Replacement for 802 D3s

Maybe its the room and not the gear. I have 3 REL subs: 803d3 MC462 &  C1100 + d1100 combo and no brightness. I previously had Sonus Faber Guarneri Homage hooked up to the same system and the 803's are superior in every way except for vocals and strings. I still enjoy SF's in another room. My room is 15x25: Its a short wall install 3' from the back wall & 31/2' from the side walls: The room is fully carpeted with paneled walls and a angled wood ceiling like a church: So the take away is that this is a dead room so if there is brightness it is offset by the rooms deadness.

So maybe some room treatments would be better than chasing the unknown and a lot cheaper than taking a financial bath selling your new equipment: You can consult your dealer about auditioning the Mac room correction  MEN220. My friend has 601 monos 802d3 and c500t preamp and his room is a very bright and he told me that it made a night and day improvement and tamed all the brightness. He even offered to let me try it but in my room I felt it was unnecessary. Keep in mind that All the recommendations on this forum are people just guessing or making assumptions on a preconceived bias. There is no way to find out unless you make the expensive decision to change the gear only to find out that your new replacement has issues to. Good Luck: Keep the gear a little longer and treat the room or try to audition a MEN220.

I too would look at the Vandersteen Kento's. It's the newest design for Vandersteen.  Some special bass set up, plus using ta powered internal sub frees up the main amp to sound better as it only has auto power 200hz on up (100 hz up in his other powered speakers).  

According to @verdantaudio : ´´Another example is Audiovectors R series with rear firing tweeters and/or midrange drivers depending on the model. These sound much bigger than they are. ´´

So , no issue for Audiovector R6 Arreté to fill your room.

Used Magico MPro or M3

other than that, rockport Cygnus 

Hey all,

Quick update...decided to live with the 802s for a bit before swapping them out (was not in any way into the Blades or Paradigm 9H that I auditioned in Feb). On Friday I had my local hifi guy over to deliver and dial in a loaner REL G1 Mark II while I'm waiting for the No. 25 I ordered. I have to say that in my situation the loaner REL made an INCREDIBLE difference across all frequencies. The sound became fuller, richer and a tad warmer. It's way less beamy, and the off-access sound quality is better by leaps and bounds. He replaced the stock cable an Analysis Plus Neutralink cable...tough for me to say how much difference there was, because I never listened to the REL cable. My plan is to add the 25 and see where things go. Planning to pay a visit to YG Acoustics factory sometime this summer to give a listen to their Hailey 2.2. That said, I'm feeling way less pressure to change these out with the addition of the REL. Many thanks to all of you for your kind and knowledgeable suggestions and thoughts.

Cheers!