B&W 800D or 802D Cosmetic Issues

Thank you Zd542 and Kr4. And i agree with your feedback, i have owned few pairs of 700's and 800's series prior to purchasing 800d's, never experienced any issues with the finish.

The dealer is local, and when i contacted B&W US distribution in Massachusetts, they referred me back to my dealer.

IMO, the imperfections are not a result of a shipping damage. The scratches on Marlan head are not on the surface, they are embeded in the finish. These imperfections seems to stem from improper buffing process at the factory. And tweeter tube have paint lines, dribs like the ones you get from using a paint brush.

It's taken lot of pursuasion on my part to convince my dealer to order me another pair. I was quite amused when i was told by my dealer that B&W tolerence of Q.C. is far below than my tolenrence of Q.C or perfection...LOL!!!

I keep asking myself, why can't I obtain a pair of B&W flagship speakers in identical and perfect finish....is that too much to ask at 24K price point?

I wonder what would it take for someone at B&W - Massachusetts or West Sussex office to address these serious issues with the quality control?

Stay tuned and thank you for your feedback.

Thank you for sharing the video.

Hello Zd542,

I have asked for a replacement pair. I don't want to mess with changing out driver and tweeter from the existing housing to the new one. Who's to say, there won't be any issues with the assembly. A brand new pair, free from any blemishes is what i expected and that's what i should get.

I waited almost 5 years to get the 800D,they better be perfect....LOL!!!

"The new 800 (D3)series is here, see if you can upgrade them"

Yup, I spotted them in youtube video yesterday. For some reason, B&W decided to hold off the release of 800D3 until spring 2016. I have my heart set up on 800's and really don't care for 802's.

But it would be worth looking into the newer 800D3 next year if my dealer failed to provide the replacement pair of 800D's. Did you notice the 800D3 price expected to around 35K and 802D3 at 24K?

"Wet sanded and/or buffed out"

Really? Is that what you did with your new car or speaker....LOL!!!

The dealer already agreed that these imperfections in finish cannot be buffed out and replacement is the only way to go.

Thank you for offering the remedy for scratches but I think you missed the point of this thread.

At 24k price point, brand new flagship speakers should be perfect in fit and finish.

Bcgator.....That's exactly my point.

Unfortunately, second pair showed with cosmetic imperfections as well. To make the matters worse, there are no more 800D2's available. B&W discontinued the production of 800D2 series couple of months ago. The focus is now on B&W 800D3 series.

The dealer and B&W USA group offered to replace the defective Marlan head and tweeter on the second pair.

I hope another 2-3 weeks of delay is worth the wait...what a nightmare.

Zd542....unfortunately, both pairs have cosmetic issues not just one speaker. Let's see what happens, dealer is trying to swap out the parts with blemishes.

What do you think about the new series? I have not warmed up to the looks quite yet. I did not care for bass cones sticking out of the cabinet, like alien eyes..LOL!! Marlan head is bit sleeker and the new tweeter tube is shorter in length. The only striking part for me is the aluminium back panel that now house crossover and binding posts. I think most people would love the fact that the newer series (803 and above) will have a smaller foot print.

Thank you all your insights...I can't even began to imagine if dealer is trying to sell the B-stock or demo pairs as new.

I have been trying to work out the solution but my patience is wearing thin. The dealer is very reluctant to take back the pair at my home and don't wanna talk about refund either.

I am leaning towards asking credit card company to step in and sort out this mess.

Zd, great post. Like you said, you can't under estimate the importance of a 'sound' dealer.

I have asked my dealer to replace the Marlan head and tweeter tube on the 2nd pair in his warehouse. And made it very clear that after this replacement, if the pair doesn't look 'new' he should be prepared to issue us a refund. Guess what, I have not heard back from my dealer since and it's been 5 days.

Clearly, he doesn't want to refund the money. I think he is in same predicament as I am, he is not 100% confident that the speaker will look as new after the replacement.

I feel that speakers were B-stock's and he received a pretty good 'kick' from B&W to move these speakers. Like you said, he gambled with these speakers thinking that buyer won't inspect the speakers with fine tooth and comb.

I look back at this transaction and couple of things bothers me now, my dealer knew that the newer D3 series will be out in couple of month, cause he admitted to me that B&W ceased production of D2 series around June. He could have told me that you may wanna wait for the newer series or the 800D's in B&W distribution center may have some cosmetic issues due to being the last batch.

He also told me that these speakers were special order for me. And I said, if you don't stock any high $$ merchandise and order once customer pays you then it shouldn't be considered as 'special' order. I inquired for 802 and 800 along with Classe M600 with this dealer for about 6 months and they never seem to have any of these items in stock for a walk-in customer.

As a consumer, it shouldn't be my problem what my dealer needs to pull to get me a factory fresh mint pair of 800D's. I walked into dealership thinking I am buying a brand new pair and that's what I should get for my money.

Long story short, the dealer end up replacing the Marlan head and tweeter tube on one of the speaker.  The whole experience kinda left a bad taste and took away the joy of buying a 'new' pair.