Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond

[admin_exported]

With the announcement of the new 800 series Diamond I feel as if my putting off the purchase of the 802D's has been worth it. With the economy being as it is was seemed the wrong time to be spending that much money. Things are looking much more optimistic and I feel that the time may be close to take the step.

i have the 805s now, and know that the rest of my components will be fine with the upgrade so I am becoming anxious to hear them when they make it into the stores.

It will be very interesting to hear the reviews when they are out.

 

[SHAXOS]

Just seen the 805 diamonds in gloss black (only a pic) and they look utterly stunning. As an ex 805S owner i really cant wait to hear them!

 

[Anonymous]

SHAXOS:Just seen the 805 diamonds in gloss black (only a pic) and they look utterly stunning. As an ex 805S owner i really cant wait to hear them!

Apparently they will still be available in the other woods as well - but you're right; they look amazing in the gloss black.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there West Coast,

As good as the BC refs are I find it hard to believe that they'll have the real grunt to drive the 802's to their best.

I only say this because I think you might want to start saving now for something Class A/ Class A/B!

Good luck and if you do buy them please come back and post a review.

 

[Anonymous]

crimsondonkey:
Hi there West Coast,

As good as the BC refs are I find it hard to believe that they'll have the real grunt to drive the 802's to their best.

I only say this because I think you might want to start saving now for something Class A/ Class A/B!

Good luck and if you do buy them please come back and post a review.

You may be right. I have been thinking about the Bryston 14 SST (or a pair of 7B SST2's). I am certainly thrilled with the Bryston PreAmplifier.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

WestCoastFun:crimsondonkey:

Hi there West Coast,

As good as the BC refs are I find it hard to believe that they'll have the real grunt to drive the 802's to their best.

I only say this because I think you might want to start saving now for something Class A/ Class A/B!

Good luck and if you do buy them please come back and post a review.

You may be right. I have been thinking about the Bryston 14 SST (or a pair of 7B SST2's). I am certainly thrilled with the Bryston PreAmplifier. Thanks for the tip.

Hi WestCoastFun

I also believe that the Bryston's will do a better job than the BC's. However you also may want to consider amplification fron Chord Electronics.

The reason suggest Chord Electronics amplification is because over the years Chord amps are the only ones that i have come across that can well and truly keep the 800 series speakers in check. The Chord amps (with their outstanding power supplies) have enermous pools of energy that is instantly delivered to the speakers. Ime this is something that the 800's (particularly 803's and above) need otherwise by comparison they tend not to sound coherent which in turn leads to a bass heavy presentation.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Frank Harvey]

If your long term goal is to upgrade your B&W's then do it, and see how the Bel Canto's get on with them. If you then feel you're not getting what you should from them, then look at alternative amplification. Personally, I can vouch for the Bryston's. I tried many different amplifiers back when I had KEF Reference 4.2's, and couldn't find anything that was up to the job - Krell failed, Quad was ok but not good enough for what I wanted, Chord didn't float my boat,and Cyrus was good (but I couldn't trust such small boxes!) etc etc. I evn thought of dabbling in professional stuff to try and get what I wanted. I loaned a pair of 7b's and the KEF's sounded stunning. You could tell that the amplifier was doing what it was supposed to - bass was seriously deep and lacked no control whatsoever. Dynamically, the system was amazing.

The Bryston's seem to be able to be driven to any volume you like, and can easily go further whenever you want to. I wouldn't change my Bryston 7B's for anything. Well, maybe for the 7b sst2's.....

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. Some great advise here. Certainly the path would be to get the speakers first and then consider an upgrade to the power amps. The Bel Canto's are very well rated and really do sound fantastic; but I do have dreams of getting a big Bryston. Every review I read about them is extremely positive, they have a 20 year warranty, and I can purchase them locally so a home audition will not be a problem.

Thanks again for the advise. That's one of the great things about this forum.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

WestCoastFun:Thanks everyone. Some great advise here. Certainly the path would be to get the speakers first and then consider an upgrade to the power amps. The Bel Canto's are very well rated and really do sound fantastic; but I do have dreams of getting a big Bryston. Every review I read about them is extremely positive, they have a 20 year warranty, and I can purchase them locally so a home audition will not be a problem. Thanks again for the advise. That's one of the great things about this forum.

Hi WestCoastFun

Your welcome.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[jaxwired]

WestCoast, your TV is too big. You know it is. Stop living in denial. The first step is admitting you have a problem. You'll feel better...too big...think about it...it's really, really big, isn't it? Now does that seem right to you? I mean being so very very big and all...

 

[Anonymous]

jaxwired:WestCoast, your TV is too big. You know it is. Stop living in denial. The first step is admitting you have a problem. You'll feel better...too big...think about it...it's really, really big, isn't it? Now does that seem right to you? I mean being so very very big and all...

Well after all, bigger is better 🙂

 

[activebass]

Boah....

How sexy are those speakers?!?!

Best speakers I've heard till date still remain the B&W 803s.

Even if I "just" get the booshelf speakers, I'm sure they will sound insanely good.

 

[Anonymous]

activebass:
Boah....

How sexy are those speakers?!?!

Best speakers I've heard till date still remain the B&W 803s.

Even if I "just" get the booshelf speakers, I'm sure they will sound insanely good.

I have commented several times on how much I have been enjoying my 805s speakers. I have heard the 802D's on a couple of occasions and they really are amazing to my ears. Needless to say I have not yet heard the new incarnation of them, but I expect that they will be wonderful.