B&W 804's

[jhayman]

Looking to upgrade to these for a good price..
Anyone using them or know anything about them?
Good
Bad
Average

Thanks

[garbulky]

They have a lot of dealerships out there. I would suggest auditioning them if you can.

[klinemj]

Never heard the 804's, but I have heard the 802's....and I do not like them. I would look at some Magnepan 1.7's. Well...I did and I was amazed and bought them.

Mark

[jhayman]

Thanks guys.
I think I'll ask if I can take them home for a week or two, give them a deposit or something..
Reading some reviews and not a bad word anywhere, most love them..
Never heard a pair of Maggie's yet don't know anyplace that sells them by me..lol

[hemster]

Maggies are very highly regarded but you do need to position them out into the room, away from the back wall. I did have B&Ws in my previous setup many moons ago and they were very very good... but a tad shy of being excellent. They were not the 804s and I haven't heard these so I don't know how good they are.

[PGT]

not sure how one can say "heard 804's and didn't like them". There's been an "804" for oh, about 20 years with new revisions about every five years. They don't all sound the same!

So.....what versions are you looking at? The current ones? The original Matrix 804's were excellent and the Nautilus 804's better still (they should be for nearly 2x the price). As the range has been updated, they're certainly one of the better choices out there.

Getting to audition them at home is key; any B&W dealer will have a dedicated sound room with treatments and $$$ equipment to demo them on in store. That's not your home environment at all.

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

I listened to a pair when I was auditioning for my Nautilus 805 set. They sound very similar to the N805, of course with more (not as much as you would think) low end extension. In addition, because of the FST midrange, they are a little more pronounced/forward in the vocal/guitar range. They are great speakers IMHO, but I am also a fan of B&W.

I chose the N805 over the N804 for a few reasons:

Price - Within my budget, I ended up with two pair of N805 and an HTM2, as I couldn't afford the same with the N804 in the mix.

Demo/Audition - I took a few pieces of music that I know extremely well with me for an extended listening session at the dealer.

Sound - My ears preferred the slightly more reserved N805. Of course, it could be from some of the hearing loss/damage I have received over the years. My ears are very sensitive to stronger midrange.

Reviews/Suggestions - I had read a lot of reviews on equipment and talked to a lot of people before I set out to audition.

Design - At that point in time, I preferred the look of the N805 on the B&W stands over the floorstanders and it fit my room better.

As the others have mentioned, it really is a personal choice and something you should take seriously. Nothing in your system can have as great an impact on SQ than your loudspeakers. Any dealer worth their salt will arrange for an in-home demo, as it is the best way to really match the loudspeakers to your environment, other equipment, and music taste. Everyone has valuable opinions and suggestions, and they are always a great source to help narrow down your field to choose from. It's good to get first-hand opinions/recommendations from actual owners and those that have experience with them, as they have the real-world knowledge about the product and its performance. You really must let your ears decide in the end.

Hope that helps,

C

[SticknStones]

Well Mark and I are going to part ways on this one.

I owned the 804's for several years and sold them for $2400 to a fellow in Canada and bought the 802's. Here is my opinion.

804S - Great speaker but needs a sub as they just cannot push enough bass. I also heard the new 804D2 and when I went to the dealer he had a sub on them too.

802S - Love em will probably never have another speaker in my life.

[goat1981]

Went to a HiFi dealer and listened to many B&W models and really wasn't impressed...especially for the price.

...went with Philharmonic Audio Model 2's and never looked back. LOVE these speakers; they are the most natural sounding speakers I have ever heard.

Take this for what it's worth. I am a professional classical musician and listen to all kinds of classical music and some jazz. Depending on your musical and listening tastes, you may love the B&W's. However, I highly recommend Philharmonic Audio for around the same price range.

[AudioHTIT]

I will also disagree Mark, I own both Maggies and B&W's and think the 802D is one great speaker (they were on the short list when I got my 20.1's). I think the whole 800 line is very respectable, if the 804 is in your price range you should give them a listen.

[klinemj]

FYI, the 802 I have listened to was an 802d...not the diamond, just the "d". I have listened several times, and when they sound good - they sound great. When they don't - I think they are really dead in the midrange...make some music downright unlistenable.

A friend who also heard the same thing showed me a German Audio guide and it shows they are very hard to drive in the midrange, dropping very low in impedance.

So, it may be the guy who owns the system we listened to needs a different amp - he is driving the 802d's via a 5-channel Rotel.

But I agree w/the others' advice to go listen to the 804's. I have not heard them. Also, there are many variants in the 800 series and they seem to be constantly upgrading...

Mark

[SticknStones]

I had an XPA-3 on the 804 and have 2 XPA-2's bridged as a mono for the 802S and they are great. Everytime I have heard a B&W at a dealer they always had a Class Amp or McIntosh driving them.

I have not heard the other speakers that are getting referrals but all I can say is it is nice to have options.

[PGT]

I used to work at one of the top B&W dealers in the US a dozen years ago (now defunct) and I personally sold a ton of them. I sold the last set of Matrix 801's rosewood imported to the US. :-D

Let me share this B&W porn with you. Amazing...

[PGT]

some old school B&W Silver Signatures (upgraded 805 footprint. There was also a Silver Signature 30 which was floor version, similar to the Matrix 804 or 803).

[savjac]

This is really a matter of taste, I Love the B&W's and still have a pair. Dont want to sell them actually. Some say they are similar to a British School marm in that they can be polite, BUT, when it is time to get going they can and do. Great imagining and most excellent sound...imo of course. Yes the '04s will need some help in the bottom end for movies, but the sound they put out can be quite the reward. They do not do hot hifi sound that some like at electronics shows, and that can be a bit of a problem.

[Porscheguy]

Speakers are like Sushi. Some might like a brand, some may not. So much is based on source material, room, other associated electronics and YOUR idea of what sounds good..

It's almost like asking what flavor ice cream is the best - no right answer... :-)

[monkumonku]

Jan 9, 2013 10:52:45 GMT -5 Porscheguy said:

Speakers are like Sushi. Some might like a brand, some may not. So much is based on source material, room, other associated electronics and YOUR idea of what sounds good..

It's almost like asking what flavor ice cream is the best - no right answer... :-)

I'm sure some would beg to differ on that and tell you there is indeed the best ice cream flavor AND sushi flavor. In fact, sushi-flavored ice cream is the best.

[PGT]

B&W's, in general, lean towards the studio monitor type sound. Flat F/R, great imaging and generally "vanilla" sound of their own (this should be a good thing! you listen to music, not speakers)

[Cory Cooper]

Funny you should mention "the studio monitor type sound."

Abbey Road - Studios



C

[PGT]

that was no accident; B&W PR uses the Abbey Road connection a LOT.