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B&W D3 vs. Monitor Audio Platinum II

I'm starting to think about speaker upgrades now, possibly in the next 5-10 months or so.  I would like to upgrade my left/center/right speakers to something new.  I currently have the B&W 805 D2 / HTM2 D2 with a Krell S1200 and Emotiva XPR-1 amps.   I have read a lot about D2 vs D3 so I am well aware of how B&W has changed.

My short list has come down to these two choices:

- B&W 805 D3 and HTM1 D3

- Monitor Audio Platinum PL100 II and PLC350 II

Please do not respond with messages such as "B&W sucks and Monitor is awsome".  I'm sure that either of these choices would be a good choice.  What I would like is comments from people who have heard both and can describe the sonic character of each speaker or discuss the differences in an objective fashion.  I have read about other brands such as Wilson, Focal, Sonus Faber, Martin Logan.  I have come down to the B&W or Monitor Audio on my short list.

auxinput
james_w514's avatar
james_w514
286 posts
 
I'd go for the 805 D3 over PL100 II's from what I've heard. With that said the PL200 II's and up are very good speakers and I wouldn't even consider B&W D3 series over them. 
ricred1
2,001 posts
 
auxinput,
I really enjoy them, but one man's medicine is another man's poison! We have a crazy, crazy hobby!
auxinput OP
2,920 posts
 
@james_w514 - I can't do floor standers.  I would have to limit the left/right channels to bookshelves because they need to sit on top of my subwoofers.  They are gigantic subs that I built myself.  They are about the same size as a SVS PB16-Ultra. lol.
draaglah's avatar
draaglah
12 posts
 
An important thing to note on your research, just for future readers: the monitor audios aren’t ribbons, they’re AMT drivers, which are effectively much faster/livelier that dynamic drivers, as in the B&W or ribbons for that matter. I own the Platinum 100 mk1, and it definitely doesn’t lack excitement, and is certainly not forgiving on the source material - it is extremely revealing/quick.
They don’t have the treble spike/bump that B&W always put in, so they may not sound as bright as the B&W d3.
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