800D's in da hood.

[Jesse111]

Brand spankin new pair of 800D's just arrived at my dealer. Will be picking them up in about an hour.

Yes indeed. Life is good.

[tboooe]

NICE!!!!!!! You are my hero!!!!!!!!! Pix please so I can droooollll

[Race Car Driver]

Life is just OK until you break them in.... Then life is good!


























Until upgraditus sets in... then your back to OK..

Enjoy!

[miner]

Tell us what you are using to feed those Baby Hueys. And, how are you going to 'pick them up'?

[joetama]

He is going to pick them up VERY CAREFULLY with a loving touch... LOL.... I would agree that pictures are very much inorder....

[miner]

He is going to pick them up VERY CAREFULLY with a loving touch... LOL.... I would agree that pictures are very much inorder....

Your Avitar is great..

"..drinkin' a little wine, eatin' a little cheese, catchin' some rays.' :lol:

[joetama]

Wooof woof... That's my other dog impression....

[Jesse111]

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I now have in my possession the brand new pair of 800D's that I've been dreaming about for the better part of a year. My wife and I chose black. As beautiful as the woods are, we happen to prefer the piano black look. They stand majestically in my listenening room as we speak. I have much to say. But I am somewhat speachless at the moment. Much listening to be done. But I can say this. The moment I powered up my "midnight queens", I new something unique and special was happening to my music listening career. The hobby has changed in a permenent way for me. Without even thinking about soundstage and imaging, just the clarity and musical grace was instantly apparent over anything I've ever heard. And to drive that point home let me tell you this. The wife was sitting at the computer and turned to me in a rather nonchalant manner and made the offhand remark that "those sound a lot better than your last ones, they're clearer". You men with wives know exactly what a compliment that can be. Better than the raves and blessings of a thousand audiophiles.

"My last ones" that my sweet little wife are referring to were the Magnepan 20.1's. Anyway, more enthusiasm and zealous discussion soon to follow.

Yes tboooe, pictures are indeed appropriate. I'll get the place straightened up a bit and I will get some very soon.

Stay tuned.

[joetama]

That is totally awesome. You now have a cool wife and a awesome sound system....

Wow, I wish I could find a lady like your wife lol....

[Music4Life]

Brand spankin new pair of 800D's just arrived at my dealer. Will be picking them up in about an hour.

Yes indeed. Life is good.

What gears do you use to drive this baby?

[jericho]

:B

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I now have in my possession the brand new pair of 800D's that I've been dreaming about for the better part of a year. My wife and I chose black. As beautiful as the woods are, we happen to prefer the piano black look. They stand majestically in my listenening room as we speak. I have much to say. But I am somewhat speachless at the moment. Much listening to be done. But I can say this. The moment I powered up my "midnight queens", I new something unique and special was happening to my music listening career. The hobby has changed in a permenent way for me. Without even thinking about soundstage and imaging, just the clarity and musical grace was instantly apparent over anything I've ever heard. And to drive that point home let me tell you this. The wife was sitting at the computer and turned to me in a rather nonchalant manner and made the offhand remark that "those sound a lot better than your last ones, they're clearer". You men with wives know exactly what a compliment that can be. Better than the raves and blessings of a thousand audiophiles.

"My last ones" that my sweet little wife are referring to were the Magnepan 20.1's. Anyway, more enthusiasm and zealous discussion soon to follow.

Yes tboooe, pictures are indeed appropriate. I'll get the place straightened up a bit and I will get some very soon.

Stay tuned.

Welcome in the club :B

[nick.h]

HI,

What made you choose the 800D instead of going for the 803D? It has the diamond tweeter, the only difference is the rohacell driver size, which is low end bass.

In australia the 803D retails at $15,000 and the 800D at $35,000, for the gain of 3" in low end driver size of $20,000 it does not seem worth it at all. I good subwoofer will out perform the low end produced by the 800D.

[Miroku]

HI,

What made you choose the 800D instead of going for the 803D? It has the diamond tweeter, the only difference is the rohacell driver size, which is low end bass.

In australia the 803D retails at $15,000 and the 800D at $35,000, for the gain of 3" in low end driver size of $20,000 it does not seem worth it at all. I good subwoofer will out perform the low end produced by the 800D.

I think you're paying more for the cabinet and crossover materials than the different drivers in the 800D. Oh, did I mention the cabinet? It makes a small difference... :W

[Indytown]

HI,

What made you choose the 800D instead of going for the 803D? It has the diamond tweeter, the only difference is the rohacell driver size, which is low end bass.

In australia the 803D retails at $15,000 and the 800D at $35,000, for the gain of 3" in low end driver size of $20,000 it does not seem worth it at all. I good subwoofer will out perform the low end produced by the 800D.

ok, what else can we find to not make one feel good about spending THEIR money on a spectacular speaker from a design and reproduction standpoint.

True a sub can be made to integrate almost perfectly with the floorstanders, almost, still not there totally.

How much material do you listen to regularly that has octaves below 26hz????? besides movies.

It's not totally low end bass that's the issue here. There is alot of other instruments that play through those woofers. Piano to name one. Can we come up with a few more.

Indy

[joetama]

I think the poor guy might just be a tad salty over the fact that he doesn't have 800D's.....

[tboooe]

HI,

What made you choose the 800D instead of going for the 803D? It has the diamond tweeter, the only difference is the rohacell driver size, which is low end bass.

In australia the 803D retails at $15,000 and the 800D at $35,000, for the gain of 3" in low end driver size of $20,000 it does not seem worth it at all. I good subwoofer will out perform the low end produced by the 800D.

Everyone places their own value on things. To YOU, the differences between the 803D and 800D is not worth the extra money. That is great. I hope you enjoy you system. On the other hand, it was worth it to Jesse111. Another thing to consider is that the price difference here in the states is not as large as for you in Australia. I do not know Jesse111's income situation, but the dollar difference may not really mean anything to him.

At the end of the day, no one should question another person's rationale for buying what they buy. This is a hobby after all and there is nothing rationale about it. We are all here to enjoy ourselves.

[Race Car Driver]

HI,

What made you choose the 800D instead of going for the 803D? It has the diamond tweeter, the only difference is the rohacell driver size, which is low end bass.

In australia the 803D retails at $15,000 and the 800D at $35,000, for the gain of 3" in low end driver size of $20,000 it does not seem worth it at all. I good subwoofer will out perform the low end produced by the 800D.

The Merlin head, the crossover, the cabinet, the power handling, the weight (which helps) the size, the looks, the SOUND etc etc etc.
Anyways you cut it, the 800D is a better speaker then the 803D, 802, etc.

mmmmm....800s........ :T

Get some pics man!

[RebelMan]

ok, what else can we find to not make one feel good about spending THEIR money on a spectacular speaker from a design and reproduction standpoint.

True a sub can be made to integrate almost perfectly with the floorstanders, almost, still not there totally.

How much material do you listen to regularly that has octaves below 26hz????? besides movies.

It's not totally low end bass that's the issue here. There is alot of other instruments that play through those woofers. Piano to name one. Can we come up with a few more.

Indy

Perfectly stated!

[ShadowZA]

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I now have in my possession the brand new pair of 800D's that I've been dreaming about for the better part of a year. My wife and I chose black. As beautiful as the woods are, we happen to prefer the piano black look. They stand majestically in my listenening room as we speak. I have much to say. But I am somewhat speachless at the moment. Much listening to be done. But I can say this. The moment I powered up my "midnight queens", I new something unique and special was happening to my music listening career. The hobby has changed in a permenent way for me. Without even thinking about soundstage and imaging, just the clarity and musical grace was instantly apparent over anything I've ever heard. And to drive that point home let me tell you this. The wife was sitting at the computer and turned to me in a rather nonchalant manner and made the offhand remark that "those sound a lot better than your last ones, they're clearer". You men with wives know exactly what a compliment that can be. Better than the raves and blessings of a thousand audiophiles.

"My last ones" that my sweet little wife are referring to were the Magnepan 20.1's. Anyway, more enthusiasm and zealous discussion soon to follow.

Yes tboooe, pictures are indeed appropriate. I'll get the place straightened up a bit and I will get some very soon.

Stay tuned.

Congratulations on one of the finest purchases you can make :T As you give these 800D's a little time to build a home in your heart ... get ready to enjoy. Oh, and don't forget to invest in the most comfortable seating too ... 'cause you & your wife are probably going to never want to leave the room

Well done on your choice

[Jesse111]

Ok, here's my first impression after initial setup with about 4 hours time. With the sub on mute I spent about an hour with location versus 3 months with Magnepan 20.1's. As of now the distance between the tweeters is about 10.5 feet. They're 37 inches from the back wall and 55.5 inches from either side wall. My ears are about 18 feet from the wall straight in front of me. The tweets are pointed directly at my ears.

I found the sweet spot to narrow just a bit as the distance between them increased. But the sound stage of course widened. It's a trade off I'm willing to make. As I played the acoustic first track from Tony Joe White's CD "The Heroines", There are 2 guitars in this short instrumental. The placement of the rhythm guitar was in perfect positon about two feet inside the right speaker. The lead acoustic was just left of center. Both speakers dissappeared. The guitar players were in the room. But I must say, being somewhat familiar with B&W I pretty much expected all of that so far.

What I didn't expect was the size and location of the images. After the Maggies I wanted to keep my expectations low to avoid a let down, they stage and image phenomenally. The imaging and stage with the 800's actually extended above the speakers. So I played more light rock and folk stuff to confirm that what I was seeing was not just a rare case with that one CD of Tony Joe White. The same resulted with Jewels CD, "This Way". As I continued auditioning, I found that I had to accept the fact the the 800D's performed better than I anticipated and better than the Magnepan's "overall" in my view. So I am extremely pleased that I lost virtually nothing in those areas in relation to the Maggies. Additoinally I found the 800D's to have a more rock solid sound stage. Maggies seemed a bit floaty sometimes to me.

After zeroing in on the placement I began playing with my processors tone controls. I found that increasing the treble frequency gave even more life to the music for my taste. Nudging it up just a pinch brought out just a touch more information that I like to hear. This doesn't reflect negative on the speaker. Afterall, all eletronics have signature sounds so I find nothing wrong with minor adjustments. At this point I'm beginning to get shivers.

Then comes the Velodyne DD18. Oh boy. While this sub integrates well with the Maggie 20.1's, it actually is becoming one with the 800D's. I'm still tweaking it a bit but it did not take me long to see just how good a quality sub can do with the 800D's. As I began to spin some of my harder rock stuff like Prong and The Cult, I began to start loving my system as never before. I've been to a lot of live hard rock concerts. I know what good ones and bad ones sound like. The B&W 800D plays hard rock better than anyting I've ever owned. I tell you, it is just amazing.

I will be critiquing some classical music next to see just how real I can get the imaging with the orchestral challenge of a vast, really huge stage.

As for any comparison to the 803, I'd like to qualify my response by saying I owned a pair of 803s's for about a year. It is a truly great speaker. The fact is though, that the true lifelike presence and imaging that the 800 produces is really quite beyond the 803. I never experienced imaging 2-3 feet above the center line of the tweeters on the 803. The total robust musical experience is just enthralling with the 800D. 803 owners are very happy and proud of their speakers. I certanly was. The 800D is simply another animal altogether. But for 12 thousand more dollars or so that's to be expected, isn't it? I'm no rich man but tboooe is correct. The additional funds were not a detriment to my living welfare so going top of the line was within my ability. The difference is worth it to me. I'm getting ready to go do some more listening now. I feel like my wife and I are getting ready to go on our first date again.

Thanks guys for all the supportive posts in this thread so far. It really adds to the experience. It would be nice to get together at a central location one of these years and enjoy a B&W convention.

Ok, that's if for now. I'd love to hear any personal views on placement as regards wall, seating and seperation distances.

[Race Car Driver]

I will give no opinions until i have pics!

[Jesse111]

I will give no opinions until i have pics!

LOL. You're right Race Car Driver. I need to get off my duff and get a few pics. I can't stop listening long enough to clean the place up. If the wife founds out I put pics online with a messy room, she'll make me shut off my system. Pics forthcoming.

[Race Car Driver]

You listen, wife clean, you pics, we happy. :rofl:

[JohnAng]

HI,

What made you choose the 800D instead of going for the 803D? It has the diamond tweeter, the only difference is the rohacell driver size, which is low end bass.

In australia the 803D retails at $15,000 and the 800D at $35,000, for the gain of 3" in low end driver size of $20,000 it does not seem worth it at all. I good subwoofer will out perform the low end produced by the 800D.

I am from Australia also and yes, huge difference in pricing, but i have auditioned the 803D the 802D and the 800D, there is a huge difference between the 803 and the models above.
Between the 802D and 800D there wasn't as huge a difference but if i could afford the 800 series, it would be either the 802 or 800.
Go and criticaly listen to both and you will soon change your mind

[nick.h]

Im not knocking him for buying the speakers. Im just asking a couple of questions relating to the fact!

[sonicbaer]

Congratulations on your new speakers...drool..drool..

I hope this passion doen't kill me...Life was simpler when I was ignorant..
up to about 6 months ago I never heard of B&W (I just recently got back into
good sounds)...up to 1 month ago I never actually heard the 800 D's live
now that I have.....

Now I'm going to have to work OT for a few more months...but it'll be that
much sweeter when I have time off and my 800's

Enjoy

Baerman..aka sonicbaer..michael..B

[tboooe]

sonicbaer: at least you have the option to work OT. I am stuck at salary so if you want extra $ to feed this ridiculous habit I just have to do it the old fashioned away and either save my pennies slowly, beg for money from mom and dad (34 years old is not too old to ask for an allowance is it?), or raid my kids' college fund.....gotta love this hobby!

[RebelMan]

tboooe, I am in the same boat. Misery loves company eh? You actually left off one more option... take on a second job. Now that is what I would call dedication to this hobby. Only trouble with this idea is when would a person find the time to enjoy it. What a vicious cycle it is.

Begging wouldn't work for me. Mom is usually coming to me. LOL :lol:

[RebelMan]

Brand spankin new pair of 800D's just arrived at my dealer.

Yes indeed. Life is good.

Congrats on your new toys, Jesse! Indeed life is very good. :T

[Eliav]

Congrats on your new toys, Jesse! Indeed life is very good. :T

Hi Rebelman !
Are you not about to become a proud owner of a new pair of 800d yourself ?
I would LOVE to hear your review of these beauties with your Classe gear !
Regards
Eliav

[Jesse111]

What gears do you use to drive this baby?

Sorry Music4life. I over looked your post.

This is a 2 channel system only I just happen to really like the Integra Research sound and quality.

Integra Research RDV 1.1
Integra Research RDC 7.1
B&W 800D
McIntosh 501 monoblocks
Velodyne DD18
Equi=Tech 3Q
Equi=Tech 1.5Q
Cobalt Ultimate speaker cables
Cobalt Ultimate XLR to amps
Ultrasonic fixed rack
Ultrasonic amp stands

[Jesse111]

Classical music critiquing is done. While hard rock is exceptional beyond anything I exepected, I also have found that classical music is simply breathtaking as well. The soundstage stretched with ease across the spread of the speakers. Stings on the left, purcussion on the right then symphonic climaxes gathering in the center. The 800D is a classical music lovers paradise. It is like being there.

After about 8 hours now, I found that in my room it was necessary to close the gap just a bit between the speakers and reduce the toe in to develop the proper imaging width and especially the imaging height. With the tweeters toed in all the way to pointing straight at me, I found the stage height too low and imaging left of center in most cases. Reducing the toe in and closing the gap a bit brought everything in to proper size and position for my taste. Lost a slight bit of detail but can make that up somewhat with equalization and the resulting realism is more than worth that extremely minor trade off.

The Velodyne is dialed in perfectly now for my taste. Crossing over at 50hz. I felt the Velodyne handles 50 and below much better than the 800's but above 50hz I began to sense more control from the 800s. Absent was any bass fatigue as long as anything above 50hz was left in the capable hands of the 800s. This crossover point enhances the music without the least bit of bloat in my particular system. The system is coming together nicely. All I can think about is more listening.

Pics and final placement mesurments will be on the forum tomorrow.

[jericho]

Classical music critiquing is done. While hard rock is exceptional beyond anything I exepected, I also have found that classical music is simply breathtaking as well. The soundstage stretched with ease across the spread of the speakers. Stings on the left, purcussion on the right then symphonic climaxes gathering in the center. The 800D is a classical music lovers paradise. It is like being there.

After about 8 hours now, I found that in my room it was necessary to close the gap just a bit between the speakers and reduce the toe in to develop the proper imaging width and especially the imaging height. With the tweeters toed in all the way to pointing straight at me, I found the stage height too low and imaging left of center in most cases. Reducing the toe in and closing the gap a bit brought everything in to proper size and position for my taste. Lost a slight bit of detail but can make that up somewhat with equalization and the resulting realism is more than worth that extremely minor trade off.

The Velodyne is dialed in perfectly now for my taste. Crossing over at 50hz. I felt the Velodyne handles 50 and below much better than the 800's but above 50hz I began to sense more control from the 800s. Absent was any bass fatigue as long as anything above 50hz was left in the capable hands of the 800s. This crossover point enhances the music without the least bit of bloat in my particular system. The system is coming together nicely. All I can think about is more listening.

Pics and final placement mesurments will be on the forum tomorrow.

Jesse,


Something you have to try, I didn't believe this either, put them on original B&W spikes and buy some Harmonix tuning feet model RF-999MT and you will not believe what you 're hearing.I added this tuning set to my speakers and it's just fenomenal.Just telling you here in Belgium you have for about 400 euro those two sets of spikes and you have to count about 1500 euro for those Harmonix feet.Just try them but if you do, I'll be sure you're going to buy them

Jericho