Bowers&Wilkins 805 D3 - it is impossible to demand anything more from acoustics

What's good or bad about the B&W 805 D3 bookshelf speakers?

Good afternoon I decided to write my opinion on a related topic: B&W 805D2. I have owned these speakers for about 2 years. They play great. I listen to them, I’m satisfied, the entire range is tuned so that there is enough in all frequencies from top to bottom of everything (I’m not a fan of the double-glazed window being torn out, but they will give a head start to most floor-standing speakers, if you need the beat to beat and the bass to play, they do it with all their heart, there is a link to my recording on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrDeY5ZyJY). I listen to this miracle of an English idea with SD Technix or with Apple Music or with wirelles NAD DAC1 via a PC. The amplifier as seen in the Nad 356 video. Experience I have used speakers, I was looking for a B&W 303, Dynaudio 2/7? KEF R300 when I was young, and besides that I listened to everything I could in Krasnoyarsk. My conclusions are approximately the following (judge as you wish, this is me and my ears and My preferences).

It’s not easy to dig into these speakers in terms of workmanship, sound evenness (high frequencies are slightly overestimated from the point of view of sound engineering (previously I was involved in writing club house music), reproduced frequency range and other characteristics. Regarding the possibility of their working with an inexpensive amplifier.. great they play with NAD 356, everything is there.. (I won’t say otherwise here, I haven’t listened to them with another amplifier, but I hardly believe that the sound will change categorically).

HOWEVER, I will say this... at one time, as I wrote above, I had B&W DM 303 speakers... and the conclusion is the following... I have never heard more soulful and emotional sound from any speakers, those speakers costing 8,600 rubles (I bought them when I was 16 years) we played like crazy (there is a review in Yandex). I will say this, for about 8 years of use, I could listen to a recording that I had listened to many times before and get emotions as if I had just turned it on for the first time... so many nuances and, as they say in TONIN wine, these speakers gave out, you could cry in the mood under this kind of recording, BUT the bass line was probably zero in comparison with all existing speakers. I sold them to a friend, ideally, he has good hearing, he is happy to this day (he listened to them in a room of 8 sq. m in a dorm). My speakers and all the ones I listened to have no emotions, they just play their own frequency response... there’s nothing to get to the bottom of, but there’s no buzz. The sound is close to smooth studio sound, I haven’t tried mixing on it, but it might be very convenient to do sound editing, but there are no emotions. Perhaps... it’s about the amplifier, but I played DM 303 on a Russian two-block amplifier (I don’t remember the name) and a Vega SD.

Conclusions: In the field of music, all the speakers YOU need have already been created a long time ago, find them and have fun after a hard day at work, you shouldn’t get dirty and strive for the ideal, it’s like the answer to the question what is the essence of life, it’s different for everyone

P/S don’t judge, it was boring, I wrote my opinion) And also, there is a desire to take DM 303 someday and hook them up via bi-wiring with 805, but let them play on the bottom, and let the entire top and middle sing from DM 303) for sure it will be great, sorry I don’t have time))

Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 is a TRIUMPH!

Review in pdf format.

The AV Forums magazine (Sept 24, 2021) published a review of the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 bookshelf speaker systems. In an article entitled “A trip through the space time Continuum,” author Ed Selley describes their merits.

Based on his audition results, he gave them high marks: 10 for workmanship, 8 for coherence, 9 for sound quality, 9 for ease of use, 9 for features, 9 for value/cost, and an overall score of 9 out of 10! Overall, Ed Selley awarded them the title of Best Buy - Best Buy!

VERDICT

The 805 D4 speakers are as technically advanced as we've come to expect from the 800 Series, but at the same time truly a joy to listen to. They combine precision and realism with a level of engagement never before achieved by their predecessors, while offering best-in-class craftsmanship and finish to boot.

PROS: • Excellent sound; an almost perfect balance between technical precision and pleasure • Beautifully crafted and finished • Easily forgives the shortcomings of other partner components, which is quite useful

“Just as is the case with Mercedes S Class cars, the features you first see here eventually reach more accessible levels. This is a statement of intent and something where Bowers & Wilkins has an edge over almost every other company. That's because the 800 Series is - by a considerable margin - the best-selling line of high-end speakers. The thing is, the 800 Series has economies of scale that don't exist anywhere else in audio."

“This means that the forecast for the 805 D4 is very good. It is the product of thirty years of evolution, incorporating technologies, materials and engineering processes that are not easily duplicated by other companies, even at such a fairly high price. Good omens are one thing, but true greatness is another. Are these really the best standmount's standmount speakers, the standard, the one and only? It's time to find out."

“Going back to the more easily described parameters, the 805 D4 has some obvious advantages. First of all, it is quite easy to work with an amplifier. Bowers & Wilkins claims a sensitivity of 88 dB/W at an impedance of 8 ohms (minimum 4.6 ohms) and a frequency response of 42 Hz to 28 kHz. If none of these numbers fill you with shock and awe, it's because they seem completely achievable with other speakers. In short, the 805 D4 will work well with a wide variety of amplifiers."

“And as soon as you plug them in, they use a ton of engineering and material advancements to deliver on the musical promises they make. Thanks to the internal bracing and massive tweeter housing, there is quite a bit of sound coloration, even imperceptible, but rather than you pointing out its benefits in such a dispassionate way, you'll instead immediately notice that the 805 D4 is a master class in creating a truly magnificent soundstage. which is always proportional to the music being played and in which the speakers themselves simply disappear. As a starting point for describing the experience, this is a very good idea.”

“In this speaker-created space, the tonal realism and fine detail rendering are outstanding. A comment I've seen about Bowers & Wilkins designs, right down to models that I personally didn't experience any problems with at all, such as the 705 Signature, is that the overall balance is supposedly pushed forward and that they can sound too "bright" at high volume. Now, given that I don't believe this applies to the 705 Signature or 702 Signature, you can take these comments with a grain of salt, but I honestly believe they don't apply here at all. You can provoke the 805 D4, but you have to pick some really terrible stuff and carve them for it to be a problem - meaning they can be provoked by doing a process that will provoke almost any speaker."

“If you can hold your own, Bowers & Wilkins is a commanding partner that handles voices, instruments and effects effortlessly; using your technical prowess to become musically compelling rather than something you coolly admire. Sean Rowe's majestic "To Leave Something Behind" (aka the song at the end of "The Accountant'") in the hands of the 805 D4 is the kind of "stop, stop what you're doing and listen to this" moment. The sheer weight, presence and spontaneity of Roe's vocals are incredibly compelling. The 805 D4 has an unwavering flair that speaks volumes about the enormous effort that went into its creation, and the result - thanks to careful and painstaking work - is never dull or sterile."

“The upper registers are complemented by a bass response that, like the engine power of Rolls Royce cars in the past, has always been “enough.” Bass isn't just extended (although, make no mistake, it's hard to come by on bookshelf units), it's attractively fast, with clear integration and detail on offer throughout the operation. There's nothing that I can identify as port noise or chassis interference, and that contributes to the delightfully laid-back feel they create. This also means that the scale of sound that the 805 D4 can produce is excellent. Zimmer's mammoth score for "Dune" in the hands of Bowers & Wilkins is an experience that is immediately tangible, but never goes beyond "hi-fi."

“Amid all this positivity, my biggest—in fact, really my only—problem with the 805 D4 is that it's niche-specific, no doubt... but, at least for me, something of an irritant. Much more than other speakers I've tested that beat it in price, the 805 D4 is a model that comes alive above a certain volume level. I tested this with two amps and found this effect with both. As someone who lives in a fairly small house, often with a seven-year-old sleeping upstairs above me, this means that at levels where the other speaker is still brilliantly engaged, the 805 D4 feels a little recessed and closed. You might - quite reasonably - point out that I am something of an anomaly, someone who listens to fairly high-end speakers in non-high-end housing (to which I would point out that for certain areas - for example the whole of the South East of the UK - the balance between room size and speaker cost is definitely non-linear), but it's repeatable enough to be worth mentioning."

“Of course, it would be wise to note that once you get into the right zone, the ease with which Bowers & Wilkins deliver intuitive and completely satisfying performances of music becomes an extraordinary experience in itself. Running a "3D" mix of Kraftwerk's "Elektro Kardiogram" after giving the 805D4 some air is much more than just listening to technical and engineering excellence, and the measured results of what you hear are very, very good ones. It's FUN; the real, unadulterated, "so that's why I got into this hell of a hobby in the first place" joy that I experienced with the 705 Signature, and which carried over fully into the 805D4. To sum up this section, the newest 805 has surpassed the merits of all the technologies that went into it to simply become superior in its own right.”

conclusions

“Judged on their own enormous merits, the 805 D4 acoustics are a triumph. The undeniable technical excellence of what Bowers & Wilkins can do now is combined with user friendliness, easy compatibility and just plain unbridled entertainment that some previous generations previously promised but didn't quite deliver on. What you have here are smart speakers using their intelligence to become brilliant performers rather than showing off how smart they are. They deliver the music accurately, effortlessly, and effortlessly, while balancing it all with the ability to make you smile dreamily like an idiot when the moment is right. Bowers & Wilkins has accomplished everything it set out to do with this latest 800 Series, and the 805 D4 is a clear Best Buy - Best Buy."

We recommend looking at the following models:

• Speaker stand Bowers & Wilkins FS-805 D4. Black.
• Speaker stand Bowers & Wilkins FS-805 D4. SilverGrey.
• Bookshelf speaker Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4. Gloss Black.
• Bookshelf speaker Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4. Satin Rosenut.
• Bookshelf speaker Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4. White.
• Bookshelf speaker Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4. Satin Walnut.