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Narrowed to 3: 802D3, Sopra 3, Reference 3

Hi all,
Here's the situation:
Room is 14x17 with vaulted ceilings from 9" to 14", and the room is mostly open to a foyer with high ceiling and is about 10x10.

I'm currently running a setup scavenged from my home theater:
Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ > Rotel RC-1590 Preamp > Rotel RB-1582 mk2 amp > B&W 805 D3

The sound overall is excellent, but it's a little bright and lacks bass presence (as you'd expect for a 2 way bookshelf). Here are my top speakers I've auditioned:

B&W 802D3 ( Auditioned with: Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ > McIntosh C52 > McIntosh 601) at Magnolia

KEF Reference 5 (Auditioned with Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ > McIntosh C47 > McIntosh MC452) at Magnolia at the same time as the 802.

Focal Sopra 3 (Auditioned with NAIM DAC > NAIM NAP 500 DR Amp - 140W per channel) at difference location

I also heard the KEF Reference 3 and Blade but ruled them out, the Ref 3 for sound, and the Blade for price and it being kind of ugly.

Here's the thing, I feel like I'm not sure what to get. I love the general sound of the 802, but I'm afraid even with the MC452 it'd be a bit bright. It also really lacked the presence in the bass like the Reference 5.

The Reference 5 sounds wonderful, and the bass is prolific, but I'm a little concerned about it being too warm. I heard the Ref 5 and 802s in the same room with virtually the same equipment, back to back, and they were so very different. The Ref 5 was warm, with rich full mids, that maybe were even too lush, with bass so good I honestly thought the subwoofer was on.

The 802 had good bass, but nothing to write home about (and it even had the more powerful 601 monoblocks), but the clarity was astounding, I just fear it'll be a little too bright for my room, which seems to lean bright already. That said, there is just something so exciting about the sound of this speaker playing orchestral. The problem was I much preferred the KEF for rock/r&b.

Then, to add to the mix, I liked the Focal Sopra 3 a lot, but I also felt it lacked bass presence, though it was on the weakest amp by a wide margin. The Focal seemed to be the middle ground between the B&W and KEF, but the bass concerned me. I'm not a bass nut, but I do want my bass to be powerful and don't want to have to add a sub. (Even for orchestral, I felt the Focal lacked a bit in the low cello and bass parts)

My plan was to keep the Mytek, and probably get a McIntosh C47 and MC452 or MC462, as I think the Rotels are probably too bright and underpowered for any of these setups. I was definitely hitting 300+W on the 802s during my audition while listening to orchestral music.

Thoughts? Is the KEF really that pudgy in the middle, is the B&W really that bright, and does the Sopra 3 really lack bass presence?

p.s. I thought the Blade was better balanced, but also still pretty warm.


mayoradamwest
xti16
1,495 posts
 
I agree with jimmydd. When you hear the right speaker you will know it. You know what you're accustomed to. It's happened to me only 3 times. Don't be in a hurry with that type of investment. The last time I wasn't even considering new speaker. But why I bought them is because after hearing them I couldn't get that sound out of my head for months.
If not that much trouble bring your pre/amp/cables with you for a demo. That way you'll know if the electronics are right for the speakers.
Best of luck
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
2,267 posts
 
The 802D3’s have amazing bass.  Don’t blame the speakers if your not hearing it in a demo.
mayoradamwest OP
116 posts
 
Thanks, all! I used Gik Acoustics for my home theater and was happy with the customer service. That said, I think, to my ear, the room is a bit over-dampened. Also, I wasn't thrilled with the quality of the materials, as the panels seem to be covered in a pretty cheap cloth. In the room for the 802s, it has a beautiful sound, but probably needs a light touch of treatment. I don’t want to ruin the aesthetics of the room, however, as it’s a centerpiece room (my drinking room) of the house, done in a mid-century modern style.
mayoradamwest OP
116 posts
 
@joey_v thanks. You're setup looks amazing, and I'm surprised you did it for 60! Is that mostly buying used? I am debating how much to invest in cabling and power. It seems like there are mixed results on power conditioners (even the PS Audio ones), which make me think I should focus on power cables and ICs. It looks like I can get some nice Kimber or Cardas ones for around 500 each used on audiogon. Thoughts? Which made the biggest different feeding your 802s?
audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
1,621 posts
 
If you want warm Kubala Sosna cables are very warm and liquid particularly the Emotion range. If you are using Mcintosh with B&W and the system sounds bright than you have a very live room and have to address that.

Our golden rule on cabling is that cabling should be 30% of a systems overall budget. So if you are using $10k amp and preamp you should be looking at $1,500-3,000k for your inteconnects and $2-3k for your speaker cabling.

Older Cardas Cables are very congested sounding, the Hexlink 5C and Quadlink are not the last word in openess. 

We are firm believers in power conditoning, active units have way more issues than passive units, we have tested many PS Audio units and don' t like them at all, give us an Isotek, or Audio Magic any day of the week. 

Personally with all three of these very high end loudspeakers we would love to see you upgrade to even better components than the Rotel gear whiich is good but not as refined as the much more expensive stuff. 

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ


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