B&W 804 Diamond vs Dynaudio Focus 380

I've heard both. Not even a contest. The Dynaudio Focus 380 is a much better speaker. If you could listen to them side by side (probably impossible these days) it would be extremely obvious how superior the Dyn speaker is to the B&W. The B&W 804 has vastly less bass impact, weight, and authority. The 804 is decent at mids and highs but it's got little more bass impact than a typical stand mount speaker. There's a reason B&W has the 803 & 802, it's because people want more bass. The Dyn Focus 380 is basically full range. The Dyn is also smoother without losing any clarity or detail.

Thanks for your detailed response, Jaxwired! What did you think of the Diamond tweeter? Any brightness or harshness you noted?

The diamond tweeter sounds great. The B&Ws are revealing, but they do not sound natural to me. They sound great, but they don't sound uncolored to me. The dyn sounds much more uncolored. Much more natural. I do not think the B&W diamond tweeter is harsh.

Having heard both its the Dynaudio all the way.

B&W are a bit of an acquired taste. Some go ga ga over them, for others like me - ho hum. In this case overly bright treble and grungy, dead, recessed midrange to my ears. Noel Keywood in Hi Fi World measured them and found a dirty great big treble hump. He said it outright - they measured like shite and will sound like shite. I would not go that far - many speakers have exaggerated treble to give false detail but still you would expect better from a company like B&W.

In that price range there is a lot of competition so broaden your horizons and listen to other stuff. If you can reach that far price wise I would check out the Rockport Mira

Thanks
Bill