anyone had a listen to the b w 803d's

I agree 100% with S7horton. They are a good speaker and I have liked them every time I have heard them (even on cheap rotel stuff). But there are better deals out there.

To me B&W (I have owned a few) have a slight coloration in the upper mids. But that can also give them a very sweet lush sound. I feel the highs on the all the Ds are top notch and possibly of my favoritt of any brand.

There are some used Wilson Sophias on here for $6,000 which IMO would better the 803Ds.

As always uses your own ears.

I have found Marantz to sound pretty good and be very under rated. It is hard to say because B&Ws are one of the few brands that REALLY need lots of power... You can get lots of power cheap from Rotel (very cheap used). I heard The 803D back to back on Classe' amps and rotel amps. The Classe's were a bit better but if you did not hear them back to back you may not know what you were missing.

So what would you be missing with Rotel? IMO a bit of treble refinement and a touch of bass control at higher volumes.

Also most people seem to think the Sophias are pretty easy to drive but still diverse good equipment.