# Do You Have B&W804S speakers?



## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

I have a pair of these speakers and I was wondering what other people are using for a processor to get the most performance.

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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

I don't own the 804S but they were in my final three when I was shopping for speakers and if $$ did not matter I would have bought them. (Haha of course if $$ did not matter why stop at the 804S, right?)

Are you finding the Outlaw 990/7700 lacking in some way?
I would think that would be an excellent combo.


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

I Just have that itch for a change. I guess I still have not gotten rid of it since the 978 has subcombed to only the drawing boards.
HDMI, Airplay were a couple of whistles I like to have along a better calibration tool.
I am not in a rush for this thing. I am posting b/c I am curious as to what other people have as far as amp and processor for their 804S speakers.

Actually I just watched SKYFALL and it sounded good!


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Trying new gear is as good of a reason to change things up as any.
When it comes to amplifiers I am in the group that thinks they all sound the same.
So if I owned a Outlaw 7700 there is very little chance I would replace it with a different amp.
Considering the price of processors I might grab an AVR with pre amp outputs and give it a listen.
Then try it with the 7700 and see if there is a difference.
Depending on what you like keep the 7700 or sell it.
I am partial to the Pioneer AVRs but I think they are all good.


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

Thanks for your advice.
I have been able to find people (just a few) that are powering their B&W 804S with very powerful amplifcation using MacIntosh.
It's a bit out of my league so for now until I win the LOTTO I am staying where I am not replacing processor or amp.
I might change out my Oppo 93 to the Oppo 105 b/c I can pick it up for about $300.00.
I have a friend who picked up the 105 (used for 3 months) full warranty for $600.00. He is bringing it back to the dealer today. He said he would sell it to me for the $600.00 and I would sell my Oppo 93 for $300.00.
Pretty good deal.

Thanks again for your thoughts

Sent from my iPhone using HTShack


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

If money were no object I would own all McIntosh electronics even if I don't need them.
If you do swap out some gear please post your impressions of the new vs old.


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

Just found out my friend is keeping the Oppo.

!! Oh well. 
I certainly will post if I do any upgrades. Right now I am going to wait until July1st. 
My birthday and it will give me additional time to save some money. My better half allowed me to make a minimal loan of $1500.00 in addition to my savings. I want to try not to make any kind of bill.
On a different note I stumbled onto a helpful website AUDIO LIQUIDATORS. To give you an example about their prices they are selling the Marantz 7701 for $1347.00 with full warranty.

They don't have everything but that's a great price for that processor.

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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

Can you post a link to the website ?
Not sure if this is the same place, but would be skeptical if the deal is to good to be. True.
http://www.avsforum.com/t/687763/audiophile-liquidators/180


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

I am not sure where to post this website. I think I will contact one of the moderators on this forum. As far as it being to good to be true I did contact this company and they did respond by calling me. They but inventories of products from Home Audio and Video stores that go out of business. They told me that the products have full factory warranties. 
I myself have never used them.
As soon as I heard from Home Theater Shack i will post or perhaps they will post it themselves. I do not want to upset people if this is bogus and I apologize to you for not giving this more thought before I posted it on a thread.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

I do not know if they are bogus or not.
Just suggesting doing due diligence before handing over your money.
There are enough negative reports that come up with a Google search that it got my attention.


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

Perhaps a poor choice of words, however they did call me and told me that they the units that they are selling are covered by a full factory warranty. That is totally opposite of what I recently found out on the internet.
I have read where there were complaints about this company where they never responded to issues their customers had with some of their products.
Also they are NOT accredited with the BBB because of the amount and reasons of complaints customers had with Audiophile liquidators.
All of this makes me want to stay away from any "to good to be true" deals on products I wish to purchase. 
I would rather pay the $2-300.00 more for the product and have piece of mine in the event there was a malfunction with the unit.
Here is what I found out thru the BBB about Audiophile Liquidators.
Factors that lowered Audiophile Liquidators' rating include:

9 complaints filed against business
Failure to respond to 3 complaints filed against business.
BBB does not have sufficient information to determine size of business. BBB evaluation of business is based on rating formula's smallest size classification.
BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business.

The website we have listed for Audiophile Liquidators is currently active, however, correspondence sent to the company's address our Bureau has on file has been returned from the Post Office as undeliverable. Without the company's current address the Bureau can not process a complaint. Attempts to get a correct address for this company have been made; unfortunately we have not been successful. 

Unfortunate b/c they had some nice products as well as nice prices


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

Have you looked at Accessories4Less? Price looks pretty good and they treat customers well.

AC4L specialize in factory refurbished and closeouts, and have made a good name for themselves doing so.

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...2-4K-3D-AV-Preamp/Processor-Networking/1.html


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

Sorry for not replying. I have been pretty busy. 
I have checked the website and I thank you for that bit of information.

I still have not decided if I will stay with the Outlaw 990 or switch to Marantz. I have not heard the Marantz 7701 or the new Marantz 8801 with B&W 804S speakers. 
That is what I am going to do in the next month or so when I have some time. I have people telling me I should look into changing my B&W804S speakers to the B&W804 diamond series instead of changing processors.
I do not know the cost factor. What I would get for my 804S speaker and at what price diamond series start.


Thanks again


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## aurelius (Nov 25, 2012)

Hi,

Over the pond the 804s were 4000Euro (catalog price in 2008) while the new 804d are 7000Euro (prices per pair). I guess in US you get the equivalent in $. 

I though of asking my dealer for a comparative audition (he sold me 804s a long while ago) but I do not 'dare'.


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

So you have the 804S speakers?
If so what kind of amplification are you using?
I never really looked at prices over here for the 804D but based on your numbers that would amount to $9100.
I am powering my 804S speakers with an Outlaw amp at 200 watts per channel. 
I just read an article where someone is powering his 804S speakers with two mono block amps from MacIntosh at 1200 watts per. Unfortunately that's out of my league...big time. Each amp has a price tag of $4500.00.


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## aurelius (Nov 25, 2012)

Bought the 804s's with a Classe CA2100 after comparing Classe CPA 2100 vs. Rotel (I guess it was a 5x200) vs. my old Marantz 7300 (5x100W). We mostly listen to music and kept the Marantz as a processor only for playing DVD's (connected to the RCA inputs of the 2100).
A friend has Rotel driving them as he wanted a quick HT setup (he plans for having a dedicate HT room in his house and is saving for the future upgrade).
It is said that Classe/Rotel/Marantz, being part of the same group as B&W, blend best with the series 800. 
I haven't been able to do any other comparison but I believe above 1500-1800Euros the price grows exponentially in relation to the sonic improvement. 
Due to customs and forex , many of the more affordable brands you enjoy in NorthAmerica are absent here (never heard of Outlaw till posting here).


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

FYI,

Denon and Marantz joined together to form D&M Holdings, and is separate from the B&W Group LTD (B&W, Rotel, Classe).


That said, I absolutely loved pairing Marantz with B&W speakers.


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## aurelius (Nov 25, 2012)

I guess, by just seeing Marantz alongside B&W ( and sometimes Classe) in at least four different shops I wrongly concluded they have common ownership. I apologize for the mistake. 
Indeed, Classe and Marantz belong to different holdings.


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## rubbersoul (Nov 12, 2007)

I am going to demo the Marantz 7701 and the 8801 in a couple of weeks. The Home Audio store that I deal with with give me $300.00 for my Outlaw 990 if I purchase the 7701. That means out of pocket cost for me will be $1300.00. The 8801 lists for $3600.00 so I do not know if I would get anymore money for my Outlaw 990. However the 8801 has 11 channels and I will never use any more than 6 plus my two subs. Might be a waste of money but the Audessey mutliEQ XT32 is an attraction.
I won't have enough money until July to make any kind of lpurchase but it will be worth the wait.
Again not sure whether the 8801 is worth all of that extra $$$.


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