I am sure I am biased with owning the 802D3 for 5 years, but I had my first chance to see an 802D4 close up to see the differences.
In my opinion I feel the 802D3 is more attractive to my eye mainly due to:
- The tweeter tube being finished in the same gloss black as the Turbine head which gives it a more cohesive appearance versus the grooved anodized finish which looks dull and unfinished to me. I also like the back end of the D3 tweeter tube polished aluminum end which is a better match for the round polished aluminum back of the turbine head and the edge of the aluminum spline.
- The metal woofer rings that protrude through the cabinet on the D3's have a brushed aluminum finish which looks high tech vs what appears to be a sprayed on paint finish (metallic like finish)
- Eliminated the Bowers and Wilkins logo at the bottom of the cabinet which is very nice looking and more prominently displayed than the logo on the Tweeter ring.
I am sure finishing the cabinet in this way reduced the amount of labor hours it took to finish the cabinet.
The one big improvement is the finishing grills for the bass drivers that look better integrated but since I do not use them anyway this does not really matter to me. Wondering if the new bass grills will attach to the D3?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in my eyes I like the aesthetics of the 802D3 better than the D4.