We will be treating our readers to: hi-fi news, hi-fi reviews, what's in, what's out and all of the how-tos! This is a blog built by audiophiles, for audiophiles and its a great place to stretch our minds, our vocal chords and of course our ears about everything and anything hi-fi related. We will talk speakers, streamers, vinyl, and music in all of its glorious formats.
Those are some crazy speakers. I personally fell in love with B&W N803 during my search for my first audio setup. It's slightly above my budget, so I hope to come across a good deal on the used market. Till then, I'm using a neutral sounding speaker (Driade 7) with a Rotel amplifier for my setup. :)
Thanks for posting this informative and brutally honest audio review. I believe I may purchase this preamp based on your opinions & recommendations. I am also thinking about a Parasound P6 Preamp.
The 802D3 sounds less balanced, more focused on the highs. It is much more transparent in the mids. Pair the D3 with water amplification to counteract this, then the combination is better than anything a D2 can do. If you prefer a warmer sound, take the D2.
I love B&W speaker! ❤ (803 D) You should do something about your room! I can even hear it in this video the reverbation. You might even hear it if you clap your hands i think.Thats an no go with this expensive sound gear! Awesome audio gear by the way, gefällt mir👍🏻
Get rid of the McIntosh and use a better matching amp.. McIntosh only have design and their pretty lights going for them, but the sound of McIntosh is to my ears real bad with B&W. Get a seriously big Krell and enjoy glorius sound no matter what B&W it is powering.
Hello, im really vlose to by some speakers!! Hope you can tell me your opinion about them, they are LUMLEY Reference 2, about 3500£ since new... Hope we will find them MASTERPIECE...
Transparent is a good choice. Running a pair of Ultra's on my 802 and is so far the best cables I've heard or tested. For Interconnects I would choose something else like Purist Audio Design which sounds way better with much more clarity and detail than Transparent.
What do you think? 800 D3 or 802 D4? I can have them for almost the same price, the 802 D4s are a bit more expensive but they are new, the D3s are 3 years old and used. I have a room of approx. 22 m2, acoustically modified, mostly used as a home cinema, sometimes with stereo music. What is your advice?
@@Tobeit OK thanks now I have 803 D2 in front and my friend has 800 D2 and I love it that sound they produce. But I read, that new D4 sounds different from the old D2 or D3. It is true ? When I love the sound of our BWs I will not be disappointed with new D4 ?
First time on this channel, really enjoyed your thorough review! What power cords and interconnects would you recommend for best dynamic and holographic presentation? I'm also using Inakustik speaker cables ) My speakers are YG Vantage, which behave similarly to electrostatics
Just had the wrong amp nothing else. I run an enormous Krell amp on my 802D3's that has 2×3000 watts available and there is no sharpness at All. Running McIntosh or similar will sound sharp cause it is a bad bad match for any B&W.
I've commented in other youTube channels featuring the Martin Logan 'Masterpiece' line. I can say from my own experiences and those that have stopped by to visit and hear for themselves, that the width of the soundstage is VERY wide in my room. 18x24x8'. Speakers are 13' apart, distance to my listening area is 20' back. The Classic 9's fill this 435 sq.ft. space completely. They are being powered by the Parasound A-21 amp which has the output recommended by ML. One of my visitors had just come from another friend's home with big Magnapans. He noted that he disliked the one seat sweet spot that was altered easily by simply moving his head! After a sample of music he chose on Qobuz, he was very surprised hearing the Classic 9's with a soundstage that was even across any of locations on the 3 seat sofa. Also impressive is how deep the speakers dive into the low frequencies. Again, I believe the room is a VERY important extension of these speakers and I am very fortunate to have lucked out here in my home. (O: Thank you for your review!
@@stephencosta6814 Have you compared the two? What differences do you hear? The NAD is very clean and transparent with a DAC that has a slight warmth to it.
You are clearly a Mac fan boy….you should broaden your reviews and checkout other amps in the same price category. Only then will you realize that Macs are just over priced mid-fi.
What is your point of reference for evaluating? You give Mac all these high scores meanwhile it’s NOT true hi-fi. Mac gets outed the second you A/B it with other legit high end amps like PASS Labs.
It sounds like (no pun intended) that you dislike McIntosh period. I recently compared various integrated and separates with McIntosh ie Accuphase and found McIntosh to be much more engaging and musical and never fatiguing unlike other brands. I guess this is my subjective opinion.
people are finding these amps are pure magic and under-rated, a used 452 can fetch $7k these days, all prices went up. a 452 is basically the same as a 462 . i'd buy a used 452 and save $2500 over a 462.
The ARC room correction ONLY affects the powered woofers, not at all the passive electrostatic panel (thank heavens). Another point for those out of the sweet spot and who walk, dance, or roam the house: The sound energy from a line source (panel speaker) falls off much more slowly than a point source (cones and domes). That’s why you see line sources used in newer public address systems. There’s math involved that I won’t get into here. In other words, the sound from a panel fills the home with music much more evenly than your usual cone/dome speaker. And please don’t underestimate the quality of amplifier needed. Though fairly sensitive, the electrostatic panels on all Martin Logan speakers have a bear of an impedance curve, dropping around 1 ohm or less in the top octave (though I realize there’s not much energy up there). So an amplifier stable into 2 ohm loads is a must. And Class D amps with output networks don’t work well at all.
i am sorry but your room has zero acoustic treatment, we can listen to allot of reverberation, speaker positioning is to close to the corners...dont know how you can review speakers with such a room.
I owned the B&W 800 D3, and I would give them a 6.5 to 7 out of ten. As with most B&W speakers the midrange is the weakness. Too smeared, and "woolly" sounding to me. I agree the treble of the diamond tweeter is exceptional.
Macintosh has a poor sound. The sound image is thick and the bass is lacking in elasticity and soft. Speaking of which, it is not a high-end sound, but a vintage sound.
