Auditioned B&W 703's today.....

[Pat D]

Well I heard a nice little $900.00Cdn Polk I would take over the Studio 100 in a heartbeat - and I have heard the N801 versus the Studio 100V2 - N801 is miles better - The 100 V2 is a quaint little speaker - dull, lifeless and musically totally unsatisfying to me.

And the N802 is better than the N801 in many a area - many people actually prefer the N802 - I'm mixed - either to me are vastly superior to any Paradigm or PSB or Energy with the exception of the Energy V2.4 that I can recall. I say I prefered a speaker to the N801 - which also means I prefer it to the others that the N801 beat - which is most speakers under 10KUS I have heard over the last 15 years. Sadly the Matrix line was even better - but speaker companies today need to sell fashion over sound.

So the N802 beats the N801? Well, I did A-B the N802 and the Studio 100, v.2, and it was no contest for me. The Studio 100 wiped the floor with the N802. So you prefer something else? So what?

I have heard the B & W 801 Matrix Series II fairly recently and it wouldn't do for me. Even its owner, who was selling it, told me that it needed to be played loudly to get the kind of detail he wanted and it no longer gave him what he wanted. He now has the Totem Mani-2 Signature which does give him what he wants and at lower levels--I heard his speakers and they are indeed very nice.

But as you often do, you miss the point. Your preferences are no guarantee of quality and no guarantee that someone else won't like something else better.