I compared side to side 802d2 which I owned against 802d3. Same system, same wires, same songs.
because I wonder the d2, I knew it intimately. All the wrongs and weaknesses of the 802d2, I knew.
so when I compared it, I knew the first momemt... The 802d3 was everything I wanted in a bowers. Denser images, better staging, better palpability, and more analog sounding for lack of a better term:. The hash from the Kevlar coloration was no longer apparent, the d3 was better.
How is much better? I thought 25% better. My audiophile brother and my non audiophile dad agree.
i brought a focal owner to the demo later, he said it was a stunning difference. I asked him if he thought it was 25% better, he said no... He felt it was more than 25%. It was the best speaker he heard up to that point.
-as for me, I sold my 802d2 after that demo. I'm buying the 802d3 this week after I sold my Rockport Avior.
i find it interesting when people don't hear the magnitude of difference I hear. It is very apparent and easy to tell if you're a bowers owner. I listen for staging first and foremost and I focus on getting that vocalist to be palpable and dense... Weight and realism. The 802d2 by comparison sounds flat and hazy... For lack of a better term.
i would listen with an open mind and formulate your own opinion.
Honestly to me, I'm tired of reading what others hear or don't hear... I heard it and 3 others did as well, including my dad who is not even an audiophile.
it is one of the best transducers in my opinion.