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B&W 804s too bright

Hi all, I have just purchased a used pair of 804s in good condition. But the thing is, I find that they actually sounded a bit too bright. Before this I was using a pair of Martin Logans and had no such problem. I was thinking whether it is my other equipment which is giving me the problem.

I am running the 804s with Emotiva XPA-3 power amp, ERC-1 CDP and Marantz 6003 as preamp. In between pre and power I have a Yaqin tube buffer to add a tinge of tube taste to all.

Any suggestions?
chaozhoi
chaozhoi OP
8 posts
 
Anyone uses Chord CrimsonPlus XLR with the 804s? Not easy to get Van Den Hul or Cardas in my country. We do have a lot of Chord options.
sounds_real_audio
1,019 posts
 

Did you listen to them before you purchased?
bojack
655 posts
 
This may be audiophile sacrilege, but I would get a Behringer 2496EQ. Mine is completely transparent, has no effect on transients, is dead quiet, and cheap! Simply create an EQ preset in the offensive band that knocks 1-3 dB off, and you're set. Take my word for it...it will save you piles of money and headaches and allow you to keep everything you have now.
elee
28 posts
 
1-1st of all, which 804-D, S, Nautilus, or matrix?
2-2nd, if your speakers stay true to the B&W pedigree, then it's not that it is too bright, but rather revealing of less than ideal sources before the speakers- whether source recording, cdp, electronics, cables. You need to upgrade probably the whole front end. demo some Classe, Macintosh, Bryston, et al. Search the forums here and read about equipment from B&w owners. Good luck.
lewinskih01
909 posts
 
I agree with Elee. To further comment on my above post, I used to have Rotel CD, preamp and RB1080 amp with B&W CM4. I upgraded to 804S and it became bright and painful. I replaced the amp for a MC275 and it was great. So here's an example of the 804S revealing weaknesses of what was going on upstream. Then I replaced the pre with a Lamm pre (also tubes), and I'm loving the combination. Tubes and 804S, in my experience, are a great match.
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