805Di vs 805s vs 803D

[specialized]

Hi there.. Finnaly i had a time and chance to compare them my self.. Electronics was McIntosh Preamp (C42 i think), and MC275 and MC501 Amps..

Becouse im a bit busy i'll write just short impressions now, and i'll continue tommorow more detailed if u are interested of course..

As first have to say i dont like silver rings and look of the 805di compared to old 805s. Seem that was the only negative thing i found. When i started the music i was totaly amazed.. The sound is big very deep and wide, very good imaging and look like there is deeper bass produced and in same time very clean very tight.. The sound is very very clear, very tight all around and there is no lack of dynamics. After this we switch to the old 805s. There is no need to listen for hours to notice the difference.. 805s compared to 805di sound smaller, like bass is lacking and muddy. Also they sound brighter and harsher. After this i ask again for 805Di and same impression as before.. Then we switched to 803D (old model). And guess what.. I prefer 805Di. The sound is tighter then 803D better imaging and cleaner sound. 803D have more bass but less controled then 805Di. I didnt need deeper bass at all. I compared 805di vs 803D first connected on MC275 then on Mc501. In both situations i prefered 805Di (as i said very very clean and tight sound. Another thing i forgot to say 805Di just dissapear in the room). 803D sound was harsh and bright compared to 805Di. Have to admit that B&W amazed me. Just to say that i have 803S/HTM3S/805S at home and i thought its just a marketing with the new series.. And almost forgot.. 805Di sound better on MC275 then on MC501 (more natural and better timber). And have to say that i have fresh memories how live music is performed (Skopje Jazz Festival) performed last week , and one of the artist was Patricia Barber (amazing concert one of the best i ever been), so i have a real reference to compare it

Greetings

Darko

[jpbas1]

I agree with you completely. I just picked a pair of 802D's for which I love. What I have noticed is that the 802's might be far less forgiving of poorly recorded material and upfront source gear. The 805Di's seem to annihilate my previous 804S and 805S. Almost unrecognizable in light of appearance similarities- but sound was a completely separate experience. The new 805Di was much more detailed and fuller yet gave you the sense of floor stander in the setting of being a reference monitor.

My 802Ds were a bit of a surprise. The 805s could not compete in low frequency extension and amazingly the 802s still flourished at lower volume levels. The 802's were not as bright as my new 805's and comparisons were made from identical source setups. In summary, if you were looking for a reference monitor and did not have the space to accommodate a larger and more sizable 802... You will not be disappointed in the new 805di's. A luscious monitor with exceptional midrange (forward sounding and less laid back than the prior 'S series') and a tweeter design that is remarkable for it's sonic delivery and overall monitor size.

[dan87951]

I just went though this and ordered a set of 805Di's but came home with a new set of 803D's (older model). In my opinion there is no replacement for displacement, and the 803D's sounded much fuller with a nice bigger sound stage. I'm a amazed that to your ears a much smaller speaker is in the same league as a 803D. To each there own I guess... but to me the 803D was the clear winner. Better bass and fuller imaging. I guess the law of physics apply here. Happy listening!!

[beden1]

I just went though this and ordered a set of 805Di's but came home with a new set of 803D's (older model). In my opinion there is no replacement for displacement, and the 803D's sounded much fuller with a nice bigger sound stage. I'm a amazed that to your ears a much smaller speaker is in the same league as a 803D. To each there own I guess... but to me the 803D was the clear winner. Better bass and fuller imaging. I guess the law of physics apply here. Happy listening!!

I agree with you. There is no way the 805Di's came close to the 803D's performance. Plus, something had to be wrong with the setup for the 803Ds to sound the way he describes: "The sound is tighter then 803D better imaging and cleaner sound. 803D have more bass but less controled then 805Di. I didnt need deeper bass at all. I compared 805di vs 803D first connected on MC275 then on Mc501. In both situations i prefered 805Di (as i said very very clean and tight sound. Another thing i forgot to say 805Di just dissapear in the room). 803D sound was harsh and bright compared to 805Di." :huh:

[specialized]

I agree with you. There is no way the 805Di's came close to the 803D's performance. Plus, something had to be wrong with the setup for the 803Ds to sound the way he describes: "The sound is tighter then 803D better imaging and cleaner sound. 803D have more bass but less controled then 805Di. I didnt need deeper bass at all. I compared 805di vs 803D first connected on MC275 then on Mc501. In both situations i prefered 805Di (as i said very very clean and tight sound. Another thing i forgot to say 805Di just dissapear in the room). 803D sound was harsh and bright compared to 805Di." :huh:

The Setup was exactly same.. Except speakers..(We Rotate only speakers). And to be fair comparasion i asked to try MC501 as well not just MC275 . And believe me or not, 805DI produced cleaner and tighter sound. As i said, not that deep in Bass, but 805DI has cleaner sounding bass. And again.. Even my local dealer have them on stock for a while i didnt listen at all becouse of my doubts that new series is pure marketing.. Finnaly yesterday in a quest of a stereo integrated amp for my CM1 i asked to listen.. And i was amazed..

Greetings

Darko

[Briz vegas]

I can understand the comments about the 805di. I run 804s and preferred them to the 803D in a less optimal setup I heard on the weekend. The bass on those things was all over the shot and dominated everything despite an attempt by the dealer to use some of those round bass traps.

I jumped straight to the 804di in another room and it was doing some things very well. Still had a slight bass issue but again it was the room.

"Problem" is that I have been tweaking my system for years and nothing was as direct sounding and communicative as I get at home right now. I got the impression that the 804di would most likely be special in my setup when I got it home but my home system as it stands sounded better than the store setup with the new model ( just did some more tweaking which has resulted in key improvements to clarity and detail. Now my "system" surpasses the shop 804di overall - good vibration/resonance control is very worthwhile folks)

Another reason for home demos me thinks. I have done a home demo on all my recent 2 channel purchases and its pretty much essential.