Bowers and Wilkerson B&W 802 D3: an impolite Brit?

Be careful when you audition....very slight anoyances can quickly make the component an ad on audiogon in very short order.  I had a B&W 802D ....bought it much too fast after my wife passed....needed a present I guess.....got rid of the speakers quickly.

The 800 D3 is out now. I’ve now had the 802 D3’s for about a month and they’re pretty well on the way to being fully broken in. I absolutely love them. The entire sound stage is magnificent. I play a lot of different kinds of music through them, and everything just shines on them. It’s interesting to see that the 800 D3’s look to be essentially the same as the 802’s, but for bigger woofers. They spec out very similarly, even in weight!

After reading all the posts here I'll put in my 2 cents worth regarding B&W 803D2's. In April of this year I had the opportunity to compare them with my favorite speaker (heavily modded per manufacturers recommendations) and awe inspiring, The result was actually surprising to me after reading any number of negative reviews on the B&W. This comparison occurred in my real home environment with my own equipment (Krell Preamp, Krell Amp, Musical Fidelity CD, etc all of it high end) and cabling. After extensive listening for days (using an Adcom Speaker selector for quick references) I found that the B&W was certainly up to par with my "go to speaker" and in some instances exceeded them. Just to make this short I now own a pair of BW 803D2 and the more I listen to them the more I can tell/hear the subtle nuances (vocals, instruments, delicacies) they reproduce in a recording. Granted they sound different than what I was used to but not in a bad way. I do not get the harsh uppers that some here are mentioning and the lows are also better defined. The more I listen at any level the more I appreciate the quality. I must say I love the sound but it took some time to get me to admit that they were "better" than my go to speaker, and I loved my go to's. B&W is now my "go to". The only real complaint I have is that they reproduce exactly what is recorded and mastered, good and bad. Crap in / Crap out. Excellent recordings are awesome and Lousy recordings are really lousy.

👍

Just an update, about another month's worth of being played, the 802 D3's are absolutely wonderful.  Can't find anything to complain about, the entire range of sound has evened out, top to bottom.  Crystal clear, well defined, beautifully deep soundstage.  I give them a bit thumbs up, for certain.  They do take a bit of time to fully break in, but once there, solid sound.