B&W 800D4 series

[MarcT]

805 D4 Signature on SoundStage + NRC. That is one hot tweeter response!

Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature Loudspeaker

Yep, that looks pretty much like what I've heard from B&W Diamond speakers at audio shows. A real high "ringy" sound.

 

[thewas]

A 5 dB bass and treble bathtub curve, sounds probably quite impressive at low listening SPLs.

 

[MediumRare]

A 5 dB bass and treble bathtub curve, sounds probably quite impressive at low listening SPLs.

Also, don’t toe them in. Also, how damped is your room? Also, how old are one’s ears? Also, very low distortion. Also, there is some HF compression above 80 dB. For some folks/situations they’ll sound harsh, but not for all.

 

[MasterApex]

Not a perfect speaker but one of the best sounding in term of transparency, dynamic , presence and soundstage imaging for its price.
In addition, to the good look , reliability, access to spare parts and resale value.

 

[MattHooper]

Not a perfect speaker but one of the best sounding in term of transparency, dynamic , presence and soundstage imaging for its price.
In addition, to the good look , reliability, access to spare parts and resale value.

Those measurements are taken from my friend’s review samples.

He can certainly hear the lack of neutrality, but he has been utterly smitten with the sound. For him, they are sounding incredibly open, ultra detailed, and ultra clear, with great dynamics and liveliness and extremely smooth - not in terms of flat frequency response, but in terms of the cleanliness and clarity, which for him makes the sculpted frequency response actually
“ work.”

I haven’t been able to hear them myself, but having listened to the floor standing D models I can understand what he means.
(For me they are a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live in B&W land - his taste in loudspeakers is more flexible than mine).

 

[markstein]

Yep, that looks pretty much like what I've heard from B&W Diamond speakers at audio shows. A real high "ringy" sound.

Truly horrible.

Very interesting that people actually can like them.

 

[witwald]

805 D4 Signature on SoundStage + NRC. That is one hot tweeter response!

Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature Loudspeaker

Not to mention those sharp little resonance peaks at around 700Hz and 1.3kHz. I wonder what they are caused by in a speaker at this price point?

The B&W 805 Signature seems to be well and truly following in the footsteps of the B&W 705 S3.

Source: NRC Measurements: Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 Loudspeaker

Compare the on-axis response curves of the 705 S3 and 805 Signature to the 1977-vintage B&W DM6. There seems to be a huge difference in their design philosophy.

 

[Ashl777]

Truly horrible.

Very interesting that people actually can like them.

Would be interesting what speakers you would say sound good for interest sake. I have owned from s series to d,d1,d2 and d3. Some at the same time and put the d2 at the top for best balance.

 

[markstein]

I like to see a linear on axis frequency response and a smooth directivity.

Why would I want to listen to a massively voiced loudspeaker?

 

[LTig]

Not a perfect speaker but one of the best sounding in term of transparency, dynamic , presence and soundstage imaging for its price.
In addition, to the good look , reliability, access to spare parts and resale value.

I disagree, at least regarding the reference model 800D4. I listened to it during a workshop by the infamous Matthias Böde from German hifi mag stereo at the local dealer. Böde plays very loud, and the higher piano notes were hurting my ears (and those of the people around me) with their sharp pearcing attack. Even for free I wouldn't let them in my room.

 

[LTig]

I like to see a linear on axis frequency response and a smooth directivity.

Why would I want to listen to a massively voiced loudspeaker?

Yep. With K&H O300D/Genelec 7060b in the living room and Genelec 8020a/Neuman KH750DSP on the desktop I'm just spoiled.

 

[markstein]

Here: KH310 and 2x KH810 in the living room and KH120 on the desk. Both with EQ.

 

[Arindal]

There seems to be a huge difference in their design philosophy.

If I recall it correctly, they several times changed their course of design and tonality goals over the past decades forth and back. To be fair, the latest designs seemingly aim for response at 30deg horizontally and averaged over the listening window, so I would not necessarily expect a perfectly flat response on axis from such a design.

 

[Sokel]

Not to mention those sharp little resonance peaks at around 700Hz and 1.3kHz. I wonder what they are caused by in a speaker at this price point?

The B&W 805 Signature seems to be well and truly following in the footsteps of the B&W 705 S3.
View attachment 460738
Source: NRC Measurements: Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 Loudspeaker

Compare the on-axis response curves of the 705 S3 and 805 Signature to the 1977-vintage B&W DM6. There seems to be a huge difference in their design philosophy.

View attachment 460739

DM6 shows a 3-meter away measurement, I would expect some attenuation up high at this distance.

But yes, older models didn't have this elevated highs philosophy.

 

[Westsounds]

"Biomimetic Suspension technologies" reminds me of the retro encabulator

Omg what a sales pitch, my head was spinning halfway. Some speaker cable makers can go as far.