Heard the B&W N804d3s ...

I have some old B&W 602's in my office system.  I have tried different amps and pre's with them.  I am currently running 2 Carver 65x2 amps that I just had serviced and recapped, one to each speaker biamped.  They sound great.

My local Best Buy had a pair of open box CM5's that they gave me a great price on.  I brought them home and they were very slightly better.  They had a bit better sound stage and clarity, but the difference was minor. I am also a huge believer in diminishing returns and I didn't think it was a $900 upgrade.

I have been looking for a replacement bookshelf, but haven't been able to decide what to get.  I have demoed speakers that are much more expensive and running on better gear and I don't think they sound as good as what I have.  I agree that you need to demo in your own space.

A good sub should sound good with the 804's and actually will do more to the perceived sound than just add lower bass.  The 804's are basically very revealing older monitors with "built-in stands", as opposed to full range speakers.  I agree with other posts that room size will limit lowest bass you can experience in your listening room (but not necessarily down the hall!). For this reason I would shoot for quality of bass rather than trying to buy down your Hz.

Try the Rythmik and see how that works. For the quality of the rest of your system, you might be happier with the F12. Another option for a small room is the B&W PV1D or the PSB Subseries 450.  Anyway you cut it, good bass is expensive.

kn

whyowhy:

The CM5 that  you ve gotten are some of the musically satisfying speakers at any price.... You are not going find anything that much better till you go up 805 D3s, or Chario Sonnets, both at about 6 grand... And even then, CM5s can hold their own.. I ve owned them and sold them to foot a bill for a 17 thousand floorstanders..But I miss them dearly.. Still use the  smaller CM1s on my desktop and those are fantastic as well.... So hang on to those me thinks :)

I have the N802's bought new in 2004.
1. I personally feel my N802's appearance looks better than the   
    current 802's. I'm not just saying this, they really look better.
    They way those lower 8 inch drivers stick out like they do
      looks awful.
 
2. I really don't care what anybody says but the mid-range and highs
     on mine sound better
3. Yes, there is more bass on the current 802's but it's just too much.
     The bass on mine are lean as most people say but it is much
      tighter and I prefer a tighter bass to excessive bass any day.
       I only want bass to be reproduced when there is bass and that
       is what my N802's do. I don't want bass coming out when
       there is no bass in the music.
4.  Are the current 802's worth the extra money over the older N802's
      ??? LOL   Absolutely not.
 5.  Find an older pair of N802's or N801's in very good condition
      or better and save some major bucks. Use the savings and buy
      more music.

A used pair of 805's have been what I really want to use, but many on here have talked about the Ascend Sierra 2.  There are a fair number of good choices in sub $2000 range.

Now if life would just quit getting in the way with medical bills and car breakdowns :)