These things rule! Buy them if you can find them. In spite of their size, they have very, very powerful bass, incredibly crisp high-end, and mid-range fullness. And I normally don't talk about speakers that way. I've had quite a few speakers before these... some decent mid-grade Fishers, some really great speakers by Canon (not the camera company), and some run-of-the-mill Yamaha, Polk, AR's, and some "audtioned" (borrowed) Klipsch speakers (full set of 5 plus sub). These blow them ALL away, even the really expensive Canons and the full Klipsch setup. They support bi-amp, but I can't justify that right now (hopefully later). I'm running them from an HK AVR-40 with regular Monster Cable. A review in Hi Fi mag said it all: They sound "correct"...

I was one of many that were fooled by Bose. I finally woke up and realized the error of my way. I agonized over what speaker to settle
with for several months. I listed to Paradigm, sounded great, but were
a little out of my range. I didn't go for the bi-polar effect from
Def Tech or Mirage. I had auditioned a set of Polk RT-800's from
Crutchfield's Outlet stock and also brought the 808's home to have a
side-by-side comparison. The platinums had the polks beat in all areas
and I got them for $650pr. I have a Carver receiver with 75w/ch and for
the first time in my life can set the bass and treble flat and the music
sounds great. I have had Polk, Infinity, Cerwin Vega, and the Bose and
always had to have the bass at full boost and the treble near max. These
speakers are not very popular and they may not be reasonably close to you
to audition them. If they are I would highley recommend it for it's price
range. I know of one mail order company, Sound City, that sells them.
Good Luck

Price, build quality, BASS, clarity, etc

In comparison, they sound a bit more compressed than others, but maybe that is just me

These speakers are heavy, which is good, and I feel that you better have some good spaces not too close to the corners of the room.

The clarity and resolution is great,,,,even when not loud, vocals sound as if they are whispering in your ear. Very nice midrange. It seems that the soundstage is not as wide as the Paradigms, which seem a bit warmer.

You know, using the Bose 901 and these, made for an awesome combination actually.

I paid 399.00 for these from Audio Advisor,,,and at that price they are a great great deal. They sound almost identical to the paradigms, which a friend of mine paid 800 bucks for.

my equipment:
Adcom GFA 5500
Adcom GCD 700
Adcom GTP 450
MIT T-2 biwire cables
Good interconnects (cant remember)

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm monitor 9, Bose 901

Fast, open sound extended bass with "pop" but no "fuzz"

Very dependent on room acoustics and finicky about placement

Quite refreshing to hear a speaker that combines extended clean-tight bass with transparent highs and mids for under $1,000. These speakers are a bargain at three times the price, they require good electronics because they are very revealing and true to the source material. Quite an accomplishment and well-kept secret. Other speakers I have owned and used have done some thing better than the PT 808's, but none have done so much so well.

Similar Products Used:

B and O, Magnaplaner, Vandersteen

Focused Imaging, good full-range sound

-I like a stronger midrange
-Fairly small sweet spot

Review based on 2-channel audio w/ Acoustic Rock, Instrumental Jazz and regular/alt. Rock music.
Speakers have around 100 hrs of use.

They need to be at least 3 feet away from the walls to sound best in my room

Once I got them set up right the imaging was very focused and rock solid. For acoustic rock and jazz the lead vocals/drums are placed SOLIDLY in the middle of the soundstage with realistic depth and other instruments placed generally where they should be left and right.

I haven't been able to achieve a super-wide soundstage (rarely outside of the speakers physical location) and sometimes the music sounds like 3 channels; left speaker, center image, right speaker....not highly transparent but, the center image is so good sometimes I don't care.

I have not been able to get as clean and clear a midrange as I would like - the kind that makes instruments sound really *real* but I am not using the best equipment and, the bass may be overshadowing some of the details. Someone else said in a review of the PT-806's (same speakers - different cabinet) that the midrange is laid-back and I agree.

With my set-up I would describe these a tight (not a narrow stage), focused and pretty accurate speakers rather than open, airy and transparent. Offering high end imaging (even w/ a modest AV receiver) but lacking clear midrange detail to be outstanding. The Creek opend them up a bit but they still didn't do it for me in the mids.

Value based on $400/PR - 4 stars (very good)

Overall rating based on competitors in the same retail range of around $800/PR - 3 stars (good! - worth a listen in this range)

(something has to really rail me to earn 5)

Set-up:
Harmon Kardon AVR55 or Creek 4330
Panasonic DVD-A120
Monster M350 interconnects
Kimber 4PR speaker cable


Some of the other speakers I've considered w/brief impressions:

B&W 603 S1 (did not like these)
B&W 603 S2 (liked these a lot maybe to much $$ though)
PhaseTech Teatro 7.5 (eXcELLenT bang for the buck may end up w/ these)
nOrh 5.1 (will be auditioning soon with very high expectations)
Infinity 3000P (mid 70's vintage Similar to the Reference Studio Monitors, my current speakers -and actually compare well to anything in my price range but I'm just ready for something new)

Similar Products Used:

Misc. mids sizers and towers in the $6-900 range

bass,looks

got to biwire them

got them from audio advisers,these guys are pros.bought demos so there already broke in.had to bywire them to enjoy these speakers.video signal is great,cds sound real good to im using adcom 5800 biwired and it sounds good for my condo really dont need sub with these.they are real hard to place to get sweet spot right.at 388.88 shiped they are a steal.bye them im going to do the 806 as back speakers . get good speaker wires .

Similar Products Used:

bws 601

Follow up review

I had put these for sale, and thought of keeping my Wharfedale Modus 8...but Wait,,,i had to give them anothre chance...I am glad I did!!! I toed them in a few degrees, and have them on 6 inch stands, and the improvement is simply incredible,,,The mids sound so much clearer and brighter, they sound two levels up. These puppies sound so warm but powerful!!. Anyone wanna buy my Wharfedales??;-)

I cant wait to get home to listen to music...

equipment:
Adcom Gfa 5500
Adcom GTP 450
Adcom GCD 700

Cables: Monster 550 interconnects, MIT 2 biwired
AudioAdvisor has i think one more pair..some one should buy them before I do