When’s the D4 coming?

[mhasman]

And...
Where is Flowport located on new 804 D4? On back? At the buttom?
Could anyone explain, please, how is it deferent comparing with front location on 804 D3?
Thanks!

[BullittMan]

On the bottom.

[LeZwing]

My local B&W dealer (and good friend) confirmed he has a pair each of 801 and 802D4's on the way, as floor demos. Apparently dealers were authorised to place early orders so to be able to demo them by the official Sept 1st public release date.
Pricing, he stated, was to be 45,000$ (Can) for a pair of 801's. That's 20% increase above the outgoing 800D3 (still shown at 36,000$). The 802D4 will list at 32,000$, making them almost twice the price of the former 802D2 model, which I own.

...And I thought about moving up to the 800D3 (now 801D4)... I'll think twice, and probably pay a visit to the local Magico dealer. A pair of S5 Mk2's isn't so far off at this point...

[Greg Gale]

One reason B&W retains so much of their original value with the 800 series is at least on the D3 and now the D4 they have raised the pricing substantially. In the D4's case unless they have made substantial sound gains over the D3, the cosmetics at least compared to my 802D3 to me is not necessarily an improvement. On the D3 I like the slight curvature of the top where the Turbine head sits finished in piano black.

Going with a flat top, even though it is apparently made out of aluminum with Connolly leather covering, is probably cheaper for them to produce as this is a very complex piece to mill from the machining work I have seen from factory photos.

I wonder if you could still get the top finished in a piano black if you go with the entire speaker this way. I think the D3 finished in all piano black is fantastic.

Not planning to sell my D3's as I love them but when I do I am sure the value on them will be strong.

[BullittMan]

Originally Posted by Greg Gale

In the D4's case unless they have made substantial sound gains over the D3, the cosmetics at least compared to my 802D3 to me is not necessarily an improvement. On the D3 I like the slight curvature of the top where the Turbine head sits finished in piano black.

Going with a flat top, even though it is apparently made out of aluminum with Connolly leather covering, is probably cheaper for them to produce as this is a very complex piece to mill from the machining work I have seen from factory photos.

I think the D3 finished in all piano black is fantastic.

I find the 802D3 to be the most visually appealing of the three D3 turbine headed models. That said, there always seemed to be something missing. This is mostly apparent with the non-gloss finishes. As beautiful as piano black is, it doesn't show the speaker well. Piano black takes on a chameleon like effect by blending in with its surroundings. In other words, mostly what you see are the room's reflections in the speaker not so much the speaker itself. So that tends to mask what seems to be missing in the D3's visuals.

When I saw the D4 it occurred to me what was in fact missing with the D3, obviously B&W noticed it too. The D3 is missing a "collar". This is analogous to a shirt. A T-shirt has no collar, a dressier shirt does. So by adding the leather finish and aluminum trim it gives the D4 a collar, i.e., a more upscale "finished" look when compared to the D3.

The 802D3 outclasses the 803D3 in both sound and vision, but it's just so physically imposing for my space. I was hopeful that the 803D3 would be the charm but it missed the target on both fronts. However, I was willing to make some compromise on sound given my unfortunate domestic constraints. I just could not get over all the issues it has visually. So even if the 803D4 sounds no better than the 803D3, I would take it every day of the week and twice on Sunday because it looks WAY better.

[LeZwing]

I agree with you, adding a trim and reintroducing leather on the D4'S will add a touch of class. Maybe B&W received comments on the rather stripped down looks of the D3 gen, after all the former headed D2's were dressed with leather...
Have you seen pictures of the new walnut cabinet finish? I can't wait to see it in the flesh. Althought it may not please everyone's taste, it will surely be the most stricking of them all. Makes me think of a B&W -meet- Sonus Faber kind of approach... We'll see!

[hdvidguy]

Originally Posted by LeZwing

I agree with you, adding a trim and reintroducing leather on the D4'S will add a touch of class. Maybe B&W received comments on the rather stripped down looks of the D3 gen, after all the former headed D2's were dressed with leather...
Have you seen pictures of the new walnut cabinet finish? I can't wait to see it in the flesh. Althought it may not please everyone's taste, it will surely be the most stricking of them all. Makes me think of a B&W -meet- Sonus Faber kind of approach... We'll see!

Adding leather just means like more maintenance to me. Need to add take care if it. It would be nice to have the option or not.

Regardless, the price increase is just too much for me to swallow. Looking elsewhere now.

[Kal Rubinson]

Wait for it, wait for it.................................

[ti33er]

Lol I’m still waiting for my Pay Rise… I’ve not had one in six years due to ‘the Economy’ so it’s been claimed …so why should B&W and REL (i.e. T9X) suggest price hikes are rational; especially during a Covid Recession !?! …it’s all about the money - I doubt anyone would be complaining if prices remained the same, just models with updates/tweaks as you would expect after six years to think about things :-)

[PietDV]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2BYs2V9MYY

More details and info on D4 series...looks all nice