B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) 802D2

B&W 802 Diamond Home Theater System For Sale

My current 7.2 home theater and music room consists of:

• B&W 802 Diamond Cherrywood for the front main left/right,
• B&W HTM2 Diamond Cherrywood for the center channel,
• B&W 804 Diamond Cherrywood for the surround left/right,
• Parasound Halo A51 driving the above five speakers,
• Two JL Audio Fathom f113 subs,
• Integra DHC-80.3 pre-pro,
• An older Krell Kav-300i amp for driving the rear surround speakers (very old Paradigms).

All of the above home theater items are currently for sale. I am located in Huntsville, Alabama. This particular ad is for the 802 Diamond (802D2) main speakers in Cherrywood.
All of the above items (except the Krell/Paradigms) were purchased in 2013 or 2014. All of the B&W Diamond speakers were purchased from the same authorized B&W dealer ("hifi buys") in Nashville, TN. I have all of the original sales receipts. They have been in my upstairs home theater room since delivery. I am a non-smoker with no pets. All items are in excellent condition - please see the pictures. I can also throw in some Blue Jeans cables and a calibrated microphone for Room Eq Wizard software for free.

The buyer would have to cover 802D2 shipping costs and any shipping insurance. Shipping via a single freight pallet within the continental US would be $300 to $500. I would much prefer if the buyer could come to Huntsville, Alabama and examine the speakers in person before I pack them so that we both agree they are in excellent condition before shipping. Even better would be if the buyer could pick the speakers up in person (two people could move them downstairs and load them in a small truck or van using a hand truck and moving blankets).

I have all of the original B&W shipping boxes with all of the styrofoam inserts, all of the black grills, all the accessory items (floor spikes, TORX driver, tommy-bar, link wires etc) and their original boxes and all the original user manuals (please see pictures).

The 802D2 speakers are in excellent condition. There are no scratches, tears or stains. They are perfect like the day I unboxed them in the fall of 2013. Note that some pictures are with a camera flash and others are without a flash. Most pictures were taken in the evening and so the Cherrywood looks a bit darker compared to when there is daylight in the room. I can send daylight pictures as well.

Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think the 802D2 speakers are absolutely gorgeous. The stark contrast between the high gloss black and the Cherrywood is striking. I have had them for five years and they still bring a smile to my face when I walk in the room. Simply beautiful. I leave the black grills off because I like that look but i took some pictures with the grills on. They attach magnetically which is kind of neat. 

The 802D2s have always been driven by a Parasound Halo A51 (250W@8ohms, 400W@4ohms). The 802 Diamond speaker terminals accept a variety of cable terminations: 4mm banana plugs, 6mm and 8mm (1/4 in and 5/16 in) spades, or bare wires up to 4mm (5/32 in) diameter. I use banana cables from Blue Jeans (please see pictures). Although the speakers support it, I do not use bi-wiring or bi-amping.

I would say my listening habits are 70% music and 30% movies. These are full range speakers (-6dB at 27Hz and 33kHz). For movies, I have the processor switchover to my two JL Audio Fathom f113 subs at 40 Hz. This is only really necessary for action/sci-fi movies with extremely low frequency sound effects (e.g. Edge of Tomorrow, Blade Runner 2049). For 2 channel music, i do not use the JL Audio subs. I only use the 802D2 speakers. 

I have owned serval music/home theater systems over the years and after five years I can honestly state that this system is out of this world! Both movies and music sound absolutely incredible. I will say, it seemed to me that the sound got a little better (warmer?) as the weeks of listening progressed. 

For movies, the HTM2 makes dialogue very easy to hear - you are not constantly turning up the volume to hear dialogue and then turning the volume down during action sequences. The 802D2, HTM2 and the 804D2 for my surrounds yield some spectacular movie sound effects. There were many instances where I thought a voice or noise was NOT part of the movie but was instead coming from inside my house! Very startling and very impressive. Horror/suspense movies are lots of fun.

For music, I listen to classical, singer-songwriter, pop, ambient bass. The one thing that is absolutely striking with the 802D2 is soft female vocals (Mazzy Star, Fade Into You). If you close your eyes it seems like the singer is at a very specific point in front of you - like you are at a small, intimate live event. It is simply amazing. 

I will note that it took a bit of tweaking to get the the main listening position and the angle of the speakers just right. The speakers are somewhat tall and thus so is the tweeter. It is best if the main listening position is on a raised platform (or raise the main seat a few inches so your ears are close to the same height as the 802D2 tweeters). At the beginning, when moving the speakers around, you can use the casters built into the base and then when you are finally happy with the sound you can install the spikes. Please note that these speakers are heavy (~160 lbs each) and it is best to use two people when moving them around, even when using the casters.

Here are some quotes from industry publications in the 2011 to 2013 timeframe:

Sound & Vision
Oct 25, 2012
Thomas J. Norton 

My Note:
This is a review of the EXACT same home theater system that I have. They used the exact same five B&W speakers (except in gloss black), the same Integra pre-pro and the same Parasound amplifier. The only difference is that my two JL Audio subs are a bit better than the subs they used.

Full review here:
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/bampw-802-diamond-speaker-system
Music 
"The 802 Diamond's tight, crisp bass, without the DB1 subwoofer, immediately surprised me, as B&Ws have often been characterized as having a warm, full bottom end. But the woofers here have been extensively reworked from the previous-generation 802D. More significant, perhaps, was the location of the speakers in my room--as noted previously, well forward of the front wall. Percussive drums started and stopped on a dime. Organ dug as deep as I could want, without boom. And synthesizers growled with unexpected texture and detail."

"Midrange has always been a strong suit of B&W speakers, and that remains true on the 802 Diamonds. The new diamond tweeter was magical, bringing out details in many favorite recordings that were submerged before. Was it audibly superior to the best tweeters I've heard in the past, including beryllium (Revel and Focal) and ribbon (Monitor Audio)? Without a side-by-side comparison, it would be unfair to say, but B&W's newest diamond tweeters certainly belong in that august company."

Movies 
"With all of its channels fired up, the Diamond system really cooked ... it's more than loud enough to drive half the guests from the room. It also generates a huge soundstage...from the subtlest details in Baraka to the jaw-dropping dynamic range of 2009's Star Trek (particularly the pre-title, battle sequence), the opening funeral procession in Evita, and all of Tron: Legacy, the 802 Diamond system was more than big-boned. It grabbed hold of everything and wouldn't let go."
"From the slightly off-axis listening position I use when watching movies (contrasted to the center position I take for two-channel music), the system was detailed and open sounding. The top end, as it was with music, remained unrestrained and pristine. There's still evidence of the 4-kHz emphasis mentioned earlier, but it was never distracting. In fact, this could well have contributed to its awesome handling of heroic brass fanfares on soundtrack scores, including the first Hiccup/Toothless flight in How to Train Your Dragon and the powerful orchestral accompaniment to Thor's closing credits. The system's dynamic range can also roll down your socks. When the giant dragon first leaps out of his fog-shrouded lair in Dragon, I nearly jumped out of my skin--and I knew it was coming."

Conclusions 
"No one should buy any speaker without a serious personal audition--particularly at a price that could put a small BMW in your driveway. But if you're serious about acquiring one of the highest-end home theater speaker systems, you need to hear this 802 Diamond package. If a full system demo isn't possible, at least hear the 802 Diamonds. If you love them, you'll love the system. I have no reservations at all about the 802 and HTM2 Diamonds. They are highly recommended."


TONEAudio MAGAZINE
2011
By Jeff Dorgay

"And yes, the speakers are drop dead gorgeous"
"While the 802 Diamonds sound their best with world class electronics, to their credit, they admirably sync with modest gear, making them easy candidates to stand as anchors of a system that will grow with as your budget allows. The 802 Diamonds proved exciting to hear even when paired with the humble PrimaLuna ProLogue One."
"I'm pleased to offer the 802 Diamonds one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2011. These are truly a destination speaker at a price well under what one would expect for this kind of performance. I've heard my share of speakers in the $40-60k range that can't compare to the meticulous level of finish this model exhibits, and thanks to a massive worldwide retail network, you're guaranteed great support."


CelestialSounds
September 29, 2012
By Leander

"Get it all right and these superb loudspeakers will reward with mastering studio precision unlike few others. Their clear, uncolored presentation will allow access to the deepest threads otherwise hidden within recorded material. They will reward with presence and immediacy previously only reserved for the best electrostatic and ribbon designs. Combine state of the art micro and macro dynamic capability and what we have here is a loudspeaker easily within reach of claiming to be one of an elite minority of designs running for topdog in the industry. For the asking price of R140K for 802 Diamond and R230K for 800 Diamond, these speakers are the undoubted best buys of the highend."