on the custom L brackets to finish the job. Should get those early next week.

[Nolan B]

Has anyone heard if a new matching center channel is in the works?

[stuofsci02]

Has anyone heard if a new matching center channel is in the works?

HTM4Di?

[AV-OCD]

Has anyone heard if a new matching center channel is in the works?

You mean this one?

[emig5m]

You mean this one?

No, he means the Bose Acoustimass one.... Wise guy! Hehe... :lol: :

Now go buy a set of 804Di so you can compare them in the comfort and distraction free environment of your own home with the 805Di. I'm still a believer that the non FST speaker can't fully compete with the openness and detail of an FST model in the midrange department....

Cool custom speaker mounts you're making BTW... :T If you seen the horrendous ones I made for my 685s, complete with contact paper finish, you would probably laugh yourself to death...hehe. :rofl:

[AV-OCD]

Made a bit more progress on my 805Di wall mount project.

Here are the holes from my previous wall mounts:


The back-plate I created to cover them:


The top-plate to cover that:


Next the articulating mount is put in place:


which are made by the same company as my TV mount:


and one last pic of the pair:


The custom L brackets also came in the mail today and I've started the paint work on them. Pics tomorrow.

[AV-OCD]

Oh yeah, and the HTM4Di arrived earlier this week too.





Still waiting on stands for the L/R speakers. Should be here by the end of next week.

[altanpsx]

Nice, indeed very nice

[SoundEngine355]

AV-OCD - What height is your TV cabinet?

[Nolan B]

ill just say it...

Im jealous.

[JesperA]

Finally someone that is generous with pictures, really nice

[Briz vegas]

Maybe someone has already commented on this but.......No bi wire?

I have compared biwire to shotgun (single wire) and clearly preferred biwiring on my B&Ws.

[AV-OCD]

AV-OCD - What height is your TV cabinet?

Good to see some activity in this thread by someone other than me.

The console below the TV is 23" tall.

Why do you ask?

[AV-OCD]

ill just say it...

Im jealous.

Sorry. ops:

Knowing me, these will be up for sale in under a year, so it may be just the opportunity you're looking for. :roll:

[AV-OCD]

Finally someone that is generous with pictures, really nice

More and better pics to come. It's just taking longer than expected to get everything together.

[AV-OCD]

Maybe someone has already commented on this but.......No bi wire?

I have compared biwire to shotgun (single wire) and clearly preferred biwiring on my B&Ws.

Not to get into a controversial subject, but every time I've tried bi-wire in the past I've heard no difference. And besides, it would be a shame not to use the beautiful jumpers that come with the Diamonds.

Glad it works for you though.

[jamesdaman]

I'd like to see the crossover, that
would be cool

[Relentless]

It is all coming together very nicely :T . I am having a hard time with the fact you are driving them with a receiver though. You stated the sound makes you happy so that's what counts, but the possibility of clipping and taking out the diamond tweeters is what worries me.... well Congrats!

[SoundEngine355]

Good to see some activity in this thread by someone other than me.

The console below the TV is 23" tall.

Why do you ask?

Thats a good height, I've got a similiar height cabinet which I have my system on, however with previous speakers (other than B&W) I have had the centre inside the cabinet. Looks like I'm going shopping for a LCD wallmount bracket!

Nice system.

You use it for 2ch too?

How big is the room you have the system in?

[alebonau]

Thats a good height, I've got a similiar height cabinet which I have my system on, however with previous speakers (other than B&W) I have had the centre inside the cabinet. Looks like I'm going shopping for a LCD wallmount bracket!

Nice system.

You use it for 2ch too?

How big is the room you have the system in?

ah yes wall mounting the display definitely gives options. what have done wiht my pio kuro as well. can then just place the centre on a rack or cabinet used to house your other equipment. I made my rack myself using modular aluminium extrusions and joiners

[sikoniko]

those feet you have on the htm4Di are interesting. is that what came with it?

[AV-OCD]

Thats a good height, I've got a similiar height cabinet which I have my system on, however with previous speakers (other than B&W) I have had the centre inside the cabinet. Looks like I'm going shopping for a LCD wallmount bracket!

Nice system.

You use it for 2ch too?

How big is the room you have the system in?

Yes, the wall mount has mad it much easier to accommodate just about any size center speaker. Highly recommended.

Yes, I use this system for both music and movies, though I have a separate one for games.

The room with the 805Di's is 23L x 13W x 9H.

[AV-OCD]

those feet you have on the htm4Di are interesting. is that what came with it?

Nope, those feet came with a KEF Reference center I owned several years ago. They've come in handy over the years.

[Nolan B]

Nope, those feet came with a KEF Reference center I owned several years ago. They've come in handy over the years.

does it come with its own set of feet thou?

[AV-OCD]

does it come with its own set of feet thou?

Not really. Just four small 1/4" tall rubber bumpers.

[style]

hi Tim,

your rack is 23" /60cm. ca. plus the Htm4d and the Tc on wall . correct?

I have a cabinet (from Spectral) and is ca. 60cm. plus Htm2D and the plasma Pioneer Kuro 6090h is a the basis 88 cm height.

from a listing position in the 3 / 3,5 meter is perfect!

your center with the kef feet's look very good.

I don't remenber but I have see here in the forum a "mdf, or mousse basis" for the speakers and the center.....
everybody have this link "available"?
I have a sondcare for the L/R but a extra piece of so on product will be interesting to be tested..... for the venter I don't have problemsound perfect!
this product the plac on the floor on the speker over is from ???? plase Help!!

--> with the 805D (or the 805Stoo) for me dont make sense a bi wiring...and with bigger speker too....not always is a better solution.
in the past i had alwas bi-wiring but now I have a good single end cable and I'm happy so.

Style

[AV-OCD]

For some reason I just can't take a decent picture with my point and shoot camera these days, but I finally got the stands in for the front speakers.

[Tweir]

How does the 805d system compare to the others you have had in the room?

[marsboer]

That is a beautiful setup! I love those speakers and I am dying to listen to them at home some day.