Look guys, all of you need to fix your egotistical attitudes & start behaving like civilized men. And, also understand that this is a DISCUSSION & not a brain-washing session where you need to convince one or more men that brand XYZ is better than brand ABC! As all you zipper-heads know audio is a very SUBJECTIVE hobby & (often) one man's meat is another's poison.
Allow each contributor to this thread retain his opinion & RESPECT that opinion esp. if it does not jive w/ your own. As, I wrote before - it's subjective & bound to have vast differences. LET IT GO!
Now, in an attempt to contribute to this discussion: I have nothing to gain/lose here as I am no longer a B&W owner. However, I will say this: from my experience & from that of a good friend (who owns a 802D at this present time), the only way that you are going to make the 802D get up & salute you is to take care of the amplifier-speaker electrical interface. IOW, you will need an amp that has huge balls to drive this difficult load otherwise you are going to get a dull, lifeless, over-bloated bass, tizzy type of sound during playback.
http://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/1205802FIG1.jpg
look @ its impedance, phase plot.In the 20Hz-200Hz region the phase goes from + to - => inductive load to capacitative load. The amp you use will have to be capable of handling this phase lead, phase lag on a dynamic basis; otherwise, the 802D will be controlling the amp rather than the other way around. Also, in this region I note that the amplifier you use will need to have the ability to source/sink current into a low impedance load (2.5-3 Ohms) & still sound good. For most amps available in the market this is a tall order indeed. Most amps are rated for 4 Ohms & maybe even 2 Ohms but that does not mean that they sound good when driving those impedances.
From my experience at RMAF2007 I can tell you that B&W's decision to pair Classe amps with their speakers is a mistake! The new Classe amps are quite poor sonically & do their speakers a big injustice. However, what's B&W to do: they own Classe now so they have to tout their in-house brand!
So, guys, be careful mouthing off here: your experience of the 802D can dramitically change if you use the "correct" amplifier that has the ability to control this speaker. This is my personal experience - it's not hear-say or 2nd-hand experience.
Allow each contributor to this thread retain his opinion & RESPECT that opinion esp. if it does not jive w/ your own. As, I wrote before - it's subjective & bound to have vast differences. LET IT GO!
Now, in an attempt to contribute to this discussion: I have nothing to gain/lose here as I am no longer a B&W owner. However, I will say this: from my experience & from that of a good friend (who owns a 802D at this present time), the only way that you are going to make the 802D get up & salute you is to take care of the amplifier-speaker electrical interface. IOW, you will need an amp that has huge balls to drive this difficult load otherwise you are going to get a dull, lifeless, over-bloated bass, tizzy type of sound during playback.
http://www.stereophile.com/images/archivesart/1205802FIG1.jpg
look @ its impedance, phase plot.In the 20Hz-200Hz region the phase goes from + to - => inductive load to capacitative load. The amp you use will have to be capable of handling this phase lead, phase lag on a dynamic basis; otherwise, the 802D will be controlling the amp rather than the other way around. Also, in this region I note that the amplifier you use will need to have the ability to source/sink current into a low impedance load (2.5-3 Ohms) & still sound good. For most amps available in the market this is a tall order indeed. Most amps are rated for 4 Ohms & maybe even 2 Ohms but that does not mean that they sound good when driving those impedances.
From my experience at RMAF2007 I can tell you that B&W's decision to pair Classe amps with their speakers is a mistake! The new Classe amps are quite poor sonically & do their speakers a big injustice. However, what's B&W to do: they own Classe now so they have to tout their in-house brand!
So, guys, be careful mouthing off here: your experience of the 802D can dramitically change if you use the "correct" amplifier that has the ability to control this speaker. This is my personal experience - it's not hear-say or 2nd-hand experience.