B&W 803D or Dynaudio C2's

Hi, me again.
He has a SunFire TG3 surround receiver.
They wanted $10K for the C2's, and $8 for the 803D's.
Turns out he thought the Dynaudio's were all better except for the Diamond tweeter in the B&W 803D's.
So what does $6K to $8K buy someone used these days?
Some of the (spelling?) Von Schweekert (?) 4's compare?
Thanks

C2's... just amazing. I heard the 803D's..... they were very good, but the Dyns are just a whole other flavor.. which I think is a step above in all categories.

I second the C2's, very impressive. You should be able to find a used pair in your $6-8K price range.

Absolutely agree. The C2's are in antoher league compared to the B&W's. I own the C4s myself, and chose them after auditioning everythin under the sun that I could listen to.

I recently heard the 804S vs. the contour 5.4. B&W clearly was the better speaker---the first B&W i've liked.

That said, the confidence series is another animal which i'd like ot audition (and i was hoping they had C1s there).

KR

Howdy,
wondering as I've been looking on A-Gon, how do the M series DynAudio's compare? They were $16k available for $8K.
Also the PSB Platinum T8 is on his short list.
he's not heard them yet, but I am wondering if having two tweeters wouldn't smear the the instrument imaging.
Anyone heard these?
Thanks for the information so far.

The M series are more of a pro audio monitor. I actually use quite a bit of their pro line in my studio. (Air 20's, BM15A's) I love them, but they are not in the audiophile communities eyes a "listening" speaker. I work on them because they are acurate and can tell me the mistakes that I make in my mixes, and are also fun to listen to music, but I dont think I would throw them in my home theater or two channel system. The ones in the classified are far field monitors and are fantastic.

both are good. the b&w 803 by a nose.

The C2 hands down over the B&W's. However, as good as the C2 is, I would opt for the lesser priced Contour S5.4 over it. To my ears the S5.4 is still the best speaker I've heard under $10K when it's adequately powered and setup correctly. The only other speaker I like as well is the Aerial Acoustics Model 9, which is also a phenominal speaker.

I own a pair of C2's. I've never seriously listened to a pair of B&W's, the 803D or otherwise, so I can't add anything to the "which is better" question.

I had my C2's in a 14x18x8 room until recently. I have a Velodyne DD-15 which I sometimes use, sometimes don't. In that room, the bass of the C2's is very satisfying - I could easily imagine a speaker with a deeper low end overpowering a room of that size.

I recently had the opportunity to move the C2's to my LR, which is more like 20x40 and opens to the rest of the house. It is still an extremely satisfying speaker in this environment, but as I listen to mostly rock, blues and jazz, I do plan on experimenting with speakers with a deeper low-end, possibly higher in the Dynaudio line, possibly another manufacturer.

Dyn's always take a little volume before they come "alive" - they're pleasant sounding at low levels, but they really come into their own at medium and louder volumes. This is somewhat less the case in their current models than some of their older models, but it's still the case IMO.

That said, at medium and louder levels, even in the new environment, the C2's have a substantial low end that is tuneful and satisfying. Like any self respecting audio geek, I'd love to get it even "better".

Again, I can't compare it to the 803D's.

Scott, the music is in the midrange. Bass doesn't determine the best speaker, otherwise we'd all just buy a pair of Cerwin Vega's and be done with it.
No one is knocking the B&W 803D's, they are fine speakers, but if you haven't heard the Dynaudio C2's, then cannot understand the differences.

Besides, looking at the specs, the 803D's are -6db @ 28hz, and the C2's are -2db @ 28 hz, so what is your point about bass?

Remember, others prefering other products does not invalidate a purchase decision that you have made. If you are enjoying your 803D's that's all that matters, right?

You're too smart for me Scott. Top to bottom front to back, eh? That's deep.

Actually the 901's are only a dream.....maybe one day I could afford such great speakers........... :)

Enjoy your 803D's, not to worry, ignorance is bliss.

Like I said.............

Jmcgrogan2- have you heard the 803Ds?

Cheers,

KeithR

Keith, yes, I have, as well as the 802D and 800D. As I said earlier, they are very nice speakers. The Dynaudio C2's are better though. I understand that all of this is subjective though, and that some may prefer the 803D sound. Not everyone understands this though.

The B&W were slightly more dynamic, but the Dynaudio's presented more timbral accuracy and better soundstaging.
In the end, I chose neither, but the Dynaudio C4's came in second to a pair of Verity Audio Parsifal Encore's.

If simply looking for dynamic capabilities, I think the Von Schweikert VR-4 SR's will best the B&W's in this price range as well.

Cheers,
John

JMCGROGAN, what would you say were the comparatives between the Dynaudio and the Von Schweikert JR4's?
I thank everyone for their useful input.

both are balanced, but the 803 plays real bass too.

The Von Schweikert's would be a tad more dynamic, the Dynaudio's would win everything else.
To be honest, it's not really fair to compare the VSR-4 Jr's with the Dynaudio C2's or C4's. The Dyne's sell for 3-4 times the VSR-4 Jr's price tag.

I have heard all these speakers, and they are all excellent in their own way. The Dynaudio to me were very nice, neutral presentation, B&W 803d very....Well B&W I guess, which I love. The Verity, simply awesome, but in a different price range.

In the end I choose 803D, because thats my preference. In fact, after hearing them, I quickly sold my old speakers and put $5k down on a new set-should have in a month. But quite honestly, I wouldn't complain if ended up with any of the speakers, they are all excellent.

It`s really a personal preference. I have heard the 803S ,804s, and 803D. They have more of a flat neutral sound to me. The tweeter a bit over powering on some music. I have auditioned B&W , revel,Theil,Sonus faber,Monitor Platinum(ribbon tweeter no competition)I have not heard the wilson, or harbeth and have heard great reviews. I think hands down, the Dyn`s have taken the cake. The tweeter is like no other.The depth and lifelike sound, just cannot be beat. I personally like to run all danish interconnects as well with my separates. Chord anthem XLR are fantastic, along with Audience power cords. It will take a while to burn them in, and dont be afraid to give the Dyn`s some power. They starve for good clean WPC. Just my 2 cents.

I haved owned b&w and demoed most of their 800 line.

There are more accurate speakers out there but the 803d and up are a fun speaker. I demoed the Sophia 3 and 802diamond in the same room/system (AR gear) back to back and was more engaged with the 802diamond. Maybe it was the boom and tizzle affect but what mattered is both we're enjoyable and that is what this is all about anyway. The sound stage was wider in the midrange on the Sophia's but the bass and highs were more dynamic/punchy with better snap on the 802diamond.

The next week I demoed the Revel Salon 2, now there is a speaker with almost no faults. There are some used Salon/Studio 2s on here you may want to add to your list too. They are more accurate than the 803 (never hear the C2) and just as fun. The 803 sweet spot is a lot smaller than the wide even dispersion of the revel line. The revel mids are cleaner with more detail and the highs are a wash. The revel highs are more detailed and delicate but the b&w diamonds throw a very wide real sounding cymbal crash.

I have heard the 803d and 802d in the same system back to back and the 802d's midrange is a lot more open (less box coloration... well none). It would be worth the extra money IMO if you go b&w.

I owend the Nautilus 802N and the 800S. Thing I loved was the focus. And the sound during classical music. But there is one very important part what is the weakest point of B&W. They are not the best in making 'perfect'filters for there speakers. They have been always quite poor in depth and in 3d sound. For me is a 3d holographic sound the most thrilling part for highend audio. This is why after 8 years I did not want to continue with B&W. I wanted to take a further step in Highend Audio. And B&W are not able to give me this.

Bo1972,

What did you buy after the B&Ws?

I bought Monitor Audio Pl-300, Pass labs XA100.5, XP-20 and then I uses a Meridian 800Daxv4 as source. Valhalla loudspeakercable. Now I play with Monitor Audio Pl-200 and PLW-15 sub. My amp at this moment is X250.5 ( I think I wil go back to XA100.5 later) and Onkyo PR-SC 5509 with Audessey Pro. Crazy thing is I have a more holographic image then what I had with the XP-20. I play about 4 metres behind the speakers, more then 1 metre beside the speakers. And many recordings also play infront of you. This makes the stage extrremly deep and wide. With Audessey pro does stunning things with focus and depth. I never could hear 2nd and 3th voices on recording this good. I sold my Valhalla, and soon I will test the Audioquest Redwood. Aud

800, 801 and 802 with Nautilus top makes a big difference in focus and authority. But still in 3d and depth some competitors are superior. Ones you heared extreme 3d holographic sound, you do not want to go back. It is not possible!