"The B&W Sound"

I had N805's and found I could not listern for longer than about 20 min. My previous and much less expensive system was NHT/NAD and I enjoyed it MUCH more than the 805's. I could not believe that the speakers were a problem so I looked elseware in the system. The biggest improvement came with the addition of a benchmark DAC. The main problem persisted which was a lack of "meat" in the sound. I don't listen to "audiophile music" I listen to rock, jazz, blues. The music still had no balls, but the highs were much improved with the DAC1 in fact the whole frequency range improved, just not enough. I then went to audition some 802D's at a local dealer. The Sophias were next to them and already hooked up, I listened to them first with a disc I made containing music I am very familiar with, WOW finally I heard what I expected from "high end". Next up 802Ds, I was prepared to be blown away but instead I heard the same sonic "signature" as my 805s only bigger. I could not stop listening to the Sophias and couldn't stop fast enough with the 802's. These were driven by big Krells, no lack of juice. Sold the 805s and bought some JM labs 907bes. They fit my room, have plenty of the meat that was missing and I listen for hours at a time now. It IS the speakers, audition some other brands and buy what you like for the type of music YOU listen to. Some JM Labs 927bes can be had in your price range and if they are anything like the 907bes they will be great. Good luck.

3 years I owned B&W CDM 1NT's, wich was a love-hate relationschip.
I used cheap equipement such as a Rotel 971 amp and a Rotel RCD 971 player.
I would discribe the sound rather as detailled, nearly analytical and a bit shrill.
However, later I've got great results with vinyl ( a cheap Pro-ject Debut (!), the music was far less agressive in my humble opinion.
I schould try smooth equipement on B&W speakers,
tube amps or amps such a LFD Mistral LE for example, however maybe underpowered for the big guys (N 802, 801,..).
Good luck.

Very good. Thank you. Good to hear from B&W enthusiasts. I am one who believes that B&W makes quality products. I simple don't care for the 703 sound. Yes, it could be my upstream components. However, what I am hearing is the very same thing that many others, even the reviewer's who raved about the speaker, have sighted as a weak point. I, like many others, believe the sound of the 703 tends to be a bit fatiguing and bright. I also believe this has something to due with the metal dome design (perhaps, the cross-over design - I'm not that well informed about speaker design). I should have stated "That 703 Sound", rather than painting such a broad stroke in making the statement, "The B&W Sound." Any way, back to my original thought...would a design that utilizes a silk dome give a "better" sound (clearly, bright is not desirable)? Or, are there significant trade-offs when switching from metal to silk? Maybe the material has less to due with the sound than the way the crossover is designed - or other design characteristics??? I don't know. We all know who some of the true "B&W bashers" are. I am curious if what "they" say is reality...Can you get better sound from speakers that are designed differently than the 703's, but sell for less (or roughly the same - less would be great!), without giving up anything that the 703's do well? (Again, I consider "less bright" to be better - something smoother in the highs, but not laid-back. I appreciate the control the 703's have. especially in their bass-response

One thing that I believe will go a long way to rectifying the brightness of your speakers is a tube preamp...as opposed to all solid state. A great tube preamp will, to use an oft repeated descriptor, "warm" your sound and, in my opinion, render the sound rounder and more real. There are lots of very nice tube preamps in the 800-2000 dollar range that have the ability to transform your sound.

I'm actually an N804 owner. I auditioned some Thiel 2.4's that sounded awfully good and some ML Aeon's that I liked but not as much as the Thiels. I was able to do this in my own listening room. The thiels have a metal dome, so I don't know if you'd be happy with that or not, but they are certainly worth a listen if you can audition them in your room.

On the silk dome tweeter, I've also auditioned Wilson Benesch Arc and Vienna Acoustics. I thought they were both very good on the highs. The bass on VA wasn't to my liking, but it was a nicely balanced speaker. The Arc was really nice all around. It was just a bit small for my room. IMO, the silk dome does piano and male voices a bit better. But that just what I was hearing. You could try the new VA Mozart, or do give a listen to the WB Arc if your room is smallish. In any event, you should try to try to audition them in your listening room. Hope this helps.