@duckworp - great write up thank you. I have heard less than half of the speakers in your ‘review’ and many of those at shows. I found your article particularly useful because I too started with B&W 804 (the D3 version). I now have Boenicke and Kudos (yes very lucky - two different rooms) and I’ll explain how I got to where I am and my intrigue in your write up of the W13s.
Going back a stage, I commented on here 4 or 5 years ago about why I chose the B&Ws and all the speakers in a £6-7k price range I tried. At that time I was part exchanging my Focal Diablos. A bit like one or two of the speakers in your own review the Focals are stunning on first listen. But low level and long listening sessions aren’t quite as magical. I needed something more rounded and the B&Ws did it.
I went to the Ascot show just before COVID and heard two sets of speakers that amazed me (I’ve said this before in comments on here so apologies for any repeats!). They were Boenicke and Kudos.
In the Elite Audio room (dealers at the time for Boenicke) they were playing a variety of kit. I asked them what time the Boenickes would be on play - and I came back to the room a demo bit early. I was absolutely absorbed by the sound as I walked in and as they had several pairs of speakers at the front of the room I thought they were one of the larger pairs. Imagine my surprise when I got up and asked when Boenickes were coming on - and they were already playing! This was quite a big room - at least 25 listening in. They were playing W8SE and they were stunning. They sounded just as
@duckworp described so I won’t repeat it. Organic is a word that applies to them in a way that no other speaker has ever done.
However, my last room visit of the show was Kudos and they. We’re playing 606s. Loved them. Just a big sound. More of everything compared to my B&Ws. Not wildly different tonally but more bass, control, detail - well everything. But to be fair they were at least 50% more expensive RRP than the B&W. And there’s the rub, in @Duckworp’s review he was comparing his B&W to very expensive speakers so you’d expect improvements. But the write up explaining the type of sound matches mine . Magicos for example, impressive in a Focal Diablo type of way but not long term.
Anyway, on the back of the Ascot show I wanted big Kudos. I found a pair of Titan T88 (the forerunner to the later 707s and some say at least as good as their replacements) at a very good price. Only an outlay of around £2k more than the sale of my B&W. They remain great and are my main listening room
However the Boenicke bug got me and I struck lucky on a pair of W8s for another room. I should say that along the way I had W5s which were fantastic for their tiny size but they went as soon as a cheap pair of W8s came up. (My wife took some persuading as the wood finish didn’t match the furniture - the W5s did!). Like others say, second hand Boenicke are rare because owners love them. My W5s only went for W8s.
Back to the end point of @Duckworp’s article. I’m intrigued as to whether W13s would be a significant upgrade on my Kudos (they would require quite an outlay) . There are very few Boenicke dealers so demos are difficult. They don’t stock the full range (standard, SE and SE+) so you can’t hear what you get as improvements at each level. And as others have said, buying expensive speakers really should involve an A/B comparison in the home. Pretty much impossible in my case as I’m in a remote part of Wales .
So
@duckworp you’ve piqued my interest in whether W13 are a move to make (from the Kudos not the W8)! I think I wish you hadn’t! But thank you again for a very useful write-up…..
Now where is there a dealer with W13s
