Comparison of $11,000 - $15,000 reference speakers

My setup:

Bryston SP1.7
Bryston 9B SST
Two B&W 802Ds (Bi-Channelled/Bi-Amped)
Denon DVD-5910

My B&Ws were 12000 before tax. I love how they sound in my system. I put a live Grateful Dead CD with HDCD coding, a concert I was actually at, and it seemed fairly accurate, at least as far as i could tell with my ears. You could at those prices check out the B&W 801Ds. I personally have been very happy with the B&Ws I have owned, they seem to play exactly what they are given without flavoring/tainting the music. But, as you know, the only way to truly know how YOU feel is to test speakers out for yourself, perhaps you can find a dealer who will let you bring your most important components in and try speakers out. If a dealer won't take the time to let you do this, at that price range, then they aren't worth dealing with anyway IMO...

I'm trying out high end CD sources next year after I get my XBox 360 in two weeks, and a 1080p TV after X-mas. I'm likely going to go dCS starting with a DAC (not sure which one of the two yet - but I'll use the Denon as a transport till I save more money) and then moving up with the transport, then the upsampler, and then the clock. If i don't do this I'll likely save up for the other 8 series B&W speakers for a surround setup (HTM1D or HTM2D, 805s and ASW855 or the lower priced sub). So I am pretty committed to my B&Ws, and have been since I first tested the 703s and 804s (I bought a 5.1 B&W 7 series setup and traded them in at cost to upgrade to the two 802Ds - I couldn't be happier, well unless I had the 800Ds, but those are 20k a pair!) I did test the 800Ds just to check them out... If you can go that high, i would do it.

It seems the higher up you go with the B&Ws the larger the soundstage gets and thus the more separated the instruments become from one another, from the 7 series through the 8, I havn't noticed a lack of dynamics; the highs through the lows seem to be represented harmoniously with neutral sources like my Brystons. I sit back and listen to SACDS for hours, sometimes drifting in and out of the edges of sleep, when I should be upstairs sleeping with my wife in bed, getting a good 8 hours sleep instead of 5 or 6. I'm so enthusiastic about the sound of my system that I sacrifice good sleep to use it more often. That to me is what it is all about, creating a system I don't want to stop listening to.

In short, the 802Ds provide a stable, neutral, well balanced musical image. But as with many things in audio, this is my subjective experience. Go take a listen somewhere for yourself.

www.jkalman.com

Yeah, agree with dawgbyte. Save some money and get something new -- Zu Definitions. At $11,000 you can even spring for the custom Dupont Chroma automotive finish in any color you want. Definitions make the speakers on your short list irrelevant, especially at their prices.

Phil

Thanks all for the responses. With all of the additional recommendations you have, I am reminded that asking one question often leads to 10 more you have to answer. It would be utopia if you could go to one venue to listen and compare all of the reference systems available. Factoring in you must listen to gear in an endless variation of set-ups, room configurations, treatment, etc....always tough to truly compare. Bigkidz, thanks for the direct comparison. I favor warmth, detail, and transparency when enjoying my favorite jazz recordings and am leaning toward the Sonus Faber Amatis....a SS guy for now. Jkalman, listened to the N802D's recently. Driven with a Boulder 1060 Amp, Boulder 1012 Pre, ML390 and Transparent Cables. First impression should be good, however; I was not impressed. My system in my home sounded better. Of course the room was far from ideal (under construction, 17ft. angled ceilings, ceiling to floor glass windows and no sound treatment other than carpet). They say they perform as well as the N800's...I hardly believe that. Maybe I will give them a try in my home.
Keep the comparisons coming.

To each their own, tastes in speakers are fairly subjective. They sound great to me in my listening space with my equipment, which is a 19 foot by 33 foot room (rectangular). I could use a better source, but even with this one, I'm satisfied till I save up for something good.

If you are looking for coloration of your jazz music, you likely won't get that from a B&W speaker, perhaps try some of the Boston Acoustic speakers along with those Sonus Fabers. I don't like a speaker adding too much of its own character to recordings, but that is just me, and that is why I like the B&Ws so much, also it is the same reason I am using the Brystons. Especially because I like to listen to a lot of live performances, like the Dead, Yes, Allman Brothers, Three Gs, as well as live Jazz and classical (I have pretty much all of the "Living Stereo" recordings). I value my speakers for their neutrality, so I can get as close as possible to the real sound as on the day I went to some of the concerts I listen to (Dead shows especially).

As far as performing as well as the N800s, I'd read in reviews that they perform better than the last generation N800s and that the 800Ds are better sounding than the 802Ds (I agree with that, but couldn't justify going that high in price), but I wouldn't put too much stock in a review, especially if you don't find yourself enjoying the sound...