What’s the rest of your system?

Moving to the 802 will be more then the bass! I've heard the 804's on a Bryston system, then I heard the 800's on simular Bryston system. Oh man, the sound stage opens up way beyond the speakers. Mids and highs will make you smile with the 802 D3's! Oh yeah, more defined bass and lower extension too.

no - better ways to spend the money, most likely.

Sure, front end seems like the best way to start. But the poster has not mentioned what he has so far.

The 802 D3 are in completely different league than your 804 D3. No comparison, not just the bass but everything. Completely different animal altogether. If you have the room for the 802 D3 and are willing to pay the big difference in price I would highly recommend you to make a jump to the 802 D3.

What are your electronics? Are these mainly for HT (surround movies) or both stereo music and HT?

My dad has the 804D3 with MJ Acoustics sub. I have the 802D3 with no sub. We have the same DAC and similar amps. If 80% of your usage is home theater, the 804D3 is more than good enough with a sub. You do not need an 802D3 for movies.

… a matter of opinion. Movie soundtracks can be quite good and benefit from 802D3. I just added the HTM1D3 to my home theater -- along with repurposing a pair of 803D1s. It's a difference I would never want to move away from unless I replace the 803s with 802d3s.

I was thinking about getting a pair of 804 D3 for my two channel stereo system, but my impression is that they have been less well-received by the audio press than previous 804 S through D2. That doesn't mean the press is right! But, I am curious, as I really liked the first 804D, which is the last 804 I've listened to.

If you get the 802-D3 (as I think you should), I'll bet that your audio only listening will increase above 20%.

yes to the 802’s d3, they are really good, except of course for the 800’s d3 those are even better.