B&W 'New' 800 Series

Audio for us is not based on brands, but only on quality. After time it can change. We test and compare and are only interested in the best results. 

I have my doubts if B&W took the right decision with the new looks and different sound and properties compared to the older series.

I owned the B&W DM580 in the past. It was the last series John Bowers worked on if I remember. I sold many many B&W speakers in the past. 

Time goes on just like techniques, I remember when the Nautilus series came out. Every one was talking about it. Now when I hear people talk about the D3 series, it is a different world. 

We love to test and compare, that will always be the fun part of audio. I remember when I was looking for myfirst expensive set of loudspeakers. I took 7 months for this. It was by far the most exciting time in audio in over 17 years.

I wonder if many of the same people as in the Nautlilus period still work at B&W. I remember that I had contact in 2000 with a developer of the Nautilus speakers. I wrote him that they should make the series after this one higher. About 10 cm higher.

Monitor Audio gave me the 3 dimensional physical image I was looking for. I tried it with the 800D1 at that time. But the stage was not as wide and deep as I wanted. So I stopped with B&W. The new look would be a 100% no go for me. It is not possible to accept this. When Monitor Audio would come out with a llok like this, I would not even want to sell it. Loudspeakers are more than sound.

Yesterday I spoke with Monitor Audio about the new Platinum Series. I am a perfectionist and very demanding. I made several remarks as well on the loudspeakers. I think this is how you need to respond to products.

I hope that people who sell them are as open as I am. And tell the people of B&W what they would have seen and heard differently.

Sorry Bo, I owned plenty of Audioquest cables...which are some of my favorite cables compared to others available, but MIT (at least Magnum series) simply destroy all competitors!!  My M1.3 loom does 3D Holography with crushing dynamics and accurate tone like none other....but I understand the business end might dictate selling Audioquest in some markets.

Dear Dave, the differences were that the silver AQ interconnects had better separation of voices and instruments and more details and a better timing and dynamics. A much better presentation of the differences in heights of a recording. 
 
Voices and instruments are more realistic in proportion with the AQ. I hate the demos with MIT when voices are about 3metres wide. The people who give these demos don't understand anything of real music. These are the fools in audio!

The MIT had a more warm mid frequency. This was the only small benefit.

We can also create a much higher black level than all our competitors. We go so much further than all of them. We have done a lot of research in electricity and electrosmog this year. We made a lot of progress in sound by using different tools for this.

I love the new cables AQ developed. I own 2 sets of the newest AQ Wel Signature xlr. They can bring you to a much higher level in listening to music. Many people are often not aware of how important they are. I also use 2 new sets of the Purist Audio LE luminist powercables with Oyaide M1/F1. They create the best black level what can be achieved with powercables.

D3 series - Ringing test
Interesting video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI-FSIzyFQ0

Those of you that are into vinyl know that resonance plays a big part in what we hear. Vinyl is a mechanical, resonance, vibration process.
If you have a cartridge that is high compliance (springy cantilever) and put it on a tonearm armtube that is rigid and heavily damped. The result will not be optimal. Change the cartridge to low compliance and the results should improve.

Put that same high compliance cartridge on a lighter aluminum tonearm armtube - it will sound much better. Different ways to get to the end.

You can see in this video the direction that B&W has gone in their design of the D3’s. Now is this a good or bad thing ?

I think the test of time - and Bo :^)  - will help to determine this.