B&W 805D

Silly me, I went to the 800 series page since we were talking about an 805. Anyways thx for the help Liz.

Ah, yes, why didn't I think of it earlier, the Signature Diamond...they are supposed to be getting a pair at my local dealer as soon as they are finished with the dedicated "Nautilus" room...but I do stand by my earlier quote:

I would be worried that they would be too fatiguing to listen to...

I have spent a good deal of time in the Nautilus 800D room at my local dealer and have decided that after about 15 minutes the forward presence of the diamond tweeter just becomes a little too much for my ears to handle...I also recently acquired a pair of 804S's (granted not the diamond tweeter) to try out and after about 5 minutes I decided that my JM Labs were much more musical and clear...the instruments actually sounded like what they were and not colored (as in the case of the horn in one of my favorite recordings) or hidden (as the inner detail of the winds) by the b&w's approach...Give me a pair of Aerial Acoustics, or some Focal's or some Wilson’s or or or....I love the look of b&w but for critical listening (especially to symphonies and other orchestrated music) I can put a lot of speakers ahead of them at fractions of the price points.

What you're hearing is the front ends that are being used. The 80xD series sounds like absolute crap at my dealer (ear bleeding crap for that matter) and yet my 803D speakers sound nothing like that. The sound of the 80xD series reflects whatever you put in front of them. Essentially, if the diamond tweeter is fatiguing it's because there's an issue upstream. Source first, always.

System was all Classe Omega series...I happen to like these componets a lot....Interconects were audioquest sky...something else I like a lot....speakers were 800D...just happen to not like them so much...They were under-powered by about 600 watts, perhaps that would make a difference...when I have the chance I will get ahold of a pair of 803s with the diamond tweeter (have to wait for the right deal) but I have a feeling that they just will not sound as musical as many other speakers I have heard, most of which cost a lot less.