The only B&W speaker I've heard that engaged me was the PM1, which has a completely different voicing than their go-to sound. I have a question for those who say these have sounded great with the right gear: was the fatiguing nature of the speaker tamed?
I have a question for those who say these have sounded great with the right gear: was the fatiguing nature of the speaker tamed?
Never fatigued by the sound!
This is similar to "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?". My 801Ds aren't fatiguing either, running them via the Krell EV403.
Lee
B&W has one of the oldest and largest research and engineering departments in the world, yet some here would have you believe they don't know how to build a quality speaker.
I heard these a couple of years ago at a familiar local dealer which does a good business from the B&W line. To me, the upper frequencies sounded just about the way I would expect, given Stereophile's measurements of the more expensive B&W 800 Diamond. See figure 4 at this page. For example, on very familiar discs which I've used for testing purposes for years, soprano voices had too much sibilance and struck cymbals had too much crash, sizzle, and air compared to the strike sound. Not a terrible sounding upper range, but not something I would want to hear every day, and especially not for $15,000+.
Peaky high-end response is all too common in expensive, audiophile-oriented speakers today. B&W is by no means alone in making expensive speakers which measure and sound this way compared to real unamplified music. And many people seem to like them a lot, so B&W has little incentive to offer a "more musical" balance. Tastes change. Today, few people seem to like speakers with an easy, relaxed high frequency range, such as you get with Harbeth or Stirling speakers, which I greatly prefer in tonal balance to the current B&W offerings.
Today, there seems to be greater concern about SPL capability than on musicality.
Yeah definitely agree with that, I feel like my other half has gone for cushions the size of elephant's backside!......
I have read in a review than many manufacturers have speakers with a rising high treble because many consumers do not accept to toe-in speakers for cosmetic reasons and they need to compensate for off-axis listening. Also typical UK living rooms are high absorptive, with heavy curtains and large sofas.
I have read in a review than many manufacturers have speakers with a rising high treble because many consumers do not accept to toe-in speakers for cosmetic reasons and they need to compensate for off-axis listening. Also typical UK living rooms are high absorptive, with heavy curtains and large sofas.
The further I explore set up, the further my 802 diamonds reveal themselves to me. What I'm hearing now through the them I didn't think possible a few months ago. They are an explicit sounding but in no way harsh at all. I drive them with a Dartzeel 18/108 using both cd and vinyl and they sound wonderful. I have heard several iterations of them and harsh is not something I would describe them as. So they may not be perfect but they at least are very competent and very revealing. Set up/placement of my system has changed their sound dramatically without touching the speakers at all. I would encourage most people who are in the market for a speaker of this value to dem them as they do a lot right. They may not be for all but when set up well in a good system they can sound startlingly good.
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