HELP B&W 802D or Revel Ultima Salon2

Opinions on B&W are polarized. Many love them, many hate them. I listened to a couple of them and owned a pair till I came to the point I couldn't listen to them any more. Mtdking is right. Midrange so, so.... but the tweeter was horrible. I had Nautilus not "D" so I can't speak for the new version.

Having had the opportunity of hearing a used pair of Revel Salons at a home nearby, my reaction was that they have a very neutral sound. No well defined highs, mids or bass. Quite honestly, I found them quite dull. I ended up getting a pair of the new B&W 803Di's. Their sound is quite amazing. If you have a chance, you really need to have a listen to the new series. It is a vast improvement over the older diamond series.

I've listened to both, and it is very important to listen to the latest version of the 802D. IMO, B&W really improved them, but for some reason didn't update the designations at all.

That said, I prefer the Salon2 and purchased them. Not only did I prefer the overall spectral balance of the Salon2s, but their bass is significantly better than the 802D's, and IMO so is the important woofer-to-midrange transition on grand piano. The real clincher for me, though, is that to this day I've never heard the B&W 800D or 802D image well front-to-back. The newest 802D disappeared in the side-to-side soundstage, even putting images beyond the speaker positions when appropriate, but I could never close my eyes and get that feeling of having the images come out at me, and the Salon2s do that in spades. The Salon2s are extraordinary in this regard. It might just be the dealer set-ups I've heard with the B&Ws, but I heard pretty much the same thing in two different venues.

One comment I would make is that if you haven't heard the Salon2s you might think 802Ds are about as good it gets. Or, you might not be as sensitive to a 3D soundstage as I am. Or you might like the fact that the 800D/802D have more "bite" in the upper mids and highs than the Salon2s do. Some people just prefer a more up-front balance, and then the 802Ds might sound superior.

Another impression I had is that, IMO, the B&Ws have better cosmetics than the Revels. The 800D and 802D look and feel sumptuous. The wood finishes, especially, are luxurious. The Salon2s, either finish, have a shiny, almost plastic look to them. In black the Salon2 looks very sleek and high-tech, almost like Apple did the design, but the B&Ws look like Aston Martin did it, if you know what I mean.

FWIW, it's been eight months now, and I still marvel at the sound of the Salon2s.

This discussion is very helpful.

I am having the same debate between B&W 802 diamond and either the Revel Studio or Salon. I have a family room that adjoins the kitchen. The family room is hexagonal and is about 500 square feet. The kitchen is another 300 square feet. All the rooms have large glass window surfaces.

The primary use will be for normal TV viewing (news, etc), movies, and only 10% music. Consequently the center channel is key for voices.

Three questions:

- Will either option work better in an environment with a lot of large glass windows?
- Is one option better when located close to the rear wall?
- Does one require a lot more amp power?

Thanks for any comments.

Jim

Your listening space sounds very similar to mine. For the uses you have in mind you might find the 802D a better choice. In fact, the 802D is so good with voice reproduction you might not need a center channel.

Both the Salon2 and the 802D like to be out from the rear wall, and well out of corners.

If you like action movies I'd highly recommend a subwoofer. If you have a typical two-channel audio system I'd choose a self-powered sub with a high-pass output for the amps. If you don't use a sub both of these speakers like about 200 watts per channel of solid state amp. With a subwoofer you can get away with less IMO.