Bowers and Wilkerson B&W 802 D3: an impolite Brit?

I forgot to add that I am talking about b&w for the last 20 years or so - they have not always been "mass market" (available at Magnolia/Best Buy). Before that you had to seek them out at the brick and mortar stores. Also, the brands I compared them to were all American. So I should comment that other American brands that hold excellent value and compete with the Brits is Joseph and Devore, and to an extent Martin Logan.

"And, if you don't like them, fine! But I don't think that you're going to love something else better if they are also extremely transparent and revealing."

You most certainly can. There's plenty of speakers that have a lot of detail like the B&W but sound completely different.

Also, things like sibilance and harshness, are not indicators that a speaker is transparent. Its just the opposite. The more transparent a system is, the closer to the actual event it gets you. Harsh highs move you in the opposite direction because in most situations, these qualities are not natural.

I'm not so sure it's such a bad thing to be a "Comercial Brand" as you say. I don't know about you but I would like nothing more then to be able to go to my local big name store and listen to a high end speaker if for nothing else but convenience alone.

I can't imagine being the only person who thnks this would be a plus in anyone's book. The fact of the matter is that it's unlikely that the sound you hear while demoing a pair of speakers at the typical high end dealer will be anything like how it will sound in your own home so one needs to take what they hear with a grain of salt in either demo room.

The beauty of the B&W brand is that they are big enough and well known enough to have there gear placed in any dealer they wish. I can't knock them for a minute for wanting to take advantage of putting their gear in the face of the average Joe who shops at Best Buy who probably doesn't even know what a high end speaker is supposed to sound like. The sad thing is that most people don't even know this stuff even exists.

Again I ask the question, what are the flame throwers using as their gauge of what the "proper" sound is of a given recording? How do they know that what they are using is presenting them with the sound the artist intended?

It seems logical to me to think that if ones chooses a B&W 800 as their speaker of choice and listens to a track created by some of the big name studios who use the same 800 series as their reference then at least they can rest easy knowing that what they are hearing was close enough for the recording engineer who made it.

+1Jimmy and Eniac. Well said - why indeed if you have a history like B&W would you not put your speakers in a "commercial" environment to allow potentials coming into a shrinking industry the experience of high end. There is always the danger someone might buy them! Yikes!

I live in a metro area and have several brick and mortars near me and I never feel comfortable going in unless I plan on a purchase and I have made many from them all and still feel like I am getting a TSA evaluation when I walk in.....not intending to open a new can of worms or high jack the thread. But at Magnolia as a consumer I feel the ball is in my court for a change.

Back to B&W I have always admired from afar and liked what I have heard demo wise. I am a 20 year Thiel user so I can appreciate the robust discussion and different opinions.

"The fact of the matter is that it's unlikely that the sound you hear while demoing a pair of speakers at the typical high end dealer will be anything like how it will sound in your own home so one needs to take what they hear with a grain of salt in either demo room."

I wouldn't say that is a fact. There's a lot you tell about a speaker by listening to it, even if its not in your system. Also, I don't follow your logic because you go on to say this.

"I can't knock them for a minute for wanting to take advantage of putting their gear in the face of the average Joe who shops at Best Buy who probably doesn't even know what a high end speaker is supposed to sound like."

If your first statement is true, then I don't see how this one can be either. If there is not going to be any consistency, then there is no reason to expect a B&W speaker to be any better than a less expensive alternative.

"It seems logical to me to think that if ones chooses a B&W 800 as their speaker of choice and listens to a track created by some of the big name studios who use the same 800 series as their reference then at least they can rest easy knowing that what they are hearing was close enough for the recording engineer who made it."

Again, I can't follow the logic. If you can't expect the B&W 800 to sound in your home anything like it does at the dealer, then why would it sound the same as the ones in the recording studio? All 3 setup's should sound completely different.