B&W Diamonds

1ZIP · « **on:** 12 Mar 2010, 06:16 am »

Has anyone heard the B&W Diamond series yet? Just curious what your impressions are about them.

Ilkatze · « **Reply #1 on:** 12 Mar 2010, 08:31 pm »

I heard the Diamond series a short while back---they were priced at around 8K (?), don't remember the exact model.

They were being fed by a 4BSST-2, BP26, and BCD-1. Had I not known they were Diamonds, I could easily have heard them as a previous B&W series, or even some other "XYZ Wonder Speaker--Sapphire".

So, they sounded very nice, but not so nice that I'd rush (or even mosey) out to spend the extra dough on them.

I actually considered going for a previous/earlier B&W offering (800 non-diamond series) at almost half the price.

The diamonds are good, though, no doubt about it.

1ZIP · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 Mar 2010, 08:49 pm »

Ya, the 805 Diamonds are $5K. Not sure any improvements are worth the extra $$'s. I do like my current 805's (non-diamond) with the Bryston gear.

vegasdave · « **Reply #3 on:** 13 Mar 2010, 12:40 am »

Does anyone think that B&W is overpriced?

SHV · « **Reply #4 on:** 13 Mar 2010, 12:57 am »

Quote from: vegasdave on 13 Mar 2010, 12:40 am

Does anyone think that B&W is overpriced?

Good question and I guess compared to what? Is there added value for a product from a 'large" company that can afford expensive R & D and testing equipment vs a "seat of the pants" R & D by ear approach? The price of very high quality drivers doesn't seem to be a lot compared to the total price of the the final product so when does the difference in materials and labor cost vs retail = "rip-off" vs added value from scientific R & D?

Steve

tesseract · « **Reply #5 on:** 13 Mar 2010, 01:22 am »

I am have found my time with various B&W 600 series (currently 602S3) worthwhile, they opened another hifi door for me and introduced me to another speaker that rises above the status quo. I am ready to move past these, and 700/800 series for me, has to be considered.

I would ultimately like a nice kit/DIY design that slays the giants. Can it be done? I am going to audition several others choices, kit/DIY looks promising. I will stay B&W with no regrets, they have a fine product.

Laundrew · « **Reply #6 on:** 13 Mar 2010, 01:42 am »

I wonder how long it requires to bring an average product from concept to showroom in North America

Be well...

SHV · « **Reply #7 on:** 13 Mar 2010, 06:01 am »

I would ultimately like a nice kit/DIY design that slays the giants. Can it be done?
*********
I think DIY is more complicated now than it was back in the day when I built a pair of DIY Bozak Concert Grands in my apartment living room in 1972. IIRC they were sealed box ~60" x 36 x 26 with 4 12' woofers, 2 8" mids and an linear array of 8 2" tweeters. They were very efficient and were easily driven by a single Mac 275 amp. There weakness was size (moving the damn things) and upper range extension but for the time they were very good and I kept them for 20+ years.

steve

vegasdave · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 08:31 am »

Quote from: SHV on 13 Mar 2010, 12:57 am

Good question and I guess compared to what? Is there added value for a product from a 'large" company that can afford expensive R & D and testing equipment vs a "seat of the pants" R & D by ear approach? The price of very high quality drivers doesn't seem to be a lot compared to the total price of the the final product so when does the difference in materials and labor cost vs retail = "rip-off" vs added value from scientific R & D?

Steve

Compared to companies like JBL, Klipsch, and Thiel. They have products that cost a lot less than the B&W 800D series, but still high performance.

Phil A · « **Reply #9 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 01:21 pm »

Quote from: vegasdave on 14 Mar 2010, 08:31 am

Compared to companies like JBL, Klipsch, and Thiel. They have products that cost a lot less than the B&W 800D series, but still high performance.

I concur. I have Thiel 3.7s now in the main system. In the basement system I have old B&W P6s which were a scaled down version of a $4k speaker they had for around $1.6-$1.8k. I've had them for many years. When I first got them they were in the main system. When I upgraded many moons ago they sat for a bit and I briefly used them in the bedroom system before I finished the basement. I'm still amazed by how good they sound for what they cost.

gerald porzio · « **Reply #10 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 01:40 pm »

The Bozak Concert Grands were the size of a fridge & needed a good SS amp to tame the bass. Rudy was always working on a new tweeter that never saw the light of day.

1ZIP · « **Reply #11 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 05:44 pm »

....anybody heard the Avalons?

vegasdave · « **Reply #12 on:** 14 Mar 2010, 06:45 pm »

Quote from: Phil A on 14 Mar 2010, 01:21 pm

I concur. I have Thiel 3.7s now in the main system. In the basement system I have old B&W P6s which were a scaled down version of a $4k speaker they had for around $1.6-$1.8k. I've had them for many years. When I first got them they were in the main system. When I upgraded many moons ago they sat for a bit and I briefly used them in the bedroom system before I finished the basement. I'm still amazed by how good they sound for what they cost.

Very cool. I'd love to have the 3.7s, but I can't afford them. C'est La Vie.

jas007 · « **Reply #13 on:** 10 Apr 2011, 03:30 pm »

Quote from: 1ZIP on 12 Mar 2010, 08:49 pm

Ya, the 805 Diamonds are $5K. Not sure any improvements are worth the extra $$'s. I do like my current 805's (non-diamond) with the Bryston gear.

Same here. I've just had my new Bryston gear a few days, or at least the amp and pre-amp equipment, and my B&W 805 Nautilus speakers never sounded so good. Maybe an upgrade to the 805Ds would be worth it, maybe not. In any event, my next purchase is a BDP-1 and a USB drive or two. I'll download some high resolution music and see how it all sounds then.

PRELUDE · « **Reply #14 on:** 10 Apr 2011, 11:10 pm »

Quote from: vegasdave on 13 Mar 2010, 12:40 am

Does anyone think that B&W is overpriced?

Depends on.If you look at it as a speaker,yes but furniture no.B&W does not make his own cabinets. www.kvist.com/EN/
It cost way more to make the cabinets in Denmark then ship it to UK.

budt · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Apr 2011, 12:56 am »

Quote from: PRELUDE on 10 Apr 2011, 11:10 pm

Depends on.If you look at it as a speaker,yes but furniture no.B&W does not make his own cabinets. www.kvist.com/EN/
It cost way more to make the cabinets in Denmark then ship it to UK.

This is FALSE. The cabinets for the 800 series are made in England( have been for about 2 years now).
Whether you like B&W or not I think the 800 series are much cheaper than if PMC, ATC,harbeth,Jm Labs or any other made them. Simply look at the construction of the 802 diamond or 800 diamond.
The previous "D" series were ok but The latest "diamond" series is a totally different matter and sound fabulous( imo)( again if properly setup). I am sure there are those who will disagree and that is fine.

jaxwired · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Apr 2011, 01:11 am »

Quote from: budt on 11 Apr 2011, 12:56 am

This is FALSE. The cabinets for the 800 series are made in England( have been for about 2 years now).
Whether you like B&W or not I think the 800 series are much cheaper than if PMC, ATC,harbeth,Jm Labs or any other made them. Simply look at the construction of the 802 diamond or 800 diamond.
The previous "D" series were ok but The latest "diamond" series is a totally different matter and sound fabulous( imo)( again if properly setup). I am sure there are those who will disagree and that is fine.

I disagree.

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Apr 2011, 02:03 am »

Quote from: jaxwired on 11 Apr 2011, 01:11 am

I disagree.

That is fine.

D.D.

redbook · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Apr 2011, 03:20 am »

I have always respected a company that make their own transducers, ect.

bernardl · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 Apr 2011, 03:52 am »

Being a current 804s user, I do like some aspects of them but have never been totally satisfied by the mid and bass. I feel a lack of integration and coherence with bass that bloom too much, probably because of the said cabinet. This being said these speakers are very very difficult to drive well and even my former Nuforce V3SE couldn't really tap into the potential of the 804s.

The 804d appears to be significantly better, but for that amount of cash I'll probably go for real high end like the new Wilson Benesch Vector. The Curve already sounded better than the B&W, I am ready to be stunned by the Vector. The other B&W like the 802D are probably in the same class in terms of sound, but they are way too bulky, heavy and pricy for my taste.

Cheers,
Bernard