B&W 804d3 Speakers

[SwissBear]

Thanks SwissBear. Looks the same...petty...

Indeed : apart from the diameter of the woofers... ;-)

[Rocketmannequin]

I love my 804 D3s with my 220 Pro, which was also recommended to me by my audio dealer in NY. It was also a pleasant surprise to see that the Devialet store in SoHo in NY demos the Expert range in their listening room with a pair of 804 D3s.

[Bartype]

I liked them too, much better then the previous versions... However, in a direct comparison i found the SFO II's more natural and pleasant, at least to my ears.

[HmJ]

Love the 804 d3 with my 440 Pro as well, I'm amazed with the focus and clarity of the sound. SAM is quite magic to add this 3rd dimension.

[Axel]

I tried the 804 D3s at home some weeks ago, using cable jumpers in place of the standard jumper bars. I preferred the treble from my ProAc ribbon tweeters and thought that the 804s were a sideways move, so decided against buying them. In all honesty, I think the 804s are overpriced for what they are and liked the design of the 804 D2 better. I also tried the Focal Sopra 2 (too bright in the upper mid and treble). I much preferred the Sonus faber Olympica ll, which sounded perfect in my room and looked better than anything I'd ever seen. I've put a deposit down on a pair and will be getting them in the next couple of weeks.

[sdn660]

I like B&W 804d3 very much (with D200). Last year I auditioned B&W 804d3 against Sonus Faber Olympica III and Raidho X2. SF were very nice and easy to listen to but I prefer the detailed and more open sound of 804 and X2. Bass of B&W 804 goes deeper than Raidho X2, but Raidho sounded more natural to me. Overall I was most impressed by Raidho X2, but I think with B&W 804d3 or SF O3 & D200 you can't go wrong.

[HmJ]

Tried the D440 Pro with both 802 D3 and 804 D3, both stunning. But for normal sized room couldn't justify keeping the 802. And the gap with first Diamond generation is quite steep!

[deviousalet]

Would you describe the differences you heard between the 802 and 804 D3s?

I've heard both back to back in a small room and large room, but never using Devialet amps. What I heard was that the 802 sounded much bigger with a larger soundstage and full presence while the 804 sounds great but does lack that presence. Another way of describing the difference is that the 804 plays as if I'm a few rows father back in the audience while the 802 puts me on stage with the musicians. I obviously chose the 804, and love them, but still dream of the 802. I've loved the 802 since Nautilus days and never found something that came close until the d3 version of the 804. So I'm curious about how you compared them. Thanks.

[HmJ]

Would you describe the differences you heard between the 802 and 804 D3s?

I've heard both back to back in a small room and large room, but never using Devialet amps. What I heard was that the 802 sounded much bigger with a larger soundstage and full presence while the 804 sounds great but does lack that presence. Another way of describing the difference is that the 804 plays as if I'm a few rows father back in the audience while the 802 puts me on stage with the musicians. I obviously chose the 804, and love them, but still dream of the 802. I've loved the 802 since Nautilus days and never found something that came close until the d3 version of the 804. So I'm curious about how you compared them. Thanks.

That's a tough one, but simply the room I was comparing in was low ceiling and couldn't hear much of a difference. I would say the presence was slightly improved, but not something I was missing in a A/B comparison.

[CongoFather]

Do you use standard jumper cables(that comes with the speaker) to connect the speaker cable connections(connected to top ports for better mid /trebble response) to the low frequency(bass) port? I am currently testing a high-end speaker cable with 804D3. I am not sure whether I should also change the jumper cables, or not. They seem to be the weakest part of the connection.