There was a thread on here a while ago when the new D4 version of the Bowers & Wilkens 8 series was announced with plenty of speculations, conspiracies and the like.
I wanted to add this comment to that thread but I just could not locate it via the forum software's search function.
Maybe a mod can merge this post into that thread.
Anyway, E-Piphany received a set of 802D4 and I was keen to experience them. They recently overhauled their larger demo room which measure around (w x l x h) 5.8m x 8.5m x 3m.
The B&W's are set up in this room. The demo set is piano black and to the untrained eye look basically identical to the previous D3 model - the leather on top of the cabinet and the longer tweeter housing the only really distinctive differences. These retail for R570k a set.
The source is a Naim's ND555 network player. This is a R500k streamer that features an offboard power supply and a Burr Brown PCM1704 R2R DAC.
The pre amp is a Classe Delta while the power is supplied by a pair of Synthesis NYC 500 monoblock valve amplifiers. The power amps retails just north of R1m for the set.
Cabling is all Tellurium. The 2.5m Q Statement speaker cables alone are just over R200k for the set.
Music is provided by Tidal hifi.
In short, this is one of the best systems and room combos that I have experienced in a very long time. The room is the perfect size. It allows the speakers to be well away from the side walls and the listening position to be away from the rear wall. This allows for a golden ratio setup that is large enough to give the speakers breathing space and allows for an expansive soundstage without having room boundaries interfere with the acoustics. The room has also been treated with a combination of absorbing/diffusing and first reflection points have floor to ceiling treatment panels.
The physically massive Synthesis monoblocks really take the 802's by the scruff of the neck and never let them lose control. The systems stays remarkably controlled as the volume rise. The soundstage is expansive extending well past the speakers and especially the height of the stage, the ability of placing instruments and vocalists in vertical layers, was remarkable. Another standout was the "blackness" of the background allowing sound to really pop in the soundstage.
I took my father in law with. He is a closet audiophile whose tendencies have been successfully suppressed by my mother in law during their marriage. As an opera and classical music lover, he uses a 1990's Rotel amp and cd player with a set of small Tannoy speakers. He was near tears after the experience and he could not stop commenting on the tonality of the system. While detail retrieval is really good the treble is anything but sharp/piercing and even at high volumes it never irritates the ear. Bass is extremely well controlled, lightening quick (the speaker specs claim 17Hz which I will take with a pinch of salt but bass is definitely not lacking in depth) and the dynamic swings that the system is capable of is simply breathtaking.
The star of the show IMHO is the room. It simply sounds amazing, or I should rather say that its lack of sound is amazing. It is dead quiet and the perfect size for a set of full sized floor standers. I would give my left tonsil for a room like that.
Nit pickings:
The 802D4 in piano blacks are not great to look at - bordering on tacky. There are much more handsome speakers out there if you are willing to splash out R500k to R600k for a set. Maybe the rosenut model or the new walnut finish will result in a better looking speaker.
The system is also not the most detailed with micro details and acoustic nuances taking a bit of a back seat - I was quite surprised as my experiences with the D1, D2 and D3 models have all led me to conclude that the diamond tweeter can take detail retrieval to the extreme even getting unruly if not paired correctly. Maybe it is the Synthesis amps that repressed the tweeters - a demo session using a class AB power amp will confirm. A more neutral combo, something like the Vivid G1 Spirits and Devialet does produce a more detailed and nuanced sound.
Soundstage instrument/vocal placement precision and stage depth could also be bettered - possibly by tweaking speaker placement. Especially voices are not produced with pin point staging accuracy but are rather more diffused. The mid bass "bloominess" that B&W produces is also still not gone and is easily audible when listening to a barritone/tenor male voice. It sounds awesome but to my ears is completely unnatural and messes with the apparent size of vocals compared to instruments in the soundstage.
It would appear as if B&W has started moving away from their house sound. While it is not 180 degree removal, these new D4's are definitely more neutral than its predecessors.
It is well worth popping into E-piphany to listen to the 802D4's in this R2.5m setup.
I wanted to add this comment to that thread but I just could not locate it via the forum software's search function.
Maybe a mod can merge this post into that thread.
Anyway, E-Piphany received a set of 802D4 and I was keen to experience them. They recently overhauled their larger demo room which measure around (w x l x h) 5.8m x 8.5m x 3m.
The B&W's are set up in this room. The demo set is piano black and to the untrained eye look basically identical to the previous D3 model - the leather on top of the cabinet and the longer tweeter housing the only really distinctive differences. These retail for R570k a set.
The source is a Naim's ND555 network player. This is a R500k streamer that features an offboard power supply and a Burr Brown PCM1704 R2R DAC.
The pre amp is a Classe Delta while the power is supplied by a pair of Synthesis NYC 500 monoblock valve amplifiers. The power amps retails just north of R1m for the set.
Cabling is all Tellurium. The 2.5m Q Statement speaker cables alone are just over R200k for the set.
Music is provided by Tidal hifi.
In short, this is one of the best systems and room combos that I have experienced in a very long time. The room is the perfect size. It allows the speakers to be well away from the side walls and the listening position to be away from the rear wall. This allows for a golden ratio setup that is large enough to give the speakers breathing space and allows for an expansive soundstage without having room boundaries interfere with the acoustics. The room has also been treated with a combination of absorbing/diffusing and first reflection points have floor to ceiling treatment panels.
The physically massive Synthesis monoblocks really take the 802's by the scruff of the neck and never let them lose control. The systems stays remarkably controlled as the volume rise. The soundstage is expansive extending well past the speakers and especially the height of the stage, the ability of placing instruments and vocalists in vertical layers, was remarkable. Another standout was the "blackness" of the background allowing sound to really pop in the soundstage.
I took my father in law with. He is a closet audiophile whose tendencies have been successfully suppressed by my mother in law during their marriage. As an opera and classical music lover, he uses a 1990's Rotel amp and cd player with a set of small Tannoy speakers. He was near tears after the experience and he could not stop commenting on the tonality of the system. While detail retrieval is really good the treble is anything but sharp/piercing and even at high volumes it never irritates the ear. Bass is extremely well controlled, lightening quick (the speaker specs claim 17Hz which I will take with a pinch of salt but bass is definitely not lacking in depth) and the dynamic swings that the system is capable of is simply breathtaking.
The star of the show IMHO is the room. It simply sounds amazing, or I should rather say that its lack of sound is amazing. It is dead quiet and the perfect size for a set of full sized floor standers. I would give my left tonsil for a room like that.
Nit pickings:
The 802D4 in piano blacks are not great to look at - bordering on tacky. There are much more handsome speakers out there if you are willing to splash out R500k to R600k for a set. Maybe the rosenut model or the new walnut finish will result in a better looking speaker.
The system is also not the most detailed with micro details and acoustic nuances taking a bit of a back seat - I was quite surprised as my experiences with the D1, D2 and D3 models have all led me to conclude that the diamond tweeter can take detail retrieval to the extreme even getting unruly if not paired correctly. Maybe it is the Synthesis amps that repressed the tweeters - a demo session using a class AB power amp will confirm. A more neutral combo, something like the Vivid G1 Spirits and Devialet does produce a more detailed and nuanced sound.
Soundstage instrument/vocal placement precision and stage depth could also be bettered - possibly by tweaking speaker placement. Especially voices are not produced with pin point staging accuracy but are rather more diffused. The mid bass "bloominess" that B&W produces is also still not gone and is easily audible when listening to a barritone/tenor male voice. It sounds awesome but to my ears is completely unnatural and messes with the apparent size of vocals compared to instruments in the soundstage.
It would appear as if B&W has started moving away from their house sound. While it is not 180 degree removal, these new D4's are definitely more neutral than its predecessors.
It is well worth popping into E-piphany to listen to the 802D4's in this R2.5m setup.
