Narrowed to 3: 802D3, Sopra 3, Reference 3


Hi all,
Here's the situation:
Room is 14x17 with vaulted ceilings from 9" to 14", and the room is mostly open to a foyer with high ceiling and is about 10x10.

I'm currently running a setup scavenged from my home theater:
Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ > Rotel RC-1590 Preamp > Rotel RB-1582 mk2 amp > B&W 805 D3

The sound overall is excellent, but it's a little bright and lacks bass presence (as you'd expect for a 2 way bookshelf). Here are my top speakers I've auditioned:

B&W 802D3 ( Auditioned with: Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ > McIntosh C52 > McIntosh 601) at Magnolia

KEF Reference 5 (Auditioned with Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ > McIntosh C47 > McIntosh MC452) at Magnolia at the same time as the 802.

Focal Sopra 3 (Auditioned with NAIM DAC > NAIM NAP 500 DR Amp - 140W per channel) at difference location

I also heard the KEF Reference 3 and Blade but ruled them out, the Ref 3 for sound, and the Blade for price and it being kind of ugly.

Here's the thing, I feel like I'm not sure what to get. I love the general sound of the 802, but I'm afraid even with the MC452 it'd be a bit bright. It also really lacked the presence in the bass like the Reference 5.

The Reference 5 sounds wonderful, and the bass is prolific, but I'm a little concerned about it being too warm. I heard the Ref 5 and 802s in the same room with virtually the same equipment, back to back, and they were so very different. The Ref 5 was warm, with rich full mids, that maybe were even too lush, with bass so good I honestly thought the subwoofer was on.

The 802 had good bass, but nothing to write home about (and it even had the more powerful 601 monoblocks), but the clarity was astounding, I just fear it'll be a little too bright for my room, which seems to lean bright already. That said, there is just something so exciting about the sound of this speaker playing orchestral. The problem was I much preferred the KEF for rock/r&b.

Then, to add to the mix, I liked the Focal Sopra 3 a lot, but I also felt it lacked bass presence, though it was on the weakest amp by a wide margin. The Focal seemed to be the middle ground between the B&W and KEF, but the bass concerned me. I'm not a bass nut, but I do want my bass to be powerful and don't want to have to add a sub. (Even for orchestral, I felt the Focal lacked a bit in the low cello and bass parts)

My plan was to keep the Mytek, and probably get a McIntosh C47 and MC452 or MC462, as I think the Rotels are probably too bright and underpowered for any of these setups. I was definitely hitting 300+W on the 802s during my audition while listening to orchestral music.

Thoughts? Is the KEF really that pudgy in the middle, is the B&W really that bright, and does the Sopra 3 really lack bass presence?

p.s. I thought the Blade was better balanced, but also still pretty warm.


Ag insider logo xs@2xmayoradamwest


Our golden rule on cabling is that cabling should be 30% of a systems overall budget.




Well that rule sounds great for salesemen.  Not so sure the consumer ought to buy in to it.

Prof lets make the comparision with a sports car you going to spend $80k on a sports car and just replace the expensive stock tires with just anything and expect the system to perform?

The fact that most people in audio who have acutally demoed cables will agree with premise that cables will make a rather audible difference in the performance of a system. 

We have purchased our demo cables at a very ridiculous amount of money, if we couldn't hear the difference do you think we would have shelled out the money ourselves?

The fact that sometimes changing one cable in a system can make the sound pop to life is proof that cables can be a huge part of getting a system to sound right. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
The Doctor is correct! My recommendation would be to call Joe Abrams at Equus Audio/Portal Audio and discuss your system and budget.  He is an audio industry veteran who will give you sage advice for free.  He also has huge discounts on MIT cables which are extremely musical and involving to listen through.
@audiotroy I've agreed with all your other feedback, but the analogy with cars I'm not so sure... I just happen to be somewhat of a subject matter expert in sports cars. The reality is that for ~99.99% of sports car buyers, they will buy a car and will be set. It's not a matter of buying expensive tires, so much as they come with expensive tires and you should always just replace them with the same thing. 

The audio world is different. You can't just buy speakers. They obviously won't play sound by themselves. It's more akin to the speakers being the chassis or body of the car, and the electronics being the engine. Perhaps the cables are the suspension. I could have an amazing chassis and engine, but if I put on shocks from an '88 Buick, the car is probably going to feel pretty shitty.

As an update, I heard the Ref 5 and 802s again last night on the exact setup that I wanted Mytek > C47 > MC452, and it was an easy decision. The Ref 5 sound good, and have an epic mid and low end, but there was just something a little unnatural about the sound for me. The 802s were really just spectacular. I ordered them in white, along with the 452 and C47. Since I was throwing around money, I also ordered AQ Water ICs, but still need speaker cable, power cables, and perhaps a power conditioner.
Mayor the analogy was when it is time to replace warn tires on an expensive high end car replacement tires are expensive, don't put on the good tires watch the car's performance suffer greatly.

The only way you know if you really like the B&W better than the Kef's or vice versa is to hear both on the same system or at least setup with electronics similar to what you are using or going to use.

The KEF's you might have actually liked better than the B&W on the correct electronics, the B&W are excellent we have heard the 802 and they didn't rock out boat but what you like is up to you. 

As mentioned before these are all fantastic state of the art contenders and with a suitably well setup system any of these loudspeakers should make you very happy.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ