B&W 800D4 series

[Matias]

One thing that I found strange is the tweeter housing. I thought they had this long shape in order to damp the sound behind the driver ("Nautilus tapered damping tubes"). But instead of a long hollow tube with precise geometry, these have mounting blocks right behind the tweeter. Doesn't this defeat the purpose? Has this become a visual art housing more than functional engineering?

 

[bo_knows]

One thing that I found strange is the tweeter housing. I thought they had this long shape in order to damp the sound behind the driver ("Nautilus tapered damping tubes"). But instead of a long hollow tube with precise geometry, these have mounting blocks right behind the tweeter. Doesn't this defeat the purpose? Has this become a visual art housing more than functional engineering?

View attachment 149486

Good question, I can't tell from this picture if a tube is fully closed for the backwave.

 

[bo_knows]

I’d love to work there…polishing turbine heads ;-)

Hehe, clever
What am I going to do there? Ride the forklift?

 

[bo_knows]

One thing that I found strange is the tweeter housing. I thought they had this long shape in order to damp the sound behind the driver ("Nautilus tapered damping tubes"). But instead of a long hollow tube with precise geometry, these have mounting blocks right behind the tweeter. Doesn't this defeat the purpose? Has this become a visual art housing more than functional engineering?

View attachment 149486

I don't think mount for the tweeter is fully sealed. I could be wrong.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Has this become a visual art housing more than functional engineering?

Probably. The D3 tapered tube was much shorter than the D2's and now the D4 is at least as long as the D2's. And all of these iterations is / was supposed to be an improvement.

In the end the only thing that matters is performance, which can be measured with reasonable accuracy.

 

[Pearljam5000]

 

[DACs_Lover]

From the day I found Audiosciencereview website. I give little weight to a subjective reviewer.

If it's better, it must come up with a better measurement. Not just claim / newer decoration. A white paper like KEF ref should be provided.

Nice VDO presentation / black & White contrasty setup / Smooth talk like Wilson Audio presentation looks expensive but it will not get me to buy any more.

 

[bo_knows]

Interesting video showing B&W listening room and the treatments.
I was surprised to see how side walls were not treated and how far they were sitting from the speakers. They were exposed to a LOT of reflections.
Also, how far the speakers were pulled away from the front wall. Wondering if those treatments were diaphragmatic absorbers to help out with SBI.

http://arqen.com/acoustics-101/speaker-placement-boundary-interference/

"However, for large speakers with a low cut-off frequency (like active 3-way main monitoring systems), the distance needed to bump the cancellation frequencies below the LF cut-off simply becomes too big for most listening rooms and control rooms. "

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

Not treating the sidewalls and sitting far away makes sense to me. That's how most of the customers will setup their speakers.

I don't understand why they pull them away from wall. That's not typical. I think most of these will just be setup in living rooms.

 

[A Surfer]

Heck not treating any aspects of the room is probably how most customers have their rooms. I am sure some deep pockets can afford to design a fully treated room, or the odd DIY enthusiast such as frequents audio forums.

 

[Senior NEET Engineer]

That's a "large" dedicated room. Some acoustic treatments are needed to bring the balance closer to a furnished space.

With 20 panels, the decay time at my listening position is still 500ms. It's a lot cheaper if you DIY, like most audio things.

 

[bo_knows]

Not treating the sidewalls and sitting far away makes sense to me. That's how most of the customers will setup their speakers.

I don't understand why they pull them away from wall. That's not typical. I think most of these will just be setup in living rooms.

"Not treating the sidewalls and sitting far away makes sense to me. That's how most of the customers will setup their speakers." Agree. I would think they can "customize/re-arrange" the room treatments and sit closer for the speaker "tuning" phase. Moving the speakers from the front and the sidewall will improve the "soundstage" and maybe that is one of the more important aspects of testing. I doubt without some EQ, the bass will be flat even though the room is large enough for more evenly spaced room modes. Especially if those are concrete walls. It would be cool if we can find out what type of treatments they are using. I'm sure they have multiple listening rooms but this one has a testing lab look and feel.

 

[bo_knows]

Did you guys notice what's powering those 801D4?

I took a shot and tried to figure out what was the distance between tweeters.
My guess, the room is probably approximately 16 feet wide, 26-28 feet long, and 9 feet tall.
Now, where are the cable risers?

 

[ti33er]

What are those Amplifiers [edit] my bad I thought they were these bad boys I once heard on the original 800D https://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/878/index.html

 

[Kal Rubinson]

They look more like Levinsons to me.

 

[bo_knows]

They look more like Levinsons to me.

Mark Levinson monoblock amplifier 33h?

 

[Ron Texas]

With this refresh and the much higher prices I would venture B&W is attempting a Veblen goods marketing approach.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Mark Levinson monoblock amplifier 33h?

That's what they were using in their old listening room when I visited for a sneak peek at the D3 release. Something about the Classe amps being non-functional.

 

[DACs_Lover]

With this refresh and the much higher prices I would venture B&W is attempting a Veblen goods marketing approach.

I just know the word Veblen goods. Thank you.

 

[tuga]

The newest innovation from Bowers & Wilkins is the all-new composite Biomimetic Suspension that replaces the conventional fabric spider with a minimalist composite suspension system. The technology greatly reduces unwanted air pressure (or sound) that a conventional fabric spider can generate in a midrange cone.

But does it Spin right?