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B&W 800D or 802D Cosmetic Issues

Hello folks,

I am seeking feedback from 800D or 802D owners only. I have recently order a pair of 800D2 from my dealer. The pair arrived 2 weeks later and delivered to my home. Upon close inspection, I notice finish imperfections on one of the speaker's Marlan head and tweeter tube. There are several deep scratches embedded in the finish that are visible in day light or with the flash light. If you stand couple of feet away, you cannot spot these imperfections. The other speaker is perfect with no sign of scratches...the finish is smooth and inky glossy black.

The dealer sent over the field inspector to address the issue. The inspector notice the imperfections and gave the following explanation -

"800D are hand made, no two speaker will have the same finish and you may find these minor imperfections on another pair as well". He went on to say, that I am being 'picky' and no one really inspect these speakers with a flash light.

I feel bit disappointed with the craftsmanship and still in disbelief that these speaker passed the Q.C. test at B&W facility and no one noticed these imperfections.

I do realize that over time piano black finish tend to generate surface scratches....sort of nature of the beast. I can understand the disparity in wood grain finishes but these Marlan heads and tweeter are being painted and applied several coates of lacquer, shouldnt they be identical and spotless?

I wonder if anyone out there experienced these issues with the finish. For what I have seen at dealer showroom and another pair at local shop, a brand new pair shouldn't have these cosmetic issues. After all you're buying a flagship pair at a 24K price point.
128x128lalitk
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,672 posts
 
I just toured the 800 factory and your suspicions are correct. The finishes are manufactured to a high level of precision and consistency and the ones I have owned arrived in perfect condition.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
""800D are hand made, no two speaker will have the same finish and you may find these minor imperfections on another pair as well". He went on to say, that I am being 'picky' and no one really inspect these speakers with a flash light."

That's the dumbest excuse for shipping damage I've ever heard. Since when are hand made products inferior to a production line? That's the whole purpose of building a speaker by hand.

Your dealer should be ashamed of him self. When they delivered your $24k speakers, its customary to go over them with a fine tooth comb to insure the speakers don't have any damage. The speaker was either damaged in shipping, or damaged when they were unboxed. Either way, it should be fixed.

"The dealer sent over the field inspector to address the issue. The inspector notice the imperfections and gave the following explanation - "

That's a load of crap as well. Field inspector? Tell your dealer to send the field inspector to look at some farms, and send you a speaker inspector instead.

If your dealer still gives you a hard time, tell them if they don't take care of this, you are going to call B&W and say that your dealer sold them to you via mail order.
lalitk's avatar
lalitk OP
5,401 posts
 
Thank you Zd542 and Kr4. And i agree with your feedback, i have owned few pairs of 700's and 800's series prior to purchasing 800d's, never experienced any issues with the finish.

The dealer is local, and when i contacted B&W US distribution in Massachusetts, they referred me back to my dealer.

IMO, the imperfections are not a result of a shipping damage. The scratches on Marlan head are not on the surface, they are embeded in the finish. These imperfections seems to stem from improper buffing process at the factory. And tweeter tube have paint lines, dribs like the ones you get from using a paint brush.

It's taken lot of pursuasion on my part to convince my dealer to order me another pair. I was quite amused when i was told by my dealer that B&W tolerence of Q.C. is far below than my tolenrence of Q.C or perfection...LOL!!!

I keep asking myself, why can't I obtain a pair of B&W flagship speakers in identical and perfect finish....is that too much to ask at 24K price point?

I wonder what would it take for someone at B&W - Massachusetts or West Sussex office to address these serious issues with the quality control?

Stay tuned and thank you for your feedback.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
B&W was correct in referring you to the dealer you bought the speakers from. Its their job as a dealer to handle this type of thing. Any type of warranty issue like this has to be initiated by a dealer. If it was me, I would ask for a new housing (the actual piece that has the imperfection), and nothing more. You don't want to ask for another speaker unless you absolutely have to because the drivers are matched, and unless they replace the drivers in the other speaker, the whole thing will be a mess. Your dealer should be able to swap everything out while keeping the drivers that are already in the speaker.

I think that would be a fair request. You're asking for nothing more than what you should have gotten in the first place. Don't let the dealer push you around either. He should have already ordered this part. If the dealer refuses to do the right thing, then get B&W involved.
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