800 Series Diamond surrounds

[Rod#S]

Hello;

I started moving from a Paradigm Reference setup back in the Spring which I have had for many many years to a 800 Series Diamond setup. My plans are to replace my main 7 speakers but not the subwoofers. I absolutely love Paradigm subs. So far I have replaced my front three speakers. My Paradigm Studio 100v2's were replaced with 802 Diamonds and my Studio CCv2 was replaced with the HTM2 Diamond. I moved my Studio 100's to my surround positions which replaced Studio ADPv2's. I also have Studio 60v2's for rears but those are not currently being used due to a room re-organization, I had to down size from 7.1 to 5.1 but will be moving back to 7.1.

Having lived for so long with towers in the rear positon I have grown to prefer them over bookshelves especially when listening to music so I'm not interested in the 805 Diamonds for my 4 surround speakers at this time which leaves the 804, 803 and 802 Diamonds as my choices. The cheapest option is obviously 4 804 Diamonds but I'm concerned that they are not tall enough to serve as surrounds. My Studio 60's are similar in height and I have those raised up on concrete blocks to get the high frequency drivers to fire over the top of the sofa but given the price of the 804 Diamonds I'm not going to take the risk of putting them on the concrete blocks in case they ever got knocked off. The 803 Diamonds are the tallest of the 3 options so they definitely have the height. I much prefer the look of the 802 Diamonds over the 803 Diamonds but they are also a lot more money. Six 802 Diamonds certainly would look nice in a room though

This is proving to be an incerdibly tough decision. I'm curious what others would do?

Thanks,

Rod

[Masterlu]

Aesthetics are important to me, I would probably go with Six 802's if I were you.

[-E-]

Matching like that would be the best way to go... 7 for a proper 7.1.

And upgrade the subs, too, if you are going that route.

[Rod#S]

Thanks for the responses.

I had considered getting 3 802 Diamonds for my fronts but ended up with the HTM2 Diamond after a good talk with my dealer and he past my situation onto his B&W rep for his input as well and they both agreed that going with the HTM2 Diamond would be better. The reason for this is I have a Pioneer PRO-150FD 60" plasma which sets on a tv stand and since I live in an apartment I can't wall mount the display so if I had of gotten the 802 Diamond for the center it would in no way be centered and for that reason, even though the 802 is a much better speaker than the HTM2 I would not be able to get the balance by having the "center" roughly 4 feet to the actual center and much closer to one of the L/R speakers than the other. It was a real shame that B&W discontined their HTM1D and it was not updated in their current Diamond series as that would be a better match for the 802 Diamonds but I must admit I was completely blown away by HTM2 Diamond, it is a fabulous speaker.

Updating my Paradigm subs to say the B&W DB-1 to keep all speakers from the same family isn't even in the realm of possibly as I don't believe the DB-1 can compete with my Paradigm Signature Sub 25. I also have 2 Paradigm Reference Servo 15a's which are also great subs but what I would like to do is replace them with Sub 25s and add a fourth Sub 25. In a world where cash wasn't an issue I would go for 4 Paradigm Sub2's but at appx. 10k a piece spending 40k on subs just can't financially happen but OMG that would be amazing. The reason I'm thinking ahead to 4 subs is I have a Lexicon MC-12Bv5EQ which supports 3 subs, hence me having 3 now (2 stereo plus the dedicated LFE) however next year Lexicon's replacement for the MC-12 is due out, the MP20 and that will support 4 subs but I want to focus on getting the remaining 4 B&W surrounds first. I suppose if Paradigm were to announce the discontinuation of the Sub 25 I would be forced to change priorities which is always a fear since their introduction of the Sub 1 and Sub 2 a few years ago as they are completely different designs compared to the Sub 25.

Rod

[80B]

The 803D's (last generation) I have behind me are terrific, and aesthetically complement the 802D's in the front, but 802's all around would, based on a demo at a show I heard earlier this year, bring a demonstrable improvement in depth, presence and clarity.

[skyblue]

In my part of the world, 7 802s is crazy. But if you have the money and the space, why not

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by 80B

The 803D's (last generation) I have behind me are terrific, and aesthetically complement the 802D's in the front, but 802's all around would, based on a demo at a show I heard earlier this year, bring a demonstrable improvement in depth, presence and clarity.

So you are currently running one of the configurations I am considering. Very nice. I'm glad to hear you are pleased with the pairing of the 803D and 802D. How far behind or beside are your 803Ds from the main seating position? In that all 802 demo you heard, how far were the speakers from the listener?

Originally Posted by skyblue

In my part of the world, 7 802s is crazy. But if you have the money and the space, why not

Where I live there is roughly a $2500 difference between the 804 Diamonds and 803 Diamonds and roughly a $5000 difference between the 803 Diamonds and the 802 Diamonds so it's a fair bit of money for sure but not an absurd amount in the differences. Spread over many years it's not so bad, you bascially have to think of it as a long term investment which is what they will be for me. I had my Paradigms since 2002 so getting new speakers isn't something I do very often.

I would love to be able to do 3 800 Diamonds up front and have 4 802 Diamonds for the surrounds with 4 Paradigm Sub 2s but I just can't afford to go that route even when looking at it as a long term investment. So a sort of scaled down version of my ultimate system would be what I have now up front plus either 2 more pairs of 802 Diamonds or 803 Diamonds and 4 Paradigm Sub 25s. I'm tentatively looking at getting a 2nd Sub 25 when income season rolls around but I'm also contemplating using that money to help offset the price difference between the 803 and 802 which would be my one and only big ticket item purchase for next year but that hinges on Lexicon brining to market their new MP20 SSP which I want and would take precedence over anything else because it's not going to be cheap.

[bart]

Rod, the difference between the 800 and the 802 is not so big.
I heard an A/B comparison on a top Accuphase system, and a lot of people in the room actually preferred the 802. A touch warmer?
The 800 goes a little deeper, but the soundstage and accuracy were quite equal.

[joeinid]

Originally Posted by bart

Rod, the difference between the 800 and the 802 is not so big.
I heard an A/B comparison on a top Accuphase system, and a lot of people in the room actually preferred the 802. A touch warmer?
The 800 goes a little deeper, but the soundstage and accuracy were quite equal.

I heard a pair of 802 diamonds with Ayre KX-R and MX-R. Very impressive combo. I thought they sounded great.

[skyblue]

Originally Posted by bart

Rod, the difference between the 800 and the 802 is not so big.
I heard an A/B comparison on a top Accuphase system, and a lot of people in the room actually preferred the 802. A touch warmer?
The 800 goes a little deeper, but the soundstage and accuracy were quite equal.

I have had both. I think that 800s are better in the midrange than 802s. That being said, I had very enjoyable musik out of my 802s with a cambridge 740a 100watt integrated amp. Cant really go wrong with either.