need advice for 800 series

[nimrodasas]

which center speaker should i choose for 804DI
i know the recommend is HTMDI
is anyone thinks that htm2di is better for 804di?

[leo2498]

which center speaker should i choose for 804DI
i know the recommend is HTMDI
is anyone thinks that htm2di is better for 804di?

all will depend of your budget, if you budget is big you will go for the htm2D because this have the FST driver and it's a better speaker than HTM4D but if you have narrow budget and small room the HTM4Di go very well, that was I did.

BTW the bass driver in the HTM2Di are bigger than 804Di.

[Antus]

htm2D is quite big in size. it will look wired if you put them with 804Diamond, in my opinion.

[mjb]

I would choose the HTM4D to match your 804DI's.... the HTM2D is quite large and usually paired with the 800/801/802... bear in mind, a center's main job is for dialog in movies, so no need to go over the top.

[stuofsci02]

I will go against the grain and say this.. The only reason the HTM4Di is suggested to go with the 804Di is because B&W does not have a matching speaker for the 804Di.

When the 804s was around B&W did not recommend the HTM4s. They recommended the HTM3s.. I used to own 804s and had them paired with an HTM4s for a year before upgrading to the HTM3s. While the HTM4s was good, it wasn't near as good as the HTM3s.

Since for HT, the center channel is the most important IMO, I would get the HTM2Di if you can afford it. The HT4Di is a compromise B&W has made by discontinuing the HTM3s.

[Antus]

the htm4 Diamond is couple Db less sensitive than 804 Diamond. in a home theater setup, u will need to raise the center channel about 3 DB to match the sound pressure.

when sound pressure is matched, the sound quality is actually a bit better than 804 Diamond i feel. (of course if you don't count the 100 Hz and below, which htm4 Diamond and 805 diamond simply can't produce) but from 100Hz and up, 805 is slightly better than 804.

[leo2498]

the htm4 Diamond is couple Db less sensitive than 804 Diamond. in a home theater setup, u will need to raise the center channel about 3 DB to match the sound pressure.

when sound pressure is matched, the sound quality is actually a bit better than 804 Diamond i feel. (of course if you don't count the 100 Hz and below, which htm4 Diamond and 805 diamond simply can't produce) but from 100Hz and up, 805 is slightly better than 804.

I disagree with you, I own the 3 speakers and I compared this with the same gear and room and the result was the 804d have better sweet midrange; you easily can falling in love of florence welch.

[Rod#S]

I still don't buy that the HTM4 is the center designed for the 804 even if B&W market it as such. It's the obvious perfect match for the 805. With the exception of only the 805, it doesn't have the FST mid range driver used by all of the other 800 series speakers and like the 805 it has a shared mid range/bass driver, again unlike all other speakers in the 800 range. I'm not saying it's not tonally compatible with the 804 because it obviously is and does a superb job at it, it's just that like the 805 it's a different design. Much like the delimmea of the discontinuation of the HTM1 caused, sure the HTM2 does an excellent job being placed with the 802's and 800's but without the marlan head it's always going to be a different design and just not up to the same level in the midrange as the 802's and 800's.

Sure the bass drivers in the HTM2 are larger than the drivers in the 804 but the bass response is very similar due to the difference in cabinet design, 38Hz - 28kHz ±3dB on reference axis for the 804 and 41Hz - 28kHz ±3dB on reference axis for the HTM2. With the center channel being so critial in home theater if you can't get a matching speaker to the left/right then getting the closest comparable speaker performance wise is so important. That's why I feel if you aren't limited by budget or space/placement limitations then the HTM2 is the 2nd choice with a center 804 being the 1st and then the HTM4 being the 3rd. There is no worng choice just varying degrees of getting the ideal match.

[philw101]

I recommend doing a demo of them both, if you are spending that kind of money most dealers will let you do home demos for a small deposit. Personally i say the HTM2Di would be the best match, but sometimes room/partner considerations take precidence over functionality...in this case the HTM4Di will have to do.

On another note, don't be tempted to go for the 's' series with the diamonds, it will sound tonally off. Its either/or sadly with this range, hence why i haven't upgraded my 804s yet.

Good luck...pics would be good in the gallery section.

[mpauline]

I will go against the grain and say this.. The only reason the HTM4Di is suggested to go with the 804Di is because B&W does not have a matching speaker for the 804Di.

When the 804s was around B&W did not recommend the HTM4s. They recommended the HTM3s.. I used to own 804s and had them paired with an HTM4s for a year before upgrading to the HTM3s. While the HTM4s was good, it wasn't near as good as the HTM3s.

Since for HT, the center channel is the most important IMO, I would get the HTM2Di if you can afford it. The HT4Di is a compromise B&W has made by discontinuing the HTM3s.

I agree with Stu. I would get as good a center channel as your maximum budget will allow. The HTM2Di is a fantastic center and then down the road you can upgrade your mains