KEF
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Sturbridge, MA
Posts: 51 The 802 and 803D - A Side By Side Review
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When: Saturday, February 12th – 2:00 to 3:30 pm
Where: Spearit Sound, Northhampton Mass, 1.413.584.9547, Sales Rep: Jack T.
Associated Equipment: B&W 802; B&W 803D; Krell KAV-280p; Krell KAV-2250; Cary CD-306/200
Audio CDs: The Chemical Brothers, Push The Button, Track 6
Diana Krall, The Girl in the Other Room, Track 3
To quantify this – I am not a professional reviewer, so take this for what it’s worth: one guy’s chance to listen to these two speakers side-by-side for about an hour and a half on the same music.
The majority of the critical listening was done using Track 6 of the Chemical Brothers. If you are not familiar with this CD, it may or may not be to your taste – but it is very well recorded and combines multiple sounds / instruments / vocals to create a club type recording – extremely fast and dynamic. IMO very good for this type of direct comparison.
The 803Ds had approximately 40 hours of running time, and by Jack’s estimation were about 90% to their fully broken in state.
We listened to the 803Ds first. My initial impression was that they were very, very good – the highs that this tweeter produces are incredibly accurate and realistic. The bass also was impressive – full, rich, and precise; I was initially impressed and feeling good about the speaker – I am going to buy one of them this year, and I don’t prefer used equipment. I would have said they were every bit as good as the 802s to begin with, until we hooked up the 802s….
The first thing I noticed that the 802s seemed to be a little more efficient, despite what others have written – we listened to the 803Ds at level 33 on the Krell – with the 802s we had to turn it down to 29 to get a similar sound level; the 802s were simply louder given the same power.
Next I noticed, almost immediately, was the tighter, deeper Bass that the 802s produced. It was not leap years different, but it was there and we both noticed and commented about it.
Starting at 2:15 minutes into track 6 on TCB, there are two successive enveloping sounds produced, spaced about 15 seconds apart. I was amazed – the sound enveloped us – it was in front, on the sides and sounded behind us as well (with the 802s). I didn’t notice this on the 803Ds so Jack and I switched seats, listened from 2:00 to 3:00 of track 6 again and then cabled up the 803Ds. This time we started track 6 at 2:00 minutes and listened - it was nowhere close – the sound was only in front of us, but did not image anything like the 802s. We moved the 803Ds to several toe positions trying to create the same sound field, but none could create an image like the 802s.
We continued to listen to these tracks over and over, back and forth. In the end here is my final opinion:
- The tweeter of the 803D is a big step forward when compared to the old tweeter. This is one nice aspect of the 803D – an extremely accurate top end, even when compared directly to the 802.
- The Mid-Range of the 802 is, IMO, superior to that of the 803D – the image created by the 802 simply was not touched by the 803D - not even close.
- The Bass of the 802 is just a bit deeper and a tad stronger / tighter.
Based on this session – I am in the market for a used set of 802s. The diamond tweeter is fantastic – the 802D must be a hell of a speaker. While initially impressed with the 803D, everything is relative – and when compared directly to the 802, and not my memory of it, I was left feeling like the 803D is a Tweeter looking for a Speaker.
Regards,
Keith
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02-13-2005, 09:14 AM #2 (2)
sikoniko
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 439 awesome review!
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02-13-2005, 05:01 PM #3 (3)
jlee
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 223 Thanks for the awesome review. Almost everything mentioned is exactly what I expected from a theoretical standpoint.
1. The 802's are more efficient. 91 dB vs. 90 dB of the 803. That explains the 29 vs. 33 on the dial.
2. On paper, the 802's do go down deeper and with slightly less distortion. I suspect the extra tightness of the 802 is likely due to the 40 hour breakin of the 803. My experience has been they need about 100 hours to reach full "tightness" Another factor contributing to the tightness is the 802 do come on a plinth. The 804/803 on bare carpet will sound a bit loose. Placed on granite or a similar stand, they will sound tighter and more defined in the bass region.
3. The midrange of the 802 should be better than the 803... that is why we pay the big bucks for the Marlan head. A slight improvement to the FST "frame" (somebody said this was just a "change" in manufacturing technique and not an "improvement" soundwise) and a change of magnet is not enough to overcome the lack of the marlan head. Like somebody else says, the 803D doesn't have the "physics to win"
4. I had no idea what to expect with the diamond tweeter (so many different opinions on that), so thanks for your opinion on that. However, for $3000 more (assuming $1000 is for the rest of the minor upgrades), the new 802D seems overpriced. Hopefully my local dealer will get the new line in soon so I can listen for myself!
