KEF Reference 5 vs. B&W 802 D3 speakers - which one better? your knowledges & opinions

Now that you mention that, I think when I heard the Kef Ref 5 vs the B&W that the Kef's were mentioned as having recently arrived at the dealer (like a week ago), and so were probably not fully broken in when I heard them.

@fast  so i came across your post about the Ref 5 last year in this forum.   Can you tell me the pros and cons of the reference 5? You own the speakers and I’d love to hear from an actual owner.  It’s my first big purchase at this price and i wanna know if im making the right decision here.  I dont wanna buy the speakers and regret it later.   Give me your advice... thanks in advance.  

IIRC some reviewers claim the Ref. 1s are the best of the lot, with a more integrated sound than the 3s or 5s. In my setup the in-room response of the Ref.1s measures pretty flat to 30 Hz then rolls off sharply. I augment them with a pair of Velodyne HGS-15s, because I like to hear/feel pedal notes from organ recitals, but subs really aren’t necessary for the jazz and classical music I prefer. I use Ayre 5/20 series preamp and amp.

Kentrent, 
I’ll do my best to give my perspective. Of course, speakers are very much a personal thing, we have different ears, and may listen to different kinds of music on different equipment in different rooms. 
I listen mostly to classical music. As I mentioned before. i was drawn to the Ref 5s for the imaging and soundstage.  Set up properly, the sound seems to come from behind and around the speakers, providing a pretty realistic concert hall effect.  I like the uni-q tweeters which, to me, capture the sound of instruments...especially string instruments... very convincingly.  The bass is well integrated and not obtrusive but it’s definitely there. My speakers are white and they’re beautiful looking and well finihed.  As for cons, I already mentioned the long break in time. Setup and positioning are critical and finding the optimum placement, toe in, etc. can be time consuming. You need comparable quality associated equipment.  
There are literally dozens of competing speakers and I can’t choose for you.  It would be great if you have a dealer where you can audition them (and even greater if you could negotiate a return/exchange privilege if, in the worst case, you don’t like them.  I’m not sure how else to help.  Good luck.  I hope you’re happy with your choice and will post your experience here.  

@fast, thanks so much for the review.  I placed the order through Kef for $13k and will get it next week.  I hope with the price im paying is worth it for this speakers.  Its a big purchase for me and I prolly wont buy another speaker for a very long time.  I’m highly into audio and with the experience i have, i may not able to call myself an audiophile yet but i do enjoy the sounds of these high quality speakers.  They do make a big difference in sounds.  Reason im asking so much is because i bought this speakers without listened to them.  I was deciding between the 802D3 but decided on this one because many people said this sounds better than the 802D3.  I currently own the R900 and this will be a big upgrade and i hope $13k is worth it for the sound Quality this speakers offered.  I just dont want to feel regret after, resale and lost money later.   Thanks again for your input.  I will test it next week when i get it and will update everyone here.