Review of 804 D4 just published in Stereophile

[Greg Gale]

Just read the review of the new 804 D4 by John Atkinson in January's issue.

Overall it was a good review with him recommending an audition, however he had some concerns.

His concerns were similar to previous B&W 800 series reviews with too much treble energy shown in his frequency measurements between 3.5kHz and 15kHz and a lack of presence region energy. He also noted some suck out in the upper midrange in the 300Hz to 1000kHz range.

He was also bothered by two high level port resonance peaks at 300Hz and 600Hz, but claims he did not hear audible consequences of this.

He felt the fact that the treble region being accentuated and the upper midrange being lower in level would make the 804D4 sound "undernourished" depending on the material played.

He compared the frequency plot in the same room and electronics to the PSB Synchrony T600's which he reviewed earlier which shows a more even frequency response especially through the midrange and treble although he said the PSB's could "sound somewhat mellow in the highs". Not sure if he thought this was a good trait or not, but he is always in favor of the treble frequency's rolling off gently as being desirable which is not how B&W's traditionally measure with the diamond tweeter.

Overall he felt the strengths outweighed the concerns which were high sensitivity, a very quiet enclosure with good dispersion, and good matching between each speaker which typically means excellent quality control and driver build.

I am anxious to hear them and am sure the new 804D4 is a significant step up from the previous D3 series.

I personally am anxious to see more reviews on the 802D4 series compared to the 802D3. I currently have the 802D3 which I purchased new going on 5 years old. Each time I hear them I fall in love with their music making capability.