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B&W 805 vs 803 vs JMLab Electra 926

202.2.59.50

Posted by olpot on July 16, 2002 at 19:39:29

Those three speakers are under my scrutiny at the moment (amongst a few others).

Over different periods of time I had a chance to audion N805 and JMLab Electra 906 and 926, but all in different systems.

I had N805 at home on trial for some time, but that was with an old Rotel 980BX integrated that I had sold since.

I was pleased with the overall sound of the N805.
Even though the Rotel was clearly outclassed by N805 and it took some time to tame the Nautilus tweeter (I used pieces of foam on walls),
they sounded nice without immediately prompting me to upgrade my amplifier (which I was anxious about before bringing them home).

What attracted me to the N805s then was their extreme level of detail and somewhat forward and warm midrange (but not excessively so), especially pleasing in comparison to Dynaudio Contours I then had in my tenure.
What put me off were a few things - first, suspicious tweeter which needed taming before the sound became tolerable, lack of deep bass and impact and somewhat sluggish dynamics (comparatively to Dynaudio).
And their price - I just could not afford it then.
So I then had put aside my purchase and decided to go and check some floorstanders from different brands.

So, after a while I heard the two JMLab Electras at dealer's.
The 906 appeared to me as a nice mini monitor, but a step below the N805 (they are actually 30% cheaper), also lacking bass and sounding too 'small' (N805 did not sound 'small' at all, but rather much bigger than its size suggests! Deep bass was still missing with the N805 though).
Then after the E906 I audiotioned the E926, which in comparison sounded too bright having too much treble and upper midrange.
At the same time, 926 sounded much fuller and 'bigger' than the 906, giving more complete picure, but that ear-bleeding treble!
I then chalked the 926 off as being too bright for my taste.
The electronics used with JMLabs were the MF 3D CD and integrated pair (those expensive dreadnaught flagships of the MF fleet), which have never been referred as bright by anybody.

But curiously enough I had recently read Sam Tellig's review in Stereophile raving about the E926's without any hint to their brightness.
So I wonder what it was then - 926's having not been broken-in and/or dealer's bright room. Could have been both, actually.

That brings me to the B&W N803.
I now have got a chance to buy a used pair for less than the price of a new N804, but unfortunately I don't have a chance to audition.

I have never had a chance to listen to the N803 (they were out of my reach at $5000 anyway) and I doubt I could even if I wanted - our local dealer does not carry them on the floor, but can order them if I wish (then I'd have to pay full price).

I had read in the reviews that the 803 has a 'laid-back' midrange, which raised my suspicion a bit as I hate 'laid-back' sounding speakers in my own understanding of this word (in Dynaudio or Mission kind of way).
Is N803 more 'laid-back' than the N805/E926/E906? If so, to what extent?
What exactly does the 'laid-back' mean in this context (IMHO, there is no any audiophile term, which would always be valid on absolute, every term is relative to in a certain context - room, associated gear, comparative gear etc).

My question is - how would people who heard the all three compare them against?
I really hope that the N803 retains the overall tonal balance of the N803, bringing more bass and refinement.

Thanks, all

olpot

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