I've just come back from my friends house after 6 hours of listening to his 800Ss. Words alone are inadequate to explain. I heard more detail than I ever thought was possible from a pair of hi-fi speakers. They put my Infinity Renaissance 90s to shame in every respect except soundstage and I think that was due to room placement. It's actually hard to imagine being able to improve on that. Yes, the treble was initially just a bit hotter than it should have been but with a little bit of tweeking of the tow-in we were able to make it essentially perfect. It was the cleanest and most grain free treble I've ever heard, with the possible exception of an experience with the JM Lab Grand Utopia Be. The Bass was awesome but is just a tad polite due to a lack of running-in. Midrange detail and accuracy - staggering. I hope blubull is right about some bargain 800Ns or Ss, because I'm now in line for a pair.
BTW, my friend's over the moon. He'd been using a 25 year old pair of Acoustic Research AR-9s and an equally old Mosfet amp until last week. Now he's running a Krell FBP 600 into 800 Signatures. He was very disappointed to learn of the new model release a few days ago but this first listening session has convinced him he made a great decision.
I'll still be watching for reviews of the new models with interest and will definitely go for an audition when the local dealers receive the first shipment.
Thanks Washline for your comments. I can't disagree.
