Hi faust,
I've just received my pair of B&W 805 D3 today and I'm so stoked! I can now give you more objective feedback on the S vs D series B&W 800 series speakers.
Thanks for taking the time introducing yourself above, now I have much better idea what sort of audiophile you are. In general, in the most complimenting way, I think you're very much like my father in speaker taste;
低音要厚實, 交響樂需要氣勢, 但不要胸部撞擊感覺 (British Rega tends to have this chest pounding bass feel)
中音要厚,甜,溫暖, 最好女聲可以聽起來像談情說愛
高音要圓滑, 不能刺耳, 高音是不是很高反而不很重要
If above assumptions are correct, then B&W are definitely speakers that'll meet those expectations. Keeping below very simple, if you want more details on anything, just let me know.
Answer previous questions,
1) 803S vs 803D - save the money and go with 803S
2) Obstruction of frequency - I would call it stuttering or sudden change in sound quality/volume, I just experienced this with the 805D3 out of the box and this is normal too with my previous 805S and 805N. It's both because the woofers need break in and also because the amp is not supplying enough current reserve to push the dynamic range. Not speakers fault, solution here is to break in the speakers for a month at least and get better amp (aka. the big round cylinders you see on Mcintosh and other expensive amps).
3) Diamond tweeters very bright. So far D3 tweeters are less bright than the older S.
4) 805 D3 has to be played at high volume to sound good. This is not true in my listening environment and I feel confident that it is due to the reviewer's amp not good enough. The reviewer paired an amp that does x1.8 not x2 going from 8ohm to 4ohm, so he's attempted to compensate the drop in current by raising volume (more watt). I also previously demoed the 805 D3 at local hifi store using new high end Mcintosh listening in normal volume.
Purely minor suggestions on your equipment below, please don't be offended. You have very good equipment in general but from a simplicity and budget conscious perspective, you have a very complex setup. You have 9 links
1 cd player,
1 preamp
1 amp
3 x power cords
1 optic cable from cd to preamp
1 RCA/XLR from preamp to amp
1 pair speaker cables
each above all influence final sound coming out of your speakers and your system will always sound as good as the weakest part. In comparison, my system only has 4 links and hope to reduce to 3 links in the future. I know you don't want to make big changes so I suggest here that your CD player and optic cable should be updated to take advantage of latest high definition quality CDs. Ideally something with XLR output that'll allow you to bypass your preamp. Let me know if you want detailed explanation.
Other speaker suggestions in your price range,
- B&W 805D3 & 804D3, the used prices are same as 803S and 803D, I think you really should try these out. Just insist that the shop demo with a proper good amp.
- The Dynaudio Confidence is on par with or some say better than B&W 800 series
- Usher, never heard these in person but online review compare the Usher MiniDancer favorably to Dynaudio's Confidence C1 and you can get them very inexpensively in Taiwan! The newer Usher line has DMD diamond tweeters.
I've just received my pair of B&W 805 D3 today and I'm so stoked! I can now give you more objective feedback on the S vs D series B&W 800 series speakers.
Thanks for taking the time introducing yourself above, now I have much better idea what sort of audiophile you are. In general, in the most complimenting way, I think you're very much like my father in speaker taste;
低音要厚實, 交響樂需要氣勢, 但不要胸部撞擊感覺 (British Rega tends to have this chest pounding bass feel)
中音要厚,甜,溫暖, 最好女聲可以聽起來像談情說愛
高音要圓滑, 不能刺耳, 高音是不是很高反而不很重要
If above assumptions are correct, then B&W are definitely speakers that'll meet those expectations. Keeping below very simple, if you want more details on anything, just let me know.
Answer previous questions,
1) 803S vs 803D - save the money and go with 803S
2) Obstruction of frequency - I would call it stuttering or sudden change in sound quality/volume, I just experienced this with the 805D3 out of the box and this is normal too with my previous 805S and 805N. It's both because the woofers need break in and also because the amp is not supplying enough current reserve to push the dynamic range. Not speakers fault, solution here is to break in the speakers for a month at least and get better amp (aka. the big round cylinders you see on Mcintosh and other expensive amps).
3) Diamond tweeters very bright. So far D3 tweeters are less bright than the older S.
4) 805 D3 has to be played at high volume to sound good. This is not true in my listening environment and I feel confident that it is due to the reviewer's amp not good enough. The reviewer paired an amp that does x1.8 not x2 going from 8ohm to 4ohm, so he's attempted to compensate the drop in current by raising volume (more watt). I also previously demoed the 805 D3 at local hifi store using new high end Mcintosh listening in normal volume.
Purely minor suggestions on your equipment below, please don't be offended. You have very good equipment in general but from a simplicity and budget conscious perspective, you have a very complex setup. You have 9 links
1 cd player,
1 preamp
1 amp
3 x power cords
1 optic cable from cd to preamp
1 RCA/XLR from preamp to amp
1 pair speaker cables
each above all influence final sound coming out of your speakers and your system will always sound as good as the weakest part. In comparison, my system only has 4 links and hope to reduce to 3 links in the future. I know you don't want to make big changes so I suggest here that your CD player and optic cable should be updated to take advantage of latest high definition quality CDs. Ideally something with XLR output that'll allow you to bypass your preamp. Let me know if you want detailed explanation.
Other speaker suggestions in your price range,
- B&W 805D3 & 804D3, the used prices are same as 803S and 803D, I think you really should try these out. Just insist that the shop demo with a proper good amp.
- The Dynaudio Confidence is on par with or some say better than B&W 800 series
- Usher, never heard these in person but online review compare the Usher MiniDancer favorably to Dynaudio's Confidence C1 and you can get them very inexpensively in Taiwan! The newer Usher line has DMD diamond tweeters.