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B&W Owner's Thread - Page 156

post #4651 of 13900
6/10/09 at 1:30pm
yeah, I was not impressed with the Bass on the 804s..nor on the CM9
I did like the sound of the 683 but I dont know how they will behave with my amp
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post #4652 of 13900
6/10/09 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RLPIII View Post

I gave up trying to get a ton of bass out of my B&W 804s and just got an ASW 855 sub for each - so the not enough bass problem is gone.
That may be the route you might want to go too.

Bass on the 804 is very dependant on a good amp. Before switching to the Rotel 993, I was never happy with the bass from my 804, and almost always listened to music with a sub. Moving the the Rotel really brought in the bottom end on the 804. I also have a Musical Fidelity A5 integrated (similar amp section to the 1008). It does an even better job than the Rotel with the testing I did on the 804, but I keep it in my 2 channel setup long term.
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post #4653 of 13900
6/10/09 at 1:41pm
So I should be better off with either the cm9 or the 804?
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post #4654 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iostream View Post

Bass on the 804 is very dependant on a good amp. Before switching to the Rotel 993, I was never happy with the bass from my 804, and almost always listened to music with a sub. Moving the the Rotel really brought in the bottom end on the 804. I also have a Musical Fidelity A5 integrated (similar amp section to the 1008). It does an even better job than the Rotel with the testing I did on the 804, but I keep it in my 2 channel setup long term.

I use mac amps, so I don't have an amp problem. I am just really partial to the deep bass you can only get out of a 15 which is why I got the 855s.
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post #4655 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:08pm
Ive herd 804's on mac gear and its INCREDIBLE. Of course i also work for a dealer and all we carry is B&W so my opinion may not count.
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post #4656 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by acosspr View Post

So I should be better off with either the cm9 or the 804?

I would personally go with the 804 because I really like the sound from the Nautilus tweeter and prefer the overall sound from the cabinet design. But, if your ears prefer the CM series, then you should definitely get what sounds best for you.
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post #4657 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RLPIII View Post

I use mac amps, so I don't have an amp problem. I am just really partial to the deep bass you can only get out of a 15 which is why I got the 855s.

Sure, there are advantages to subs, and the 804 is not a full range speaker, but it is not a bass shy speaker either. It is quite well balanced with a decent amp, but can be anemic with a receiver or poor quality amp. Generally speaking, Rotel is a cheaper amp, good bang for the buck. I guess I was just saying that the 804 needs a decent amount of clean power to not sound bass shy, but you can certainly improve upon the bass with a good sub.
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post #4658 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aher@modia View Post

Ive herd 804's on mac gear and its INCREDIBLE. Of course i also work for a dealer and all we carry is B&W so my opinion may not count.

I thought Modia also carried Klipsch and a few others. Maybe you've dropped the other brands, as I have not been in a Modia store in a few months.

I agree with you. I think B&W speakers sound best with mac amps. I am using 400 mac watts per 804, and they have never sounded better.
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post #4659 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by acosspr View Post

So I should be better off with either the cm9 or the 804?

In my opinion, the 804 is definitely the best speaker out of the bunch but may not give you the bass you want in the absence of a sub. I'd still go with the 804 though, it's a great speaker and will hold its value better than the others.
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post #4660 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RLPIII View Post

I thought Modia also carried Klipsch and a few others. Maybe you've dropped the other brands, as I have not been in a Modia store in a few months.

I agree with you. I think B&W speakers sound best with mac amps. I am using 400 mac watts per 804, and they have never sounded better.

At one point they carried Dynaudio, but that seems to have disappeared. Now if they would just open up the Allen store that has been listed as opening soon for a year or so now.
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post #4661 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:28pm
Shoot guys!!!

Just got off the phone with my dealer and my black finish CM9 will be backordered until the end of the month! I was also told I would receive first group dispatch though. Now I have my amp and dac staring me in the face and no tunes....

Oh well, got to have patience for bliss right?

I'm still excited.
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post #4662 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Abbakuhdabra View Post

Shoot guys!!!

Just got off the phone with my dealer and my black finish CM9 will be backordered until the end of the month! I was also told I would receive first group dispatch though. Now I have my amp and dac staring me in the face and no tunes....

Oh well, got to have patience for bliss right?

I'm still excited.

I'd ask for a set of loaner somethings until yours come in.
Sitting in silence and/or just using tv speakers sucks.
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post #4663 of 13900
6/10/09 at 2:52pm
So the 804's should sit well with my MF A1008?
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post #4664 of 13900
6/10/09 at 3:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by acosspr View Post

So the 804's should sit well with my MF A1008?

Very well.
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post #4665 of 13900
6/10/09 at 8:48pm
Do any insiders or dealers happen to have any information about a new/redesigned 700 series? Maybe B&W is scrapping the line completely? There's been a lot of talk about the topic and today I made a trip out to my local dealer who has moved all their 700 series demo gear to the used list which, although they can't say anything about it, is what they do with their discontinued stuff (Rotel 10 series, Aerial LR3, Naim 5i are recent examples) even before the official public announcements.
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post #4666 of 13900
6/11/09 at 7:18am
Any experience with the CM9's?
Good bass?
My setup is for a large area (living room, kitchen)
thx
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post #4667 of 13900
6/11/09 at 7:21am
Hello, folks. I'm hoping someone can give me some advice and that someday I can help in some way too. I purcahsed a used pair of 804s. My reciever manual says to connect the main LR outputs to the wolfer inputs and the rear surround to the the tweeter. But when I do it that way the speaker is much too bright. It sounds better when I connect them the other way around (LR mains to the tweeters). Any thoughts on this?

The speakers did not come with feet--should they have?

Last, I am not sure what to do with the screw or lock behind the midrange. I don't know how to tell if they were tightened or locked down before they were shipped to me.

Thank You!!
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post #4668 of 13900
6/11/09 at 8:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tracendental View Post

Hello, folks. I'm hoping someone can give me some advice and that someday I can help in some way too. I purcahsed a used pair of 804s. My reciever manual says to connect the main LR outputs to the wolfer inputs and the rear surround to the the tweeter. But when I do it that way the speaker is much too bright. It sounds better when I connect them the other way around (LR mains to the tweeters). Any thoughts on this?

The speakers did not come with feet--should they have?

Last, I am not sure what to do with the screw or lock behind the midrange. I don't know how to tell if they were tightened or locked down before they were shipped to me.

Thank You!!

The seperate terminals for the woofers and tweeters should be attached to the same source material, unless you are using an electronic crossover. The simplest connection is just to jumper them together in parallel. The next more elaborate connection is bi-wiring. Some think this sounds slightly better. Here you use a separate pair of speaker leads for the woofers and for the tweeters, but both pairs are connected to the same pair of terminals on the amplifier end. More elaborate yet is bi-amping, where the woofers and the tweeters are driven by separate amplifiers, but these are carrying the identical signal. I am doing this with a pair of 801's.

The speakers do come from B&W with small, screw-on feet when purchased new.

You can experiment a little with adjusting the screw or lock behind the midrange. But be careful, do not unscrew them too far! If you do, the assembly will fall apart, and then you could have some real problems!
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post #4669 of 13900
6/11/09 at 9:13am
Harrison--thank you very much for your suggestions and information. I do find the whole bi-wiring thing confusing. The reciever manual (Onkyo tx nr 906) suggests that using two separate outputs from the reciver (mains and back surround) will yeild better results, but maybe thats just Onkyo puffing.

Thanks again!
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post #4670 of 13900
6/11/09 at 11:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tracendental View Post

Hello, folks. I'm hoping someone can give me some advice and that someday I can help in some way too. I purcahsed a used pair of 804s. My reciever manual says to connect the main LR outputs to the wolfer inputs and the rear surround to the the tweeter. But when I do it that way the speaker is much too bright. It sounds better when I connect them the other way around (LR mains to the tweeters). Any thoughts on this?

The speakers did not come with feet--should they have?

Last, I am not sure what to do with the screw or lock behind the midrange. I don't know how to tell if they were tightened or locked down before they were shipped to me.

Thank You!!

OK. I think I know what you are asking after reading HarrisonS's response. Some receivers, like one of my pioneers, will let you bi-amp your left and right front speakers. In order to do this, you lose functionality of 2 rear speakers, i.e. you would go from a 7.1 to a 5.1 set-up. In the pioneer I have, when you use the bi-amping or dual front feature, you have to change the settings in the receiver to tell it you now want front left and right information sent to the rear channels that you are now using as front channels. If you do not change the settings in the receiver, you will still hear rear information getting sent to your dual front or bi-amped speakers.

Also, I don't remember getting feet for the 804s when I bought them, but I did get carpet spikes.

You should not have to adjust the screw behind the mid-range unless the speaker is getting serviced, and the tech is the one that does it. The 804s should work out of the box without any screw adjustments.
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post #4671 of 13900
6/11/09 at 12:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RLPIII View Post

OK. I think I know what you are asking after reading HarrisonS's response. Some receivers, like one of my pioneers, will let you bi-amp your left and right front speakers. In order to do this, you lose functionality of 2 rear speakers, i.e. you would go from a 7.1 to a 5.1 set-up. In the pioneer I have, when you use the bi-amping or dual front feature, you have to change the settings in the receiver to tell it you now want front left and right information sent to the rear channels that you are now using as front channels. If you do not change the settings in the receiver, you will still hear rear information getting sent to your dual front or bi-amped speakers.

Also, I don't remember getting feet for the 804s when I bought them, but I did get carpet spikes.

You should not have to adjust the screw behind the mid-range unless the speaker is getting serviced, and the tech is the one that does it. The 804s should work out of the box without any screw adjustments.

I have the 804's as well and bought the feet after market for my hardwood floors as I cannot use the spikes.

All B&W speakers have 6mm threads or M6 size.

Here is a link for the ones I got and they have high end ones and practical ones for $160 shipped which is what I have. I like them!

http://www.soundcare.no/
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post #4672 of 13900
6/11/09 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Iostream View Post

Sure, there are advantages to subs, and the 804 is not a full range speaker, but it is not a bass shy speaker either. It is quite well balanced with a decent amp, but can be anemic with a receiver or poor quality amp. Generally speaking, Rotel is a cheaper amp, good bang for the buck. I guess I was just saying that the 804 needs a decent amount of clean power to not sound bass shy, but you can certainly improve upon the bass with a good sub.

Agreed! I have the 804's and for years was not happy with the sound as it was provided through my Denon 3800 series. I added a Emotiva XPA-3 for L/C/R duties and was amazed at the difference in SQ It has 200WPC in 8 Ohms. The B&W 804's definitely like more power!

http://emotiva.com/xpa3.shtm

The bass before had an almost cardboard sound and the unit played loud but not listenable. I will eventually buy the XPA-2 for L/R when I upgrade the Denon to the new Emotiva Pre-Pro XMC.

Now that I have that working better and I started looking at my 20 year old Technics CD player thinking you gotta go and I have the Emotiva ERC being delivered today any minute now. I am hoping that this will further enhance the abilities of the B&W 804s and cannot wait to get some listening in.

http://emotiva.com/erc1.shtm

Yeah, do not bombast me as I really like the Emotiva products and want to have some good value upgrades that I could never afford before. I am truly happy getting this much improvement in my upgrades for not much money and extremely high quality. I am as fickle about Emotiva as I am about B&W for Speakers.







Hmm, not sure how to post a bigger image! It seems to be resizing it too much.
LL
LL
LL
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post #4673 of 13900
6/11/09 at 12:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sticknstones View Post

I have the 804's as well and bought the feet after market for my hardwood floors as I cannot use the spikes.

All B&W speakers have 6mm threads or M6 size.

Here is a link for the ones I got and they have high end ones and practical ones for $160 shipped which is what I have. I like them!

http://www.soundcare.no/

Those are nice. If I ever upgrade to floor standing speakers in an area of the house with hard floors, I'll probably end up getting some.
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post #4674 of 13900
6/11/09 at 1:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RLPIII View Post

Those are nice. If I ever upgrade to floor standing speakers in an area of the house with hard floors, I'll probably end up getting some.

Thanks! I will post a picture later as I just got the CD player delivered! I will show the new units and the B&W with the feet.
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post #4675 of 13900
6/11/09 at 1:27pm
RLPIII and Stick--thank you very much for your comments. I am looking at the superspike feet and will give it a try--need something like that.

Also, you are exactly right, my reciever loses the back surround channels and goes from a 7.1 to a 5.1 when you bi-wire (although the manual calls it "bi-amping"). i don't have enuf time with these speakers to say whether it makes any difference at all but will keep playing with it.

The 804s does seem bass shy to me so far and you are probably right--I need something that will drive them more than this reciever. I have a klipsch subwolfer that is proably 7 years old. I have been reluctant to use it with the 804s hoping that I didn't need a sub. But right now at least, I think I do.

Thanks everyone!!
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post #4676 of 13900
6/11/09 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tracendental View Post

RLPIII and Stick--thank you very much for your comments. I am looking at the superspike feet and will give it a try--need something like that.

Also, you are exactly right, my reciever loses the back surround channels and goes from a 7.1 to a 5.1 when you bi-wire (although the manual calls it "bi-amping"). i don't have enuf time with these speakers to say whether it makes any difference at all but will keep playing with it.

I have not ever really heard a difference when I bi-wired, but bi-amping is a way of adding more power to your speakers. My experience has been that bi-amped B&W speakers sound better, especially at higher volumes.
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post #4677 of 13900
6/11/09 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tracendental View Post

RLPIII and Stick--thank you very much for your comments. I am looking at the superspike feet and will give it a try--need something like that.

Also, you are exactly right, my reciever loses the back surround channels and goes from a 7.1 to a 5.1 when you bi-wire (although the manual calls it "bi-amping"). i don't have enuf time with these speakers to say whether it makes any difference at all but will keep playing with it.

The 804s does seem bass shy to me so far and you are probably right--I need something that will drive them more than this reciever. I have a klipsch subwolfer that is proably 7 years old. I have been reluctant to use it with the 804s hoping that I didn't need a sub. But right now at least, I think I do.

Thanks everyone!!

I posted some pics above that have the Sound Care feet on the 804. They are very well made and have a swivel head to help level them on uneven surfaces.
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post #4678 of 13900
6/11/09 at 2:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sticknstones View Post

I posted some pics above that have the Sound Care feet on the 804. They are very well made and have a swivel head to help level them on uneven surfaces.

The feet look good. Your 804s blend with everything nicely too. Sometimes floor standing speakers stick out like a sore thumb.

I like the glass doors on the front. I hate always having to open doors for the remote to work, but I guess open doors do help with cooling. Also, I am too lazy to get an IR repeater for that particular system.
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post #4679 of 13900
6/11/09 at 2:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sticknstones View Post

Agreed! I have the 804's and for years was not happy with the sound as it was provided through my Denon 3800 series. I added a Emotiva XPA-3 for L/C/R duties and was amazed at the difference in SQ It has 200WPC in 8 Ohms. The B&W 804's definitely like more power!

http://emotiva.com/xpa3.shtm

The bass before had an almost cardboard sound and the unit played loud but not listenable. I will eventually buy the XPA-2 for L/R when I upgrade the Denon to the new Emotiva Pre-Pro XMC.

Now that I have that working better and I started looking at my 20 year old Technics CD player thinking you gotta go and I have the Emotiva ERC being delivered today any minute now. I am hoping that this will further enhance the abilities of the B&W 804s and cannot wait to get some listening in.

http://emotiva.com/erc1.shtm

Yeah, do not bombast me as I really like the Emotiva products and want to have some good value upgrades that I could never afford before. I am truly happy getting this much improvement in my upgrades for not much money and extremely high quality. I am as fickle about Emotiva as I am about B&W for Speakers.







Hmm, not sure how to post a bigger image! It seems to be resizing it too much.

Nice setup... just now gotto change that Samsung TV with a Kuro!
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post #4680 of 13900
6/11/09 at 6:43pm
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Originally Posted by alexb76 View Post

Nice setup... just now gotto change that Samsung TV with a Kuro!

No, you don't want that dead-ended plasma stuff.
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