B&W 800 D4's, Room size, & general Q's

[battbot]

Hey all,

Not sure if this was the appropriate sub-forum, I'm pretty new to all this stuff, and would appreciate any insight you can offer. I am building a new home (almost complete), and leaning towards adding a pair of B&W 800 series D4 to my office. The room is approximately 18'x17'x10'H. Not sure if this makes a difference, but my builder has sound proofed the right side wall where I plan to place the towers in front of (see pic), as well as the ceiling. I'm not sure what he used to sound proof, but it's behind the dry wall & some wood paneling. In the pic, the "furniture" isn't to scale or anything, just a rough estimate.

My questions:

1. For this room size, would the B&W 802 D4 be the correct choice in the 800 series lineup? Or should I go bigger (801 D4) or smaller (803 D4)?
2. Does it matter that my towers will be off center within the room itself?
3. Would it be a waste to spend this much on a sound system when I did not specifically design the room to be used as a hifi listening room?
4. What electronics would you recommend to pair with the B&W's? I was leaning towards all McIntosh.

My max budget is around $100,000 all in for this sound system. B&W 802 D4's + McIntosh would get me to around $50k, and I'd be content spending only that amount. That being said, I'm open to suggestions other than B&W and/or McIntosh electronics (i.e. if there are electronics that pair better with B&W). Thanks in advance!

 

[NTK]

Welcome to ASR.

What you are considering would be a very nice system indeed. I'm pretty certain in a room of your size your ears will give in well before the 802D4. Others here may comment on the often poor measured performance of B&W speakers, but I wouldn't worry about it. If your heart likes the B&Ws, your "ears" will too.

With asymmetrical speaker placement, you may want to consider balancing the left speaker reflection with some heavy drapes along the wall. Below is a picture of how Dr. Floyd Toole did with his room. You may also want to have some heavy drapes behind your listening seats to minimize the reflections from the wall/windows behind. (Source: link)

I'd also suggest considering additional acoustic treatments. Don't know what you have planned for the front wall (the wall behind your speakers). If you are thinking of leaving it blank, I would recommend treating it with diffractors to scatter the sound reflections. Similarly for the ceiling too. For your reference, RPG Acoustical offers a wide variety of acoustic treatment shapes. (They aren't the only of such suppliers.)
https://www.rpgacoustic.com/qrd-734/

Have fun.

 

[hardisj]

Others here may comment on the often poor measured performance of B&W speakers, but I wouldn't worry about it. If your heart likes the B&Ws, your "ears" will too.

x2.

 

[Matias]

I would try to position the speaker on the top wall and reposition the recliners down there next to the door. Too good a system to have issues with asymmetric side reflections. Congrats in advance!

 

[battbot]

Thanks for the input, all. I'm not dead set on B&W 802 D4's. I'm also considering the Kef Blade 2's or Focal Scala Utopia Evo's... and still researching others. If symmetry is that important then yea I can def consider different room arrangements to achieve that.

 

[battbot]

How about this set-up? This allows the speakers to be symmetrical from the walls.

 

[Matias]

This positioning is a lot better imo. Those are all great speakers, auditioning them in dealers is mandatory imo.

 

[Purité Audio]

Auditioning in your own room is, if not mandatory highly advisable.
Keith

 

[battbot]

Is home auditioning something most dealers allow? Anyone know of any good dealers in VA?

 

[Godataloss]

Considering your budget, I think the B&W is kind of a pedestrian choice regardless of what you think of their performance. Personally I'd be looking to audition the largest MBL Radialstrahler I could afford or some of the transcendentally beautiful offerings Volti Audio manufactures. The MBLs would be easy to place in your room as well. /my .02

 

[Purité Audio]

Volti are some of the worst measuring loudspealers currently available and Omni’s are good for parties, apparently.
Keith

 

[LTig]

I'd like to throw in a few active alternatives which I think will deliver a more accurate sound than B&W (in no particular order):

• Neumann Kh420 with KH870 subs
• Genelec 8531b with W371A and maybe additional 7370 or 7380 subs
• Grimm Audio LS1be with LS1s-dmf subs
• Kii Three with BXT subs
• JBL M2 with external amplification and maybe additional subs
• Dutch & Dutch 8C with subs

 

[Deleted member 27948]

When you buy such hi-end loudspeakers, you are expected to invest at least 50% of their cost into the room acoustic, to keep DRR under -30dB and RT60 < 250ms. That's what I've done with JmLab' 918 ca 1995:

 

[hardisj]

Is home auditioning something most dealers allow? Anyone know of any good dealers in VA?

you might want to look at Crutchfield or Audio Advice. Both are in North Carolina and may be a reasonable drive from you. Alternatively, I think both have a pretty good return system where you can order a few different things to try out in your own home and send back what you did not like.

 

[Godataloss]

Volti are some of the worst measuring loudspealers currently available and Omni’s are good for parties, apparently.
Keith

Meh, hyperbole. He's already evinced an indifference to measurements.

 

[Frgirard]

When you buy such hi-end loudspeakers, you are expected to invest at least 50% of their cost into the room acoustic, to keep DRR under -30dB and RT60 < 250ms. That's what I've done with JmLab' 918 ca 1995:View attachment 150988

Rt60 in a room? A rt60 is a property of a room where the sound have the same amplitude whatever the direction.
The measurements of the rt60 must be performed with special speaker and balloons bursting in various places in the room.
And https://gearspace.com/board/showpost.php?p=15449849&postcount=607

The ebu recommend
A ddr under -10 dB for an accurate listening.

A low decay in low Frequency is recommended: 400 ms. The rest of the bandwidth is 200ms.

-30dB is a sport useless when you do not have a stereo image to build.

But i agree, the room is the bigger issue.

 

[FeddyLost]

While speakers choise is important, i'd consider proper measurement of soundproofing both ways if this matters.
As i assume, it's private house made from some wood and plasterboard, so bass transmission will be really bad for all adjacent rooms.
I'd ask some sound consultant to measure sound attenuation and then decide how bassy and how loud these speakers can be.
It will be very bad if you buy huge floorstanders cost like new car and then limit them after family argues.

 

[Bear123]

How about a pair of Revel F208, or F226/228/328 Be if you want their top of the line.
Add a pair of Rythmik E15HP2 subs in order to get good quality bass.
Anthem STR integrated amp for bass management and eq(necessary for high fidelity, skip "pure" 2.0)
Umik-1 mic and REW to ensure an accurate in room response.

WAAAY under budget, and will trump any 2.0 system at any cost.

Be wary about the thought process of "pairing" certain electronics and speakers. This speaks of age old audiophile myths that electronics impart some kind of coloration or change to the sound(low fidelity products may). If electronics alter the sound other than with intentional eq, you don't have a high fidelity product.

 

[txbdan]

Read this forum a lot before you spend any money.