Post by LuisV on Jan 26, 2015 16:42:06 GMT -5
Hello everyone... For the last couple of months, I’ve been toying with the idea of upgrading my 16+ year old B&W 804 Matrix speakers and HTM center channel. Although they still sound wonderful, I’ve been bitten once again by the upgrade bug; therefore, I’m starting to perform research so I can prepare my wallet and wife for the day I perform the swap. I auditioned the new "equivalent" B&W Diamond models and although they sounded fantastic in the store, I wasn’t so pleased with their associated cost. It’s a significant increase from 16+ years ago when I originally purchased my B&Ws, so I'm looking for alternatives. Budget is around $5,000 for all 3 (increased from $3500 as I sold a bunch of stuff), but I'm willing to go up slightly if the sound quality merits it. My setup is listed in my signature, but here's some information about the room:
I understand that nothing beats an in home demo and my own listening experiences; however, I'm curious as to your thoughts, opinions, etc. on which other speakers I should add to my list. I'm also curious if anyone had the B&W 804 and HTM Matrix speakers and eventually replaced them... which speakers were chosen. In case you're wondering, here are what the older models look like and yes, that's a UMC-1 under the HTM. I took these a few years ago when I was starting to remodel the room so disregard the dust, hanging cables, missing molding, etc:
These days, we basically do 75% TV / movies with 25% music; however, my critical listening is down to around 10% or less as the family has been enjoying our new 100” screen and projector more and more.
Here's the list thus far (includes some member recommendations)... in no particular order and some quick notes from listening, unless otherwise noted, auditions were performed in my room. I'll try to create a more in depth thread with additional details within the next few weeks, but here are some highlights:
Aperion Verus Grand Towers and Grand Center - Heard them locally and didn't impress. Could have been the room and or setup, but something was missing for sure.
SVS Ultra Towers and Center - Great sounding speakers, but not as refined or as resolving as my B&Ws nor the Ascend Acoustics Towers with RAAL. For HT they were awesome, but for critical listening, I was left craving for more. They were returned.
Ascend Sierra Towers and Horizon Center - Decided that the RAAL upgrade is worth the extra cost
Ascend Speakers with RAAL Upgrade - Extremely resolving and detailed speakers, but in the long run they didn't work out for me. Not the fault of the speakers themselves, as something was very odd sonically, so I am attributing it to the acoustics of the room. As mentioned above, I don't have a dedicated room and there is only so much I can do before my wife kicks me to the curb. For the price, they are truly awesome, but after a week of trying different tweaks to the room, they were unfortunately returned.
GoldenEar - Took another gamble at my local dealer, but as usual, my they are horrible. After speaking to the salesman for a few mins, then the manager, I gave up and walked out. Trash talk ensued, praising their brands and bashing all others. ID gear is garbage, yada yada... I will NEVER set foot in that store again.
Martin Logan Motion 40 Towers and 50XT Center - Sounded very good within the store, but not sure if they are worth a home audition.
Auditioned These in the Same Store with my Wife:
B&W CM10 - They sounded much better than anticipated. To our ears, they bested the Sonus Faber speakers and for their price, compared to the others we listened to in the same room, sounded extremely good. Wife gave them a thumbs up.
B&W 804D - Very interesting to say the least. I wouldn't say a huge difference, as in $3500 better than the CM10s, but there was an audible difference for sure. Wife loved the Cherrywood finish and gave me the green light to buy them right there on the spot. Although very tempting, I explained that we need to weigh the differences between these and the CM10 as these are over budget.
B&W 802D - All I can say is wow. Way out of my price range, but wow... simply unbelievable sound. Wife liked them as well, but said no way due to their costs. Maybe if we win the lottery, but for now, they are simply a dream.
Golden Ear Triton One - My wife didn't care for their look, still calls them a "sock" and told the salesman that for $5,000 they should look much better than they do. Within a few mins she said they were too bright for her. 
I didn't hear the brightness, but you know what they say... happy wife, happy life. 
Sonus Faber Venere 3.0 - Neither of us really like their sound. Seemed too laid back, lacked midrange as compared to the other speakers we heard today.
On the List to Audition:
Tekton Seas Pendragons or Enzo - Not sure when / how, but I'm going to listen to one of these speakers before I make up my mind.
Revel Performa 3 F206 and Revel Concerta2 F36 - Just need to find the time.
To my ears my B&Ws, are musically pleasing; however, when called upon (movie or audio) they are dynamic yet not fatiguing. I’m not a fan of horns and although my wife loves this hobby as much as I do and as you can image, she has been more than accommodating thus far, she already indicated that she doesn't want towers the size of the Tekton Pendragons nor utilitarian looks of say JTR speakers. While at a local Best Buy Magnolia store, I auditioned the B&W 600 line; however, I wasn’t impressed... could have been the room / setup, but I actually preferred the Martin Logan Motion towers and center. Although great speakers, she's not a fan of the Def Tech "sock" (her words not mine) look.
We basically listen to anything with a good beat, vocals and such; however, no rap will be played.
So... long story short, I understand that nothing beats an in home demo and my own listening experiences; however, any and all opinions, recommendations, etc are welcomed. Any questions please post them here and thanks in advance for your time and help.
- 17’ x 18’ with 8’ ceilings
- 72” opening to our dining room and 32” opening to the hallway both on the right side of the room with the hallway at the front and dining room more or less in the center of the wall. Currently waiting on a friend to help me install a pair of sliding barn doors within the dining room to close off the two rooms when needed. Not sure what we can do with the hallway opening as my buddy said we don’t have the ability to put in a regular nor pocket door. Maybe another slider, but we'll see.
- 102” window on the left side and 64” window on the back wall
- Various acoustic panels and bass traps throughout the room
- L / R Speakers are roughly 8’ apart with Center 24” off the ground
- L / R Speakers are on the 18’ wall
- Leather couch puts us roughly 13' from the center channel. Room has a second smaller couch and chair on the sides, but obviously not the main listening areas.
- Room does double duty as our living and theater / audio room
I understand that nothing beats an in home demo and my own listening experiences; however, I'm curious as to your thoughts, opinions, etc. on which other speakers I should add to my list. I'm also curious if anyone had the B&W 804 and HTM Matrix speakers and eventually replaced them... which speakers were chosen. In case you're wondering, here are what the older models look like and yes, that's a UMC-1 under the HTM. I took these a few years ago when I was starting to remodel the room so disregard the dust, hanging cables, missing molding, etc:
These days, we basically do 75% TV / movies with 25% music; however, my critical listening is down to around 10% or less as the family has been enjoying our new 100” screen and projector more and more.
Here's the list thus far (includes some member recommendations)... in no particular order and some quick notes from listening, unless otherwise noted, auditions were performed in my room. I'll try to create a more in depth thread with additional details within the next few weeks, but here are some highlights:
Martin Logan Motion 40 Towers and 50XT Center - Sounded very good within the store, but not sure if they are worth a home audition.
Auditioned These in the Same Store with my Wife:
B&W CM10 - They sounded much better than anticipated. To our ears, they bested the Sonus Faber speakers and for their price, compared to the others we listened to in the same room, sounded extremely good. Wife gave them a thumbs up.
B&W 804D - Very interesting to say the least. I wouldn't say a huge difference, as in $3500 better than the CM10s, but there was an audible difference for sure. Wife loved the Cherrywood finish and gave me the green light to buy them right there on the spot. Although very tempting, I explained that we need to weigh the differences between these and the CM10 as these are over budget.
B&W 802D - All I can say is wow. Way out of my price range, but wow... simply unbelievable sound. Wife liked them as well, but said no way due to their costs. Maybe if we win the lottery, but for now, they are simply a dream.
I didn't hear the brightness, but you know what they say... happy wife, happy life. 
On the List to Audition:
Tekton Seas Pendragons or Enzo - Not sure when / how, but I'm going to listen to one of these speakers before I make up my mind.
Revel Performa 3 F206 and Revel Concerta2 F36 - Just need to find the time.
To my ears my B&Ws, are musically pleasing; however, when called upon (movie or audio) they are dynamic yet not fatiguing. I’m not a fan of horns and although my wife loves this hobby as much as I do and as you can image, she has been more than accommodating thus far, she already indicated that she doesn't want towers the size of the Tekton Pendragons nor utilitarian looks of say JTR speakers. While at a local Best Buy Magnolia store, I auditioned the B&W 600 line; however, I wasn’t impressed... could have been the room / setup, but I actually preferred the Martin Logan Motion towers and center. Although great speakers, she's not a fan of the Def Tech "sock" (her words not mine) look.
We basically listen to anything with a good beat, vocals and such; however, no rap will be played.
So... long story short, I understand that nothing beats an in home demo and my own listening experiences; however, any and all opinions, recommendations, etc are welcomed. Any questions please post them here and thanks in advance for your time and help.
