I actually think the w3-871 can cope just fine. I have listened from about 9 feet away at 90db with no sign of distortion.
I am crossed over around 150Hz.
The back wave is an interesting thought though. The w3-871 driver is shielded and thus the magnet structure may be blocking the back wave.
Perhaps the room dispersion pattern is sufficiently different from the B-200 to also create a more closed in feeling.
