2. speakers
  3. 1110981695

B&W 805S.. Anyone listen yet?

I've had my pair for about a week now. That is after owning two pairs of Signature 805's, and one pair of Nautilus 805's. I have some initial impressions, but before I mention those, I'd love to hear from other members. As I understand it, both the 805S and the signatures have their strong points and weak points. That coming directly from technical support at B&W when asked what the differences were.

I've owned about 20 pairs of speakers in the past couple years. I was happy with the signatures, but finances forced the sale. When I was ready to get back into it, the new "S" was available. I'm not real interested in hearing suggestions for other speakers, only from those that have experience with these. Thanks,

Seth
s7horton
s7horton OP
1,077 posts
 
No one is contesting the difference between the Nautilus 805 and the 805S that you have quoted above. It's clear the 805S is better.

Where the fog lies is the difference between the Signature 805 and the 805S.
jc51373
542 posts
 
I listened to the Sig 805 as well, not necessarily side by side. Other than sex appeal I like the 805s sound better, certainly doesn't mean it IS better. Whereby with the 805N the 805s IS definitely better. The two (sig & 805s) are different speakers by a fairly large margin though, particularly in the driver implementation between the two. The tweeter is also different and I am pretty sure they weren't using the Mundorfs in the Sig.

I thought there was a wee-bit more inner detail with the Sig, where the 805s was smoother and more balanced in its presentation. I also thought the 805s sounded considerably larger. To the 805s represents a better overall value than the signature.
s7horton OP
1,077 posts
 
The differences between the sig 805 and the 805S are large, yet the sound difference is not that large.

805S uses a different woofer, tweeter, cabinet, wiring, and crossover than the sig 805.

The above could also be said about the difference between the N805 and the sig 805.

I firmly believe that the sound of the sig 805 vs. the 805S is strictly a preference, they are that close. I love the finish of sig, and prefer it slightly to the 805S in terms of sound quality. Having said that, the 805S is obviously the better value at $1000 less retail than the sig.

I also believe that the sig 805 really needs to be heard in your own listening room to appreciate them. Same with any speaker, really.
jc51373
542 posts
 
But the real dream lie in an 805d...If it were $6k more I would find a way to get one! Fingers crossed. : )
s7horton OP
1,077 posts
 
I think the closest you are going to get is to buy their new 40th anniv (?) model. The white one with the marble tweeter housing. It's a two way with diamond tweeter, but not a monitor. It's a full floor stander.

Don't think you'll see anything else besides that in a two way diamond from B&W.
More to discover