In need of new front stage speakers

[981]

I’m in need of new front speakers , and I’m kind of debating between a set of M&K s150 and the new B&w 804d4
the in wall surrounds and in ceiling speaker are all B&W , I’ve heard good things about the M$K but never had a chance to actually listen to them as we don’t have a dealer here , the B&w I had a short listen a couple of days ago at MAGNOLIAS’s but they were not fully broken in yet and they were too close to the back wall , they sounded bass heavy and the highs a little distorted , the sales person moved them out a few inches but not enough to make a difference , the 3 front M&k will cost less than half the price of the 3 B&w , will it make that much of the difference if they don’t match the rest of the speakers? Are they as good as everyone claims?
any advice Will be greatly appreciated
thanks
L

 

[981]

Wow 64 views and not one response

 

[Conrad]

Not a lot of love for B&W on the forum, and even less outside the 600 range.
I haven't heard the M&Ks but by all accounts the D4s are spectactular. Whether they're worth the price bump over the D3s seems to be a bit of a question though. Would you consider used D3s? That might save you a chunk.

You also don't talk about your split between movies and music. I would guess that the B&Ws would be better than the M&Ks with music but the M&Ks might have a more "cinematic" sound. For me, a good speaker is a good speaker, they should reproduce exactly what they're fed. It's why I'm not interested in changing my N802s for something that's only really good for movies, even though most of my use is movie watching.

Also, if you can, step up to the 803s, or go down to the 805s and get one (or more) subwoofer to go with them.

 

[Topmetom 2]

If you have b&w already and cant change id go for the best b&w you can afford..and fit in![FS] - B&W 804s Loudspeakers - Rosenut

 

[981]

Sorry, these are strictly for movies in a dedicated room . As I understand, if I went with the 804’s or 803’s I’ll have to buy 3 matching towers as their html center is not an exact match . Currently using a single JL audio f112 v2 for sub

 

[Conrad]

Will they sell you a single tower?

I use N802s and the HTM1 center and they match fine.
the bass drivers are different sizes, but if you're crossing over to a sub that won't be a problem.

The HTM82 is the same drivers as the 804, it's basically the same speaker in a different box.

 

[Gasp3621]

I’m in need of new front speakers , and I’m kind of debating between a set of M&K s150 and the new B&w 804d4
the in wall surrounds and in ceiling speaker are all B&W , I’ve heard good things about the M$K but never had a chance to actually listen to them as we don’t have a dealer here , the B&w I had a short listen a couple of days ago at MAGNOLIAS’s but they were not fully broken in yet and they were too close to the back wall , they sounded bass heavy and the highs a little distorted , the sales person moved them out a few inches but not enough to make a difference , the 3 front M&k will cost less than half the price of the 3 B&w , will it make that much of the difference if they don’t match the rest of the speakers? Are they as good as everyone claims?
any advice Will be greatly appreciated
thanks
L

There you have it. The dealer can tell you what ever stories he wants, but the magical break in won´t change them! 800 D4 haven`t got much of praise quite the opposite overly bright sounding and can easilly become tiring. They are nothing what Conrad has as he`s lot older and very different, many actually prefers those old ones over the newer D2-D4. I don`t see why you would pay such high price for high end speakers if dedicated room - movies 100% where the looks shouldn`t go over sound/performance.

Look in to JTR, JBL, Procella to name few which most people would take over shiny B&Ws any day and twice on sundays! M&K is solid choice and many here at AVF have swapped expensive B&Ws to them if you search. Of course you need to still hear them too, played loud in demo room preferably to see are they your liking.

 

[Conrad]

Placement is important with them, although mine are pretty forgiving. I have them stuck in a corner and they still sound great, I cross over to multiple subs though, which probably helps.

I prefer the sound of mine over the newer Ds, I heard the D3s a while ago and didn't want to upgrade at all.

You also need some serious amplification to run the 800 series, at least you do for the older ones. They respond well to high current amplification. That's true of my 805s, 804s, and 802s.

 

[981]

i found a dealer willing to let me try the M&k for 60 days , 30 days to break them in and 30 days to fall in love with them (according to the salesman)
they are a lot less $$$ than the B&W , so I’ll start there

 

[Gasp3621]

i found a dealer willing to let me try the M&k for 60 days , 30 days to break them in and 30 days to fall in love with them (according to the salesman)
they are a lot less $$$ than the B&W , so I’ll start there

That is great to hear! While the 800 D4 speakers looks absolutely fantastic you would be still paying some crazy money for speakers that small group of people enjoy for 2ch listening and i find many actually haven`t liked the D4s at demo cause every year they raise the highs higher (more treble). After B&W ownership changed the speakers measure like rollercoaster which is intentional, quite rare these days as Harman studies shows this is not prefered by most listeners. It`s very clear they do have special house sound. I would understand person who is rich and want exotically finished high end speakers for music listening and lounge cinema, but i don´t understand why one would put those in dark HT theater as there is cheaper and better choices for that. Accurate speakers that are made for theater use without "coloured" sound that can handle high SPL with low distortion, example S150!

S150 have been used in many big budget movies by film studios (sound production). S150 has THX Ultra rating so if you have THX Ultra rated amplification or one that offers similar performance then it guarantees that S150 can be played at ref volume in 3,000 cubic foot room with 12 foot viewing distance. Reviews claim they sound great even with midrange receivers (Denon X4x00 etc), but when fed +200w poweramp at high SPL they can sound even better.

Come back tell us your findings after you have given them some hours - the "break in period" is lot about listener getting used to new sound!