CONCLUSION
The 804Ds were at times breathtakingly pure and concise; B&W’s engineering shines through to make them a special experience, especially with classical music. There were times with closely recorded Rock that treble was just too strong: Steve Earle’s 'Esmeralda’s Hollywood' had tambourine hissing at me with demented strength. Overall though, the 804Ds are an impressive experience and at times had me wondering whether an audience of broad taste would think this is what a high fidelity loudspeaker should sound like. Not truly accurate then and a bit hard to swallow at times, nevertheless the 804Ds were impressive – with a capital I. If you want a punchy, visceral and fast sound with diamond pure treble than do try and hear them.

EDITOR, DAVID PRICE SAYS:
If you’re spending over £5,000 on a pair of loudspeakers, then you have an awful lot of choice. There are some superb electrostatics (Quad), equally wonderful electrostatic/moving coil hybrids (Martin Logan), fascinating ribbon/moving coil hybrids (LFT), stunning ribbons (Apogee) and all number of moving coil designs, weird and/or wonderful. Asked to nominate the quintessential high end conventional moving coil, I’d have to say B&W’s 800 series. You don’t get much better engineered and built than this, and they have a meticulously voiced sound that personifies the attributes of a speaker built with multiple voice coils moving the same number of cones, set into a big wooden box.
    Of course, the way a speaker is engineered completely determines its sound, which is why ribbons and electrostatics don’t - can’t - give great bass, whereas moving coils lack the finesse and space of panel speakers but can move air around a room. The 804Ds fall into this category; they’re not madcap weird, nor are they especially innovative or endearingly flawed and quirky; rather they’re straight-down-the-line big moving coil boxes with punch, poise and power. Accompanying this is a sublime build and finish, although it’s very much in the conventional idiom here; its design isn’t special, it’s just very well done, with a particular type of sound in mind. The 804D attempts, and largely succeeds, to be everyman’s high end loudspeaker - for those who don’t want weird things with horns or clingfilm inside them, for those who’ve been raised on the idea of a big multi-driver box. Given this remit, they work brilliantly.
    If you’ve got a large room and/or want a pro speaker, you’ll be buying the 801s or 802s. The 804D instead attempts to deliver a good deal of the 802’s majesty, but in a smaller and – critically – more UK room-friendly package. So they’re not engineered to push out vast tracts of bass; indeed you can (and should) push these quite close to a rear wall and they’ll work happily in a modest-sized British listening room. Properly run in (ours took yonks) and aspirated by smooth and punchy amplifier via a serious source, they give startling results. Taut, tight, propulsive and engaging, they’re wonderful for rock music, yet subtle enough for serious classical listening too. The result is a loudspeaker of great precision, with layer upon layer of detail served up with effortless ease. Treble is distinct, but works well; the Diamond tweeter does deliver a crystalline clarity and is smooth too. All in, a powerful, punchy, incisive loudspeaker with style to match the most modern of listening rooms. DP


Beautifully presented, sleekly styled floorstanders with a seriously fast, clean and punchy sound.


FOR
- punchy, tuneful bass
- crisp, clean midband
- engaging, incisive treble
- suit Rock and Classical

AGAINST
- forward treble
- well lit midband

B&W 804D    £5750
B&W Loudspeakers Ltd              
+44 (0) 1903 221800
www.bwspeakers.com