BW 805 vs. 705

I listened to both the 805's and 705's prior to making my decision.


The 805's were great across the board. However, the metal dome tweeters were a bit bracing at times.


The 705's (much more in my price range) were good, but a bit too forward. Furthermore, they seemed completely lacking in bass compared to the 805's.


So my decision....................... dynaudio 52 se's. Really, if you can, give them a listen before you buy. If you haven't established whether you prefer metal or soft tweeters, you should before dropping the bucks. The 52 se's are great (IMO) for the price range. They can be had for 90% of the cost of 705's.


Just my 2 cents. Happy shopping.


Craig

I actually compared to 2 for a bout a good half a hour with some of my cds. I brought in Best of U2 and Maroon 5, basically one of my all time favorites and current favorite. I pretty much memorized the specs difference between the 2 before I went in a listen to them. The 705s has a lower frequency extension so on some of the Maroon 5 tracks, it did grab me a little bit more. But when it comes to the U2 tracks the vocals on the 805s really put me in a very relaxed mood. I think at the end of the day, when I come home the 805s with a capable sub can really take a load off my shoulders. But knowing me, more than half of my usuage on the speakers will be movies, so the 805s aren't really needed. The 805s has a wider soundstage and the speakers seem to disappear, where the 705s just seemed to have difficulty doing that. Both me and my girlfriend actually prefered the 805s better, but in our opinion it isn't worth the 25% increase in cost.

Basically what I'm going to end up doing is that, I already have the 601s and LCR600 w/ SVS PCi20-39 right now. My dealer offers a trade in program within a year of purchase. Around June or July, I'm going to trade my 601s and LCR600 for the 705s w/ HTM7. And a year later trade the 705s & HTM7 for the 804s and HTM1. I really prefered the 804s w/ HTM1 combo the best, but I just can't afford that right now, so the 705s and HTM7 is just the in between stage for me while I get better amps and proc. to prepare for the Nautilus range. PM me more if you want more info. Good luck.

I originally wanted to buy the 700 series, either 704's or 705's, but a long demo at my dealer comparing them to the 805's and 804's proved that I preferred the 800 series.

For rock I initially preferred the 705's over the 805's, as they sounded more open.

But everything else sounded better on the 805's, much wider soundstage and less fatiguing.

The 705's sounded a bit cold and sometimes rather edgy, even on Rotel amps.

So I went with 805's, and later on I moved those to the rear and got 804's as fronts.

I do want to warn you that 805's don't sound all that great when powered by a mid-class receiver like a Denon 3805 or something in that category.

It'll still sound more than OK, but not even close to what the speakers are capable of.

The 705's are better in this aspect, they're easier to please.

In my opinion, 805's require separates (for HT) in the same pricerange as the speakers themselves.

So for stereo, an integrated amp in the $1500 - $2500 price range will be great.

For surround however, the bill will quickly rise to over $5000 or more for a decent pre/pro and a poweramp if you want to get the most out of them.

And don't forget, those 805 speakerstands aren't cheap either but recommended none the less