Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: B&W 801D Speakers by Aurel

Model:	801D
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	16000 Euros
Description:	High-end full range speaker
Manufacturer URL:	B&W
Model Picture:	View

Review by Aurel ( A ) on March 25, 2006 at 10:18:44
IP Address: 82.67.63.238

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Dear Friends,
English is not my mother language, so I'll make it short.
I have been looking for my "ultimate" speakers for several years. I have considered many ones, including (among others) the Focal-JMLab Nova Utopia Be, Thiel CS 7.2, Triangle Magellan, ATC SMC-150, JBL K2-S9800, etc. They all have qualities but only the B&W 801D have all that I was looking for : deep and powerful bass, exquisit midrange, extremely refined treeble.
Everybody (I think) agrees that the low-frequency (thnaks to the big 15 in Rohacell cone) and high-frequency (thanks to the diamond dome) responses of the B&W 801D are the best available. I would like to also insist that the medium is also incredibly good : I have not heard a single other speaker closer to the live experience. The bass-midrange junction is also nearly perfect in spite of the big difference in diameter of the drivers.
Yes, they can play incredibly loud and blow the house (the frequency range goes down to 23 Hz, you dont need a sub !) but the most important point is how refined and balanced they are.
I am astrophysicist (my job) and music lover (my hobby). I don't care about B&W marketing. I don't care about the review published by the audio journal . I have just closed my eyes and found that the B&W 801D are the closest to the concert experience. And incredibly well finished and nice-lookig !
I should also add that in my experience, they are a bit better than the more expensive 800D : just a bit more "lively" and a quite better low-frequency response.
In my system, they are drived by a great PLINIUS SA-REFERENCE amplifier and a NAGRA PL-L preamplifier.
Aurel.

Product Weakness: Need a room that can handle them (mine is not huge and they perform perfectly)
Product Strengths: Quite simply the best speakers I have heard to date

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Plinius SA-REFERENCE
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	NAGRA PL-L
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	YBA
Speakers:	B&W 801D
Cables/Interconnects:	Siltech
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	all
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Need a room that can handle them (mine is not huge and they perform perfectly)
Product Strengths:	Quite simply the best speakers I have heard to date