I was a very happy owner of 803D loudspeakers for over 3 years - so happy in fact that I ended up owning 3 pairs over that time. Long story, but in short the first pair was replaced by B&W after I discovered a relatively minor veneer flaw (huge kudos to B&W support :T ). The second pair I owned for approx 2 years. I then bought another pair of 803D for HT - decided after a few months that it was silly overkill for HT and eventually sold both pairs to upgrade to 803Diamond. Prior to owning the 803D I owned the 804S.
So what is the relevance of this background? I believe I am in a good position to compare the performance of the 803D to 803Diamond versions and provide some observations on the quality and consistency of manufacturing.
Manufacturing consistency
All three 803D sounded exactly the same, and each took approx 6+ months to fully run-in. Out of the box they sounded a bit constricted. It took a few weeks for the dynamic range to develop and then a few months for already smooth sound to sweeten further.
All the 800 series loudspeakers I owned were rosenut veneer – each had a different wood veneer pattern and had slightly different overall color hue – as you would expect with real-wood. All veneers were perfectly joined and matched across the pairs. All were in perfect condition except for one of the 1st pair of 803D speakers that a very minor veneer flaw which was visible dependent on the angle of lighting (and why I think it was missed in the manufacturing QC). I thought the 2nd pair of 803D had the nicest overall veneer pattern.
Overall I remain impressed with manufacturing consistency and quality of finish.
Aesthetics
The 803Diamond uses a marginally shinier vanish as opposed to that used on the 803D/804S. I prefer the more matt vanish finish of the 803D/804S – it looks a bit more real. Also the 803D/804S veneers meet at top edge of loudspeaker with no obvious change in hue, which is cleaner looking than the 803Diamond which has a darker 1mm band of vanish along the edge. What I do like on the 803Diamond is that the veneer continues on the bottom of loudspeaker. Even though this is not visible when the speakers are in place, it is nice touch.
I must admit to been skeptical about the additional bling on the 803 Diamond – but in reality the silver highlights are tastefully done. With the lights dimmed they add just enough sparkle to highlight the speaker drive units. However, only for the rose-nut finish, I still prefer no silver highlights as for the 803D, but if I choose another color, especially the gloss black, I would definitely want them.
One significant improvement is the magnetic grilles– makes for a cleaner look, but more importantly for households with kids, you can quickly remove/add the grilles when required.
B&W upgraded the speaker connections to their own design, but I found the smooth finish more difficult to tighten than the 803D WBT connections.
I was particularly concerned when I read the tweeter housing paint was changed from a metallic paint, which I really liked, to plain black gloss finish. In reality both finishes are great. The black gloss finish is really beautiful polished and very classy.
So overall the 803Diamond aesthetics is not a significant improvement over the 803D, but fortunately the form factor of the 804/803 is truly timeless and I have not tired of the organic shape in our lounge after so many years.
Sound Quality
Okay, so is the 803Diamond a significant or marginal sound quality upgrade? It depends.
The 803D is one of my all-time favorite loudspeakers and definitely the easiest one to live with in that it does not have any major vices. In my 803D Reference Thread http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...ference+thread
I mentioned the occasional chestiness on some male vocals and damped midrange micro-dynamics (as opposed to macro-dynamics which track very well on both the 803D and the 803Diamond).
Interestingly as I upgraded my rest of the system (better pre-amp, cables, support) these short-comings did reduce somewhat for the 803D.
But the upgrade to the 803Diamond has obliterated the occassional bit of chestiness on male vocals – and for me this is the most significant sound quality improvement.
In addition the 803Diamond tracks bass lines better – it does the timing thing better than the 803D which was no slouch. This is an unexpected and welcome bonus and is my next most significant improvement.
The 803Diamond is a bit more sensitive overall – so I found myself turning the volume down 2 to 3dB relative to the 803D.
However the extra sensitivity is partly due to the tweeter which is about 1dB hotter relative to midrange as compared to the 803D. While the upgraded tweeter is a bit more open – I do think the 803D tweeter is better integrated tonally – it was simply not obvious whereas the 803Diamond tweeter will occasionally jump out for attention like a tempestuous child who has been ignored for too long.
For the 803D I originally noted that the “diamond tweeter has transformed my ability to relax and enjoy music from what is ultimately a data limited source – CDs”.
This ability is ever so slightly reduced with the 803 Diamond which is more demanding of the recording engineer ability to do their job well.
Overall I think the 803D is better balanced tonally for relaxed listening whereas the 803Diamond is a touch more upfront and rewards more focused listening sessions.
The 803D will be more forgiving of less than perfect front-end and recordings whereas the 803Diamond will benefit more from up-stream component upgrades and pristine recordings.
Whether you find the 803Diamond a significant or minor improvement will depend on your listening priorities. Probably the primary dependency is the recording quality. If it is very good recording, the 803Diamond will dig deeper and reveal the music art form more clearly.
Conclusions
So I am happy with the new 803 Diamond?
In a word yes
– it came along at the right time when I have been tweaking and maximizing the performance of my system and needed the next challenge on the never-ending audio nirvana journey.
So what is the relevance of this background? I believe I am in a good position to compare the performance of the 803D to 803Diamond versions and provide some observations on the quality and consistency of manufacturing.
Manufacturing consistency
All three 803D sounded exactly the same, and each took approx 6+ months to fully run-in. Out of the box they sounded a bit constricted. It took a few weeks for the dynamic range to develop and then a few months for already smooth sound to sweeten further.
All the 800 series loudspeakers I owned were rosenut veneer – each had a different wood veneer pattern and had slightly different overall color hue – as you would expect with real-wood. All veneers were perfectly joined and matched across the pairs. All were in perfect condition except for one of the 1st pair of 803D speakers that a very minor veneer flaw which was visible dependent on the angle of lighting (and why I think it was missed in the manufacturing QC). I thought the 2nd pair of 803D had the nicest overall veneer pattern.
Overall I remain impressed with manufacturing consistency and quality of finish.
Aesthetics
The 803Diamond uses a marginally shinier vanish as opposed to that used on the 803D/804S. I prefer the more matt vanish finish of the 803D/804S – it looks a bit more real. Also the 803D/804S veneers meet at top edge of loudspeaker with no obvious change in hue, which is cleaner looking than the 803Diamond which has a darker 1mm band of vanish along the edge. What I do like on the 803Diamond is that the veneer continues on the bottom of loudspeaker. Even though this is not visible when the speakers are in place, it is nice touch.
I must admit to been skeptical about the additional bling on the 803 Diamond – but in reality the silver highlights are tastefully done. With the lights dimmed they add just enough sparkle to highlight the speaker drive units. However, only for the rose-nut finish, I still prefer no silver highlights as for the 803D, but if I choose another color, especially the gloss black, I would definitely want them.
One significant improvement is the magnetic grilles– makes for a cleaner look, but more importantly for households with kids, you can quickly remove/add the grilles when required.
B&W upgraded the speaker connections to their own design, but I found the smooth finish more difficult to tighten than the 803D WBT connections.
I was particularly concerned when I read the tweeter housing paint was changed from a metallic paint, which I really liked, to plain black gloss finish. In reality both finishes are great. The black gloss finish is really beautiful polished and very classy.
So overall the 803Diamond aesthetics is not a significant improvement over the 803D, but fortunately the form factor of the 804/803 is truly timeless and I have not tired of the organic shape in our lounge after so many years.
Sound Quality
Okay, so is the 803Diamond a significant or marginal sound quality upgrade? It depends.
The 803D is one of my all-time favorite loudspeakers and definitely the easiest one to live with in that it does not have any major vices. In my 803D Reference Thread http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...ference+thread
I mentioned the occasional chestiness on some male vocals and damped midrange micro-dynamics (as opposed to macro-dynamics which track very well on both the 803D and the 803Diamond).
Interestingly as I upgraded my rest of the system (better pre-amp, cables, support) these short-comings did reduce somewhat for the 803D.
But the upgrade to the 803Diamond has obliterated the occassional bit of chestiness on male vocals – and for me this is the most significant sound quality improvement.
In addition the 803Diamond tracks bass lines better – it does the timing thing better than the 803D which was no slouch. This is an unexpected and welcome bonus and is my next most significant improvement.
The 803Diamond is a bit more sensitive overall – so I found myself turning the volume down 2 to 3dB relative to the 803D.
However the extra sensitivity is partly due to the tweeter which is about 1dB hotter relative to midrange as compared to the 803D. While the upgraded tweeter is a bit more open – I do think the 803D tweeter is better integrated tonally – it was simply not obvious whereas the 803Diamond tweeter will occasionally jump out for attention like a tempestuous child who has been ignored for too long.
For the 803D I originally noted that the “diamond tweeter has transformed my ability to relax and enjoy music from what is ultimately a data limited source – CDs”.
This ability is ever so slightly reduced with the 803 Diamond which is more demanding of the recording engineer ability to do their job well.
Overall I think the 803D is better balanced tonally for relaxed listening whereas the 803Diamond is a touch more upfront and rewards more focused listening sessions.
The 803D will be more forgiving of less than perfect front-end and recordings whereas the 803Diamond will benefit more from up-stream component upgrades and pristine recordings.
Whether you find the 803Diamond a significant or minor improvement will depend on your listening priorities. Probably the primary dependency is the recording quality. If it is very good recording, the 803Diamond will dig deeper and reveal the music art form more clearly.
Conclusions
So I am happy with the new 803 Diamond?
In a word yes
– it came along at the right time when I have been tweaking and maximizing the performance of my system and needed the next challenge on the never-ending audio nirvana journey.
Comment