Is difference between B&W 802D & 800D worth price?

Shhhhhh. Leave the 801's in place and let the wife get used to the look. And if all else fails, tell her they "they make her B#tt look small"! Just kidding, don't get mad. Get her to spend some time in front of them and put on her favorite music.

Great amps by the way. I am sure you noticed a big difference over the Adcoms.

A buddy of mine has the Mac 501's with the 801's and they are absolutely SPECTACULAR!! I bought the Mac's for my Maggies and they were a terrible match. I switched with him, he had Bel Canto Ref 1000's at the time, and we were both very happy. The Bel Cantos (since switched out in my system) sounded much better with my Maggies than with his B & W's and the Mac, as stated were a match made in heaven with his speakers. Get the 801's great speakers. BIG SOUND.

i had owned both. i have acually owned most of the 800 series including ths signitures. my wife loved the 800d's looks and they definitely are worth the cost diferense. i ran them with krell and was very happy. believe for the price they are tough to beat.

To get the best out of the 800D's, you need some meaty amps (wich I think you have) and a BIG room. In a small(er) room, the 802D will actually sound better.

Theo: Great suggestion, I'm still laughing! I think I will expand my choices to include the 801Ds. After nearly 31 years of marriage, I can usually sway her to see my "logic" just like she gets to drive the car she wants and has an incredible collection shoes.

Satch: My listening room is 20' deep by about 60' wide with speakers about 5' from the back wall and about 13 or so feet from the prime listening position. The borrowed 801s sound superb. I have not had the opportunity to audition 802Ds or 800Ds but certainly will at some point. Since I plan to buy demos or used from this site, I hesitate to go to a local retailer for a demo since I likely won't be buying locally.

That is a mamoth sized room. I could almost fit my house in that room.

In SF bay area, that room IS the size of a 3 bd rm house.

In the UK, that room size is 3 houses!

go to your local dealer and tell them what you are thinking. They can either try and make a deal with you or kiss your business goodby. Prices on Audiogon have forced many retailers to lower their pricing policies. In this market they will do what they can to move merchandise.

I had a Wilso dealer drop about $8k on some 7's to earn my business over a used pair on Audiogon. B&W dealers are doing the same thing, if pushed.

I might also add the same Wilson dealer has since sold me numerous other items and i got good prices on all of them.

Mpit:
Thanks for the advice. I'll try that.

dude, i´ve seen your post in many foruns

I think you must go to a 801D speaker, as you own currently M801S3 model. If you go to 802D you will feel lack of bass. In the 800D probably the bass slam will be the same. BUT, IMO, if you go to 801D you will be plenty satisfied coz the 801 to my ears still the most balanced from their series. And the 15" woofer bring to ya amazing bass response.

talk with your wife, the 801D also looks wonderful and it should have high wife-acceptance ;)

Joeswest, first when I auditoned b&w 802d and 800d, I personally thought they were a terrible match with Mc Monoblocks regardless of what dealers may say. I am lucky to be living in a country where you can audition a lot of the top gears in a room side by side.
What I can say is unless your mind is absolutely set on b&w's, I recommend you try to audition others around their price range. For the price, B&W's midrange falls too short(too recessed) and the bass on both are overblown, making their overall sound "artificially perfected". If you want honest music that you can enjoy through your speakers, I suggest follow fews to try that may save you money eventually down the road.
Thiel 3.7, KEF 207/2 Reference, Wilson WP8 or Sasha if you can afford the price, Revel Ultima Salon2.
Out of all, I liked Sasha the most but too pricey. For the price vs. performance, I personally felt Thiel 3.7 to be the best in the bunch (awesome soundstage, pinpoint imaging, perfected balanced sound that is true to it's music source, and unlike some previously models, it is not harsh at the top, and overall very musical that you can listen to all day without any fatigue)
Sorry to steer you away from your two models, but personally I know the pain of having to switch gears if they don't work out as intended in the actual home setting. your risk of that is much higher with b&w 802d/800ds.