B&W 800D vs 800 Diamond


Hi all....what is the difference between the B&W 800D and 800 Diamond speakers? Would anyone have images to show the difference? I can't seem to find a difference using google search. Could some B&W aficionados shed some light? Thanks so much!
rohsal
I listened to B&W 800 series speakers for over 10 years. I brought the original N800 when they were first out and step by step changed to the latest 800 Diamond. It is clear that there were noticeable improvement in the treble and bass in each model but the midrange remains roughly the same.

The B&W weakness is in the midrange. Limited by its attachment to the Kevlar borderless midrange, there is a lack of dynamic and vivid in the midrange, not to mention the colour fade problem. I recently changed to Wilson Audio Alexia, they sound very different to the B&W, there are gives and takes in the treble and bass. I still miss the extreme top and low ends of B&W but the Alexia sounds a lot more dynamic and real.

The main and obvious difference is in the midrange. Anyone in my home can hear difference. Even my kids said this squarish speakers sound better than the old roundish ones. There is huge improvement in the midrange with the Wilson Audio. It is like you have covered the speakers with a thick blanket in the past and the blanket is now removed. Regardless of what B&W claims the superiority of its Kevlar midrange driver, their main weakness is still midrange. This has been echoed in many different forum.

Hope this helps.
Aah. Thanks so much Tli. I will be listening to a few Wilson's soon and will post an update after I do...:-)
Tli, i have experienced everything you said about the 802N's. Especially music with drums in the background, it is hardly distinct with the b&w's.
Also I do have the same filling with the B&W 803 diamond. Like the blanket is over the speakers or I am listening from another room. I can not stand the sound . Terrible.
Not in my experience - I have been listening to my 803Diamond the whole day - crystal clear open sound.
The trick is careful system setup. And careful component selection (not necessarily expensive gear, but good quality gear) because the Diamond series is very transparent to front-end performance - more so than the previous 80xD series.
I will add that the midrange (which is very good) does not reach standard of the diamond tweeter (absolutely exceptional) or the excellent rohacell woofers. In the previous 80xD I noticed some mild chestiness on the occasional male vocalist, but not on the latest Diamond series which surprised me (because I thought this was an artefact of the FST midrange, but it turned out to be, I guess, due to the previous woofer and/or crossover design).