It's official; The 800 Diamond 4.
 

And waited we have..

https://www.stereonet.com/uk/news/ne...2OYIMfE3FCYdvM

“Excellence. Evolved.” That's the simple but effective summary B&W are using to explain the next evolution, or D4 as it will be known, of its famous 800 Series Diamond loudspeaker range.

The Sound United owned brand asked its Bowers & Wilkins engineering team the question: “How do you improve on the world's most successful and iconic range of high-end loudspeakers?”. And so, some six years later, its new 800 Series Diamond range is a like-for-like replacement of the outgoing series, featuring seven new models.

Also from Part Time Audiophile:

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2021/..._hl8np8fYw&amp

Some more info here too....


https://www.soundstageaustralia.com/...nd-re-polished


Rumors are circulating but apparently the engineers at B&W are very happy with the subjective results and are of the view that the D4 models are a substantial step forward in that regard. Time will tell of course.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=I...ature=youtu.be

D4 Factory Video

Thanks, doggie. A good explanation of why these may be a significant step up.

https://avplaza.co.kr/audionews/20210827154937/

Scroll down to view specs of different models.

There is still no mention of the Subwoofers… by looking at what they have done with the 805 Stand, may still be boring cheap square boxes and possibly no update ;-(

I like my boring cheap square box (haha), but I agree on your general point. The 805 (and probably the 804) are not complete without a sub, so this is kind of half a loaf for some

Trust me, I dislike the boring square base of my 805D3 Stands too… why are all the other Speakers, Centers included rounded Bases!?

They really do look awesome in real life...

These aren't mine - unfortunately.

Someone I know who's a reviewer phoned me yesterday because he needed some help getting them into his sound room.

I'll have a private audition soon when he's clocked up some running-in time.

Those do look fantastic. Thanks for posting. I look forward to your thoughts.

Cheers,

Scott

Awesome room, too.

+1

Does anyone have the D4 on order?

I have a deposit down

Which model? Did they give you an ETA?

By now, you think there would be a pre-review on the 801/802 D4's. I cannot find anything.

Last week, there was an extensive review on the 805s, 804s, 802s and 801s on a Dutch site.
The reviewer, not a B&W fan until now, was very enthusiastic!

Cannot find it, even with a handful of various search terms. If you are uncomfortable with a link, will you post the name of the site? Thanks

Peter, this is the link.
The review is in Dutch, but you'll be able to find a way around that for sure.

https://hifi.nl/artikel/30346/Wereld...eo-Center.html

Thanks for the link, bart.:thumbsup:

Cheers,

Scott

I read through the review translated to English. Translation may have distorted the review, so hard to understand what is being conveyed. Regardless, seems like a great update!

Thanks, bart! A very helpful review--it definitely makes the case that the upgrade is worth it. I look forward to hearing the 805 and 804 in a month or so

Great to see that reviews are flowing already.

I'll be auditioning the 801D4's soon, so I'm refraining from reading any reviews until after I've heard them, in order to avoid any preconceptions.

Does anyone actually think the 802D3 has deficiencies that require an 802D4? I’m sure they have improved the speaker but I am thinking most people are not even maxing out the D3 they have in terms of components and cabling.

Stil no mention of new D4 Subwoofers… I’ll be disappointed if they are still square boxes that don’t match their 800 Series curves - bring back the ASW825…

British are first to review.....

Hi-Fi News (October issue) has reviewed the 801d4.

The edition can be purchased via Zinio

https://www.zinio.com/au/hi-fi-news-m1303

"Deficiencies...require?" None. But then again we could say the same about the 700s, so I don't think this is the right question. The D4 objective is to make awesome speakers even more awesome

I’m auditioning the 802d4 back to back/side by side against the 802d3 this 9/30.

I've just read it.
It looks more like pure marketing than real review - but that can be said for 99% of "reviews".

Further to a previous post, Edgar has released a teaser preview......

https://www.soundstageaustralia.com/...801-d4-preview

I agree. The overall sound quality rating is the same as the previous 800 D3 which does really mean much but I highly doubt the improvement in the new D4 is as great as the difference between the D3 and the D2 series before it.

I notice too that this is actually the November issue of HFN, so it's obviously been fast-tracked in order for them to get the review into the public domain before other major publications. As a result though it's a bit light on the subjective detail, and omits providing readers with the sort of detailed description of the similarities and differences with the D3 model that many would be looking for.

It's official; The 800 Diamond 4.
 

I’m about to pull the trigger on a pair of new 804 D3 speakers or a pair of new 805 D3 speakers. I’m doing this because I think that the new D4 versions of these two speakers which I was waiting for are ugly. I’m ok with the look of the 803 on up, but the smaller speakers didn’t need to be changed and an 803 or larger won’t fit in my house. Just my opinion, but speakers are a piece of furniture and I just can’t see either in my house. My problem is that I can’t decide on which ones. I’ve been told by many that the 805 is actually the better speaker. Pair it with a small sub and you’ll have a killer system. Even if you add a sub to the 804, I’ve been told that an 805 sub combo will outperform an 804 sub combo because the 805 images so much better. Is this true? As you can see in my signature, I have an MC462 so I have plenty of power for either. What are your thoughts? Something to consider, I like to turn it up to 11!

Personally I’d take an 803 any day over my 805…and I may go 803 in another home - numero uno are the high frequencies which are a bit less aggressive to my ears… I do like my 805 (now that I’ve got a high end resistor mod to tame the Tweeter), but they are not quite 803 league which my friend had

Edit - too early in the morning not reading properly, apologies

But as I said, an 803 won’t fit in my living space. I’m trying to decide between an 804 and an 805, not an 803 and an 805. The 804 and 805 are the only ones that will fit.

It may be time to consider the D4... In case you missed it earlier, this review mentions...

Agreed! They should have left the top plate on the 805 and 804 alone, i.e., kept it wood. They don't need the leather that the turbine head versions do. As for which to get, I would lean towards the 804 D3. It does have a hot top end but that can be tamed a little. Plus it's a full range speaker (subs aren't necessary) and is more cost effective when you add the price of the stands to the 805 D3. I don't find the 805 D3 to image any better than the 804 D3, but it is less bright in comparison. You'll probably get more mileage out of the 804 D3 too.

The scoring system of HFN is not absolute. They do not give score on sound quality only, but you can consider it a score that measures the performance and quality you get within a price. So 92% for 30K is not the same sound quality for 92% for 35K.