B&W 'New' 800 Series

@gregkohanmim

Stereo Exchange was moving?!!!!! Really!!!??? Where? I think they own the whole building.... Wow, its either things must be moving really slow for them , or they decided to sell their most lucrative location in SOHO...

I would think they keep the 800D3 in their showroom ZERO.. Did you ask to listen to them? I ve seen the new 802& 803s there as soon as those came out.... Their main listening rooms usually are locked and blocked from the public , you have to ask for a demo...

Kot - I know that told me but I totally forgot - My guess is that their lease is up and that given their location at Broadway and Bleeker it's got to be going up big time.  That said, you should give them a call and ask,

In the meantime, if you're into vinyl, they have all their demo records for sale at $3/ pop and I got a smoking deal on the new B&W P9s (I did a quick write up in member reviews here yesterday).

In any event still need to get in front of these speakers and see how they compare to my current 800s - Honestly, I was never a fan of any of the diamond series 800s, but I realize that these are a whole new design generation so definitely worth checking out.

Only problem is if I go for them, the $3K in sales tax here in NYC will basically suck :)

Greg

Well, get them from a dealer in Jeysy :) Or Delaware & NH . They will deliver anyhow..... They will (should) also deal unlike arrogant ny pricks .... No, I am not into vinyl , but thanks for the tip .. :)

Diamond series get bad rap, often because of the poor demo & ancillary equipment... If you choose your speaker wire and amps carefully you shoud do fine... The current series are little more forgiving & less harsh in mid treble ( even unbroken), way less synthetic soudnding, so I think you will like them... As an alternative you may consider Chario Serendipities, now we are also talking absolute sound refinement at relatively "sane" pricing, given current $/euro exchange rate ... Chario’s treble might be more up your alley, and they have other advantages over 800D3 , but its strictly IMHO of course ....

I finally listened to the new 802D3's and I have to say, they are one of the best speakers I have ever heard...maybe the best!!  Congrats B&W

@dave_b

What were the demo components? Were speakers fully broken-in (at least 500 hours) ? If known ...