A quick feedback of my listening to the 8351B/8361 with the W371A. First of all, thanks to the Chopin Center team who spared no time or efforts for us, and of course thanks to Bernard, a cool guy, very passionnate about sound.
As for the listening test itself, well, I must confess I felt a little bit frustrated, because the Chopin Center hasn't downloaded the musical list Bernard and I have studied and proposed for the test. And Bernard and the CC team discussed a lot during the session about calibration or other technical issues. I undersantd it quite weel, but it was difficult for me to stay focused and concentrated on the sound. In the end, i listened only 4 short extracts among those I had chosen, that's obviously not enough to jump definitely on conclusions or make a very precise judgment on the sound.
So consider what follows as only a subjective short impression.
I have no doubt this is a system with a fantastic potential anyway. As expected, it sounds immediately very precise and dynamic, without harsness (on the very few tracks I heard), with very deep bass extension and very high SPL if we push it, but I can't tell more and you knew this alreday. Oh, yes, one more thing : the system needs A LOT OF SPACE to breathe, the CC room was, in my opinion, too small though well treated. On several occasions, I felt overwhelmed by the sound and asked to turn down the level (I don't like to listen loud and I mostly appreciate finesse in classical, jazz).
So, for musical pleasure listening in small or middle size rooms, I can't recommend this system, be it with the 8361 B or the 8361 (I won't tell this for for pro sound guys, who sometimes need ultra precise near or midfield listening at high level for a short moment).
But for music lovers, It's kinda of an "overkill", except if you have a (very) large room with good acoustics. In such optimal conditions, these systems rank (probably) among the most impressive and accurate you could buy. How do they precisely compare with other large SOTA systems (for example very large PMC, ATC, Quested, Meyer sound Bluehorn, JBL M2+ sub, well I don't know at all. having not listened to all of these. In the end, beyond a certain level of objective and measured performance, it'all a matter of personal taste, even fot the pro guys.
And what about the difference between the combo equipped with the 51 B or the 61 ? Of course, I noticed too a difference, not huge, but audible. But I can't tell which combo i prefer because I haven't heard a single track I have chosen with the 8361, only with the 8351 B. And the subjective impression of more power and deepness with the 8361, to sum it up an even more impressive and envelopping sound, doesn't mean this is necessarily better. And this impression may be psychologically reinforced by the much more intrusive size of the 8361, we are all aware of visual or psy biases in the listening process. And the SPL level was not precisely equalled between the two combes, the 8361 was used only in the last 15 minutes.
By the way, I was really surprised by the considerable difference of size between these 2 models. The whole system W371A/8361 looks definitely a monster. With the 8351, it looks "only" pretty large.
