Review of 804 D4 just published in Stereophile
 

Just read the review of the new 804 D4 by John Atkinson in January's issue.

Overall it was a good review with him recommending an audition, however he had some concerns.

His concerns were similar to previous B&W 800 series reviews with too much treble energy shown in his frequency measurements between 3.5kHz and 15kHz and a lack of presence region energy. He also noted some suck out in the upper midrange in the 300Hz to 1000kHz range.

He was also bothered by two high level port resonance peaks at 300Hz and 600Hz, but claims he did not hear audible consequences of this.

He felt the fact that the treble region being accentuated and the upper midrange being lower in level would make the 804D4 sound "undernourished" depending on the material played.

He compared the frequency plot in the same room and electronics to the PSB Synchrony T600's which he reviewed earlier which shows a more even frequency response especially through the midrange and treble although he said the PSB's could "sound somewhat mellow in the highs". Not sure if he thought this was a good trait or not, but he is always in favor of the treble frequency's rolling off gently as being desirable which is not how B&W's traditionally measure with the diamond tweeter.

Overall he felt the strengths outweighed the concerns which were high sensitivity, a very quiet enclosure with good dispersion, and good matching between each speaker which typically means excellent quality control and driver build.

I am anxious to hear them and am sure the new 804D4 is a significant step up from the previous D3 series.

I personally am anxious to see more reviews on the 802D4 series compared to the 802D3. I currently have the 802D3 which I purchased new going on 5 years old. Each time I hear them I fall in love with their music making capability.

I thought the 804d4 sounded brighter relative to the 802d4

With the caveats that I have not read the review because it is not online, and that my technical expertise is approximately zero--Atkinson's review rings true to this longtime B&W fan. I've enjoyed my 805 D3s, and I don't think there are many stand-mounts that can match them overall. But there is definitely an edge to the sound that is easy to hear when compared to other good speakers, I assume this is what he terms treble energy.

I like me some "treble energy" too please. :D :yes:

He referred to the treble energy as "excessive" with some of the highest notes in some of the recordings he listened to being "accentuated" which I took as not being accurate.

He made a comment about having to turn down the volume due to "presence-region emphasis" on vocals on a particular recording so that he was more comfortable.

You will have to read the review to get the total picture but in his conclusion he stated he found the sound "seductive" and worth auditioning.

It looks like they changed the tweeter enclosure, but did they change the tweeter itself?

If it’s the same tweeter I lived with for 5 years with the 800D2s … then it is kinda bright. Which was fine - to my ears, in my (very well damped, custom 2 channel/movie theater) room with LOTS of absorptive panels. Electronic and rock music were actually very good. Classical and acoustic were not as accurate as it could be. But it sure was fun.

The tweeter motor, surround and entire housing assembly changed form the D2 to the D3.

On the D4 they lengthened the tweeter housing and eliminated one of the magnets in an area behind the dome they claim to reduce resonance.

B&W also claims the tweeter is better isolated as compared to the D3 as they now have two isolated connection points versus only 1 on the D3.

Whether or not this truly makes an audible difference I don’t know.

The only thing you could say that has not changed from when the diamond tweeter was introduced is the dome itself.

My primary complaint with JA and his reviews is that, although he points out numerous "faults" with the 804D4, he still calls it a "good" (notice the lack of superlatives that he uses for the best he reviews) speaker because he is biased for all things audio that come from the UK. As a subscriber from about the time JA came on board at Stereophile, I've noticed this unfortunate trait. Though JA is an excellent technician, they should find a less biased person to run their reviews & measurements on gear from the UK.

To clarify what I wrote before, and to respond to Greg and YB-2--I appreciate that editorial style can be frustrating, but I pretty much agree with JA. The B&W 800 series are great speakers, and should be auditioned by any buyer in the $10-20K price range. But there is more "treble energy" than most of the competition, and this will be a problem for some.

One of the puzzles of our hobby is that even very good, very expensive products often have weaknesses compared to products that are not nearly as good overall. My 805s are way better than my B&W CM-1s, which are still very good speakers, just a step or two down the food chain. But the CM-1s do not have the excess treble energy issue. The 805s are kind of like a Porsche compared to the CM-1 Honda-level speaker. The "Honda" is not in the same league, but has some obvious advantages wrt livability.

I read the JA review. I don’t think there’s any other way to say, but that was a negative review. I do agree that the 804d4 did sound bright to me relative to the 802d4.