Contemplating selling off my 800's.....

[emig5m]

Contemplating selling off my 800's because I find I mainly enjoy listening to music in the car (actually truck - Just bought a Pioneer 3300BT and a iPod 160GB classic - the sound quality over the stock head unit is phenomenal!! quality aftermarket speakers/power amp should really be sweet!) and don't really care for critical listening in home. Yea, my huge collection of CD/Lossless music and B&W 800 series, high powered amp, etc, and I never even listen to music on it and wind up listening to MP3's on the iPod (albeit nicely 320KB/s L.A.M.E. encoded). Kinda a waste to own B&W 800 series if I don't even care to listen to music at home. In the car/truck I absolutely have to have my music though. Can't just sit inside and listen to music anymore as I'm more an outdoorsy person lately (Jet Skiing, Swimming, Mountain Biking, etc) heh.

My plans are to sell off the 804S/HTM3S and drop back down to 685's all the way around and use the money to upgrade my vehicles sound system where I actually spend the most time listening to music. I listen to mostly popular music that you would hear on the radio everyday and some of it can be poorly recorded so that's another reason why I don't need the 800's anymore. Yea, they sound amazing with reference level recorded music, but that's not rarely the type of music I care to listen to. Of course, manual EQ always helps a little with that, but still, don't care to listen to music at home through the loudspeakers.

My only fear is that I will greatly miss them for at least movies in which is their main use right now along side of some occasional Xbox 360 gaming. Yea, the HTM3S will possibly be deal breaker with me selling them.... such a great center speaker.... HTM3S to 685? Hmm... Have to think hard about that one. But... priorities are priorities...

• I greatly need better sound gear for my vehicle where I do most of my music listening.
• I don't listen to music on the 804 at all currently.
• More into outdoor activities lately.
• Most recorded music I listen to are no where near reference quality
• Seems like my 804 is going to waste for my needs and uses.

What do you guys think? Of course I'll still be in the B&W family, just dropping down for other things... I have all original boxes and manuals so selling them shouldn't be a problem.

[jam200]

Keep the HTM3S and continue to use it as a Center Channel. I have one and it is great with my 703 speakers.

[audioqueso]

Well, a few things..

Why is it a waste if you already paid for the whole system?
You can sell the whole system, but you know you won't get the same exact value. So isn't it more of a waste of money in that sense?

You can upgrade your car audio system, but regardless of how nice of a system, you're still playing compressed music.

Now, years ago I did own a 5.1 setup with the B&W 600 series 3 speakers. And my memory of it was that it was great for movies. I still recommend them. I still have a pair of of 600 S3 in the bedroom.
But after own a 800 series HT setup for a few years now, I tried switching back to the 600 for movies, there really is a huge difference in clarity. Sure, I could probably get use to the 600 series again, but the 800 series really is that much better. My opinion would be that you would probably be ok going back to the 600 series for HT, but after a while you'll start to think "I wonder how much better was it with the 800 series?"... and then wonder about going back to the 800 series. lol

And then there's aesthetics. 800 series is far more attractive... even as a piece of decor.

And lastly, if you ever have guest come over, be it a party or whatnot, the 800 series will always deliver clear music to all parts of the room. My condo building has a huge party room on the 1st floor. I have used my pair of B&W 600 to fill the room with music twice for a party. Then used my Klipsch RB-51 thinking that Klipsch would do better to disperse sound over a large area due to their horn (it actually did far worse). Then last time I had a party, I used the 600 S3 again... then switched out an hour later to the 805's. It was such a big difference in what those two series were capable of in a large room. On the other side of the room, the music was still so clear with the 800 series.

I'm recommending against it because I think you (one who is already being stuck in this addicting audio world) will get the upgraditis later and want to go back to the 800 series.

[Opus007]

Just my 2 cents....

Don't do it.Even though all I have ever owned of the B&W line was the 600 series speakers all around.I did audition the 804's and those where going to be my next purchase as I loved them.

Economically that never came to be and I had to sell all my B&W speakers and Rotel amps ect....I had to dust off a sony receiver and some Legend Audio speakers.And although I tell myself that my current setup is fine and I dont listen that often anymore there is a whole different feel of the room.And a completely different sound.

You use to own the 683's and I remember your posts saying tht the 804's where special but if you had to you could live with the 683's.I said the same thing about the Legend Audio speakers.

I would think hard about selling what you have.Car audio is car audio.Sinking mega bucks into a vehicle audio system to me is unthinkable.

But...if this is the road you chose,I would also keep the center because the 600 series center as you know is no where near the sound quailty of the rest of the 600 series line.

Good luck with your decision as its a a tough one.
Shaun

[beden1]

You are just going through a different stage in your life. I've gone through it, in and out of listening to music and being actively involved in many other interests a number of times. During the past several years, I now find myself getting back into most of the things I enjoyed before, including listening to music through a good system and set of speakers (particularly now that our kids have graduated from college).

The problem with selling your system, is that it will cost much more to duplicate it years from now, because the prices keep skyrocketing.

[Skyblue]

The question is: Do you you need the money or the space? If so, sell. Else keep them.

[emig5m]

The question is: Do you you need the money or the space? If so, sell. Else keep them.

Well... Definitely don't need the space, heh. I could fit bigger B&W's if I wanted to. Money-wise, well, thing is lately I mainly enjoy listening to my music in the vehicle and money-wise I have another expensive hobby eating into the idea of upgrading the sound system. I've been through $1400 in gas alone this summer in my supercharged Seadoo personal watercraft and the machine alone was $11,000 and that was like $3000 off being a left-over model plus it requires a $400 supercharger rebuild/service at 100hrs and I'm already at 56hrs on it this summer so far since buying it new in the spring, heh. :E And every time I go riding it's around $38 in gas for 2-hrs of riding, lol. But that's my main hobby that I enjoy the most and I've also lost a lot of weight being more outdoorsy (225lb down to 167). So it's been a good thing being more active outdoors, heh. And man they're so much fun!

Watercraft is mega expensive to run, but definitely will never give up this hobby -- Way too much fun. All other hobbies take a back seat to this.

The car is where I mainly listen to my music and I'm using the horrendous stock Ford speakers. Where I actually listen to music I have the absolute worst speakers. Doesn't make sense.

Home system never gets used for music and it has top-notch speakers - seems kinda a waste (I understand most on here dislike listening to music in the vehicle but I seem to be the opposite). I actually tried to sit there and listen to my latest favorites playlist on my B&W system and not only do I not enjoy sitting at home inside listening to music, man can you tell recording quality is all over the place from good to total crap on the higher end system. It's like on the car system everything sounds nearly on the same level - you set your tone the way you like it and leave it. I can try that on the B&W setup but man..... out of those same recordings some sound significantly better and then some sound significantly worse.

I know I would miss the B&W's for movies.... especially the HTM3S which was the biggest improvement over the 600's...

I greatly need to improve the sound of the vehicle but can't comfortably afford it with the personal watercraft hobby, especially after dropping 11 grand for it plus the fuel consumption, lol. And like I said, everything else takes a backseat to this hobby.

I think the 685's all the way around would suit my home audio needs just fine? Well, man would it be weird seeing 685's in place of the 804S and HTM3S! I just hate to have something so nice that rarely gets used.

Why is it a waste if you already paid for the whole system?

Just because it never gets used for music. I'm not actually putting my 800's up for sale yet, but the car system is getting upgraded, that's definitely happening. I could sell the 800's, buy new 685's to replace them, upgrade my vehicles system, and still have money left over and be more happy with everything overall I think, lol. Really on a 50/50 fence about selling them... Movie playback is the only thing making me think long and hard about it.....grrr.. When winter comes and the watercraft goes into storage, there's going to be a lot of movie watching!! And well...gaming. :lol:

[Skyblue]

What exactly is the score here? You want to sell your 800s and buy used 600's. Is there really that much of a difference in used prices that it could fund your other hobby? For how long?

I still think I would keep them. Alternatively you could sell them in the spring when movie season is over.

[emig5m]

Actually I'd get brand new 600's. I already have one pair of 685's so only would need two more pairs. Since it was raining all day and had the day off work I actually spend all day playing around with the system, mainly trying different locations for the sub. Redid Audyssey a bunch of times in the process trying slightly different mic locations. Although I wound up with the sub in it's original location, redoing Audyssey taking measurements from slightly different locations seemed to help a bit. Took a ride in the truck after and realized how phony and muffled lesser speakers sound, heh. The 800's are just so clean they just don't "draw" any attention to themselves. I think it would be a bad idea to get rid of them, even if I'm not really into it "right now". I do try to watch a couple movies a week during the summer -- just don't care to sit inside and listen to music lately, heh. I'll find some other items to sell to put towards the car audio upgrading....

[audioqueso]

especially after dropping 11 grand for it

This is why I asked if it isn't more of a waste of money selling the 800 series since you already paid for them and you won't get your money back? Because you actually said a line like "especially after dropping 11 grand" for the watercraft...
If you sold the 800 series, it would seem as if you would think that it was a bad investment move to spend so much on the speakers, only to sell them shortly after. Just my observation.


If anything, I would recommend to talk to your dealer about this. Exactly what you wrote here. Ask them if you can borrow the 600 center speaker for a day or so. (to audition for yourself at home)
Take it home.
Hook up the 600 speakers for your left, center, and right.
Go pick one of your favorite movies, relax, and enjoy the movie.
Just see if you liked the way the movie sounded with a 600 series setup.
You'd know for yourself... if you start to nitpick stuff about the sound while watching the movie, chances are you're probably going to regret the move from 800 to 600 later.
But if you were contempt with it, then you'll probably be ok selling off your 800 series.

Good luck.

[emig5m]

If anything, I would recommend to talk to your dealer about this. Exactly what you wrote here. Ask them if you can borrow the 600 center speaker for a day or so. (to audition for yourself at home)
Take it home.
Hook up the 600 speakers for your left, center, and right.
Go pick one of your favorite movies, relax, and enjoy the movie.
Just see if you liked the way the movie sounded with a 600 series setup.
You'd know for yourself... if you start to nitpick stuff about the sound while watching the movie, chances are you're probably going to regret the move from 800 to 600 later.
But if you were contempt with it, then you'll probably be ok selling off your 800 series.

Good luck.

Good advice but... I already know what the outcome would be since I already have a pair of 685's that I can put up against my 804's anytime I want. The 685's are going to sound a lot more in the box, especially in the midrange. Bass won't be too big of a problem since I'm crossing over to a sub. And the soundstage is going to be smaller and also not play as loud or have that nice more of a 3D effect (outside the box) sound. But, the 685's are pretty damned good performance in their own right.... I could live with them easily if need to be.

[diononiz]

Personally I think you should not sell them. I honestly feel that you will be sorry down the road. Especially with winter coming in NJ and very cold weather approaching. Do you think you will spend more time inside? I agree with Beden to replace your 804s today will prob cost you around the 7k range. Give it some time, think about it, then contemplate for a final time. I think by that point you will have the clarity you need. Best of luck.

[emig5m]

I have a bigger problem now. The passive driver in my Sunfire sub broke and Sunfire wont sell parts to customers. It's an easy 8 allen screw one minute fix...so frustrating they wont sell me a stupid replacement and wants me to pay to ship the entire sub two ways and labor!! Hell with that company! I'll never buy another Sunfire product again! Now what do I do! Gonna probably have to downgrade until the spring and get say, an Emotiva sub for now..... Unbelievable they wont sell a downed customer a stinking simple passive driver!!

[JürgenW]

Don't you have a dealer in your neighbourhood who you can made an arrangement with?

[emig5m]

Don't you have a dealer in your neighbourhood who you can made an arrangement with?

Someone on the AVS forum found me a link to a seller on Ebay who has three brand new replacements and I'm having one shipped overnight and should be here by friday. I even did a search myself on Ebay yesterday and came up with nothing. If everything works out and I get my replacement by friday and it works correctly I wanna Paypal that guy a $20 tip for finding me the link. He saved my ass from spending $1500 I was about ready to spend at my local B&W dealer on a Velodyne Optimum 12" so a $20 tip is the least I could do. Yea Sunfire, you suck! Really a big deal to sell a downed customer a stupid replacement passive radiator!! Very poor customer support!! Well I'll never buy anything Sunfire again just out of pure spite and principle! It's like imagine if Ford wanted you to ship back your entire vehicle at your expense and the down time shipping both ways and having to wait for them to fix it at their leisure just to fix a simple flat tire! Absurd! :M

Anyhow, I'm definitely keeping my 800 series. This little ordeal with my sub got me kinda back into the game. It's like you don't realise what you have until you don't have it anymore. My sub only broke yesterday and it was driving me nuts not having it only for 24hrs so far, lol. Yea, I'm not into the audio hobby alright... couldn't even go a day without my sub without going half nuts....LOL! :lol: :rofl: :E

[Skyblue]

Someone on the AVS forum found me a link to a seller on Ebay who has three brand new replacements and I'm having one shipped overnight and should be here by friday. I even did a search myself on Ebay yesterday and came up with nothing. If everything works out and I get my replacement by friday and it works correctly I wanna Paypal that guy a $20 tip for finding me the link. He saved my ass from spending $1500 I was about ready to spend at my local B&W dealer on a Velodyne Optimum 12" so a $20 tip is the least I could do. Yea Sunfire, you suck! Really a big deal to sell a downed customer a stupid replacement passive radiator!! Very poor customer support!! Well I'll never buy anything Sunfire again just out of pure spite and principle! It's like imagine if Ford wanted you to ship back your entire vehicle at your expense and the down time shipping both ways and having to wait for them to fix it at their leisure just to fix a simple flat tire! Absurd! :M

Anyhow, I'm definitely keeping my 800 series. This little ordeal with my sub got me kinda back into the game. It's like you don't realise what you have until you don't have it anymore. My sub only broke yesterday and it was driving me nuts not having it only for 24hrs so far, lol. Yea, I'm not into the audio hobby alright... couldn't even go a day without my sub without going half nuts....LOL! :lol: :rofl: :E

Welcome back in the asylum, Cudos on almost escaping !

[Opus007]

Glad to hear you are keeping them. :T