What are your general thoughts of B&W speakers

Hi Mapman,

Please don't think I'm am saying the MBL is bad. Although I doubt there is much value for what you get. Placement with omi speakers and dipoles can create problems.

Surely all things being equal, reference speakers should(!) pretty much sound the same. Because hopefully they are not editing what is passing through them.

That being said as I mentioned in my post comparing the Sehneiser HD800 to the Audeze LCD3, you would not confuse these reference headphones sonically. They sound very different.

You would have to be mad to say the HD800s are rubbish and utterly bonkers to say the LCD3 are rubbish. You could say the HD800s are tilted upwards towards spacial cues and air. My experience of the MBL. I have heard the Graz ribboned Apogee Diva sound this way too when the ribbons where not run in.

So I guess once we know a particular trait in a speaker (once placement etc are taken into account) then matching of auxiliary equipment becomes as important.

The B&W 801d and the 802d mated with the big Classe reference 400 monos ( as used in Abbey road studios) sounds balanced. But I have also used the 802d in Studios using Bryston with a much less success. Leaving the 802d sounding strained and metallic.

I have a friend who uses the 802d with 2x CJ 350 SS amps which sound very creamy and smooth. So what we have to say is the B&w D speakers are very transparent and rely heavily on the quality of the amp driving it.

Personally I like B&W speakers. Good honest performance.

"You could say the HD800s are tilted upwards towards spacial cues and air. My experience of the MBL."

No doubt, spatial cues and air (when set up properly in the right room, not an easy task with the larger models)a are the main distinguishing characteristic of mbl. Its a subjective love it or hate it kind of thing as is much of home audio.

OHMs are a much better value and more practical for most IMHO. They excel at coherency and delivering weight to the music in an effortless manner along with all the rest, although a fairly hefty amp is still required, at least for the larger models. OHMs are being marketed and distributed in Germany, mbls home turf, these days. I wonder how that is going?

Chadeffect..the defense of B&W that" only the best studios use them "is an argument as old and tired as the brand.Doesnt hold water anymore especially considering Abbeys heyday was 3 decades ago and most of the studios today employ them are doing movie tracks..I agree they were and I repeat were a speaker worth additioning back in the 1980s but there are too many speaker builders today that are far superior in every aspect ,in the same price range and dont out sourcing to China,my opinion only.

No doubt a lot of vendors have been nipping at B&W's heels in recent years, but in defense of B&W, they seem to be holding their own pretty well in regards to popularity, at least in the US with the more mainstream and less esoteric remaining B&M shops, despite there being perhaps more formidable alternatives out there these days than ever.

Both local major remaining local audio/video shops in the Baltimore metro area still carry B&W but also seem to carry more alternate brands, like PSB, Totem, QUAD, Polk, Thiel, Vandersteen, and Monitor Audio. B&W has a very solid brand reputation developed over the years in its corner.

I own 800 Diamonds at the moment. They sound better and better with every small upgrade. Great speakers.