A review of 15 high-end speakers on home demo, inc B&W, Boenicke, Magico, ProAc, Sonus Faber& Wilson

[tuga]

Same experience as me - you can’t believe the scale of sound from the size of Boenicke speakers - phenomenal

I have a feeling that the rear tweeter could be responsible for that effect, perhaps in combination with the broad dip in the presence region and elevated top octave. A 'tailored' sound by someone who knows what he's doing?

 

[duckworp]

@duckworp - great write up thank you.

I appreciate your kind words. I wrote this review some time ago now. In the meantime I have expanded my Boenicke universe: I needed some additional small speakers for a smaller desk-based studio monitor system and compared the Kef LS50 to the Boenicke W5. It was no contest. Obviously there is a difference in price but the difference in SQ was vast. The Kefs sound very thin, sharp and fatiguing compared to the Boenicke W5.

In terms of how the Boenicke compares with Kudos @ex brickie, I can’t say as I have never heard the Kudos. I am going to the Munich High End show next week so I will try and hear the Kudos if they have a room. I know Boenicke have a room.

In terms of the difference as you move up the grades from standard through SE to SE+: I have two pairs of W5s, a basic vanilla and an SE+. I would say that the difference between the W5 vanilla and SE+ is much smaller than the difference between a W5 and a W8. The difference is more like the differences between two decent DACs: subtle, but definitely audible, but not overwhelmingly different. There is a little more of everything: space and air, sound stage, timing etc. But the overall sound presentation is similar.

 

[Bronzeage]

This is a great write up, you have saved me a lot of legwork, as my issues are pretty much the same as yours. Sadly the W13 are out of my price bracket (as are most of the speakers to be fair) but maybe, just maybe, something like the W8s could be viable one day, and at least worth a home audition. Cheers!

 

[ex brickie]

What speakers do you have @Bronzeage ? You have EWA speaker cables like me don’t you? If so, great taste

 

[ex brickie]

@duckworp I agree W5 to W8 is a very decent leap - but I did have standard W5 and moved to SE W8.

I’m swapping CDs now between my Kudos and W8. The W8 are beautifully detailed but they miss a bit of slam and presence of the Kudos. Hence wondering whether a higher level Boenicke would be an improvement on Kudos.

If you get to hear higher end Kudos and Boenicke in the same show do report back….

 

[Mike Reed]

Due to the updating of your thread, Duckworp and comments thereafter, I Googled reviews and info about Boenicke, as I'd not heard of them. The W8s (esp. W8 SE+), being floor-standers, interested me as all comments pointed to the holographic nature of these speakers, which I place a lot of emphasis on (imaging on stair-rods?). Then I just about made out the height measurement (very faint) at 770 mm (can this be right?)

I've recently acquired PMC Twenty.26, which are as deep as the W8s but about 250 mm taller and of similar width. They're transmission line and are superb at the imaging thing but also really pack a bass punch. Unfortunately, nowhere could I find frequency spec's for the Boenickes; are these spec's considered spurious by the designer? I'd imagine that by going up the ladder, the bottom end becomes more extended, but the W8s are (were) in the price ball-park of my PMCs, so make for better comparability, I feel.

They're obv. a special range of speakers, or at least, spkrs with very special presentational assets. Interesting, but too small to completely defy the laws of physics, i.m.o., at least in bass response.

 

[TheFlash]

I really really wouldn’t want to spoil anyone’s party but I think we need to be careful about (a) extrapolating from other people’s reviews - as ever but hey it’s a forum! - and (b) extrapolating across a manufacturer’s range.

I had a terrible time with the W8’s fed by two different amps (inc. a 200w/side Class AB one) in two different rooms and had to move them on. The “ burn-in”/“settling” (what is this?) time exceeded the dealer’s undeclared return-for-refund time so the sonically unhappy experience also cost me ££ financially.
I found the rear-facing tweeter bright/tinny despite huge variations in positioning and along with the side-facing woofers it contributed to an artificially wide soundstage which impressed at first hearing but for me was a “trick” which did nothing at all for separation and positioning.

I get that the W8 impress so many people but that number is much reduced if (a) you ignore the gorgeous aesthetics and (b) you auto-delete the phrase “for their size” from any encouraging reviews…

Having said that, I’m happy so many W8 owners are pleased with their choice, and I’d seriously love to hear a pair of W13. Of course, at that price point I’d be putting them up against some serious ATC active speakers and some serious passives from PMC and ProAc. All ear-, system- and room-dependent, natch.

Also having said that, I’m genuinely delighted for @duckworp and amazed at the attention to detail in his review: a real service to the forum. Respect.

 

[duckworp]

Due to the updating of your thread, Duckworp and comments thereafter, I Googled reviews and info about Boenicke, as I'd not heard of them. The W8s (esp. W8 SE+), being floor-standers, interested me as all comments pointed to the holographic nature of these speakers, which I place a lot of emphasis on (imaging on stair-rods?). Then I just about made out the height measurement (very faint) at 770 mm (can this be right?)

I've recently acquired PMC Twenty.26, which are as deep as the W8s but about 250 mm taller and of similar width. They're transmission line and are superb at the imaging thing but also really pack a bass punch. Unfortunately, nowhere could I find frequency spec's for the Boenickes; are these spec's considered spurious by the designer? I'd imagine that by going up the ladder, the bottom end becomes more extended, but the W8s are (were) in the price ball-park of my PMCs, so make for better comparability, I feel.

They're obv. a special range of speakers, or at least, spkrs with very special presentational assets. Interesting, but too small to completely defy the laws of physics, i.m.o., at least in bass response.

770mm tall is the correct height of the W8. I have not heard the PMC Twenty.26 so I can’t compare. My room has a problem with bass nodes at 45Hz and 90Khz and the W8 didn’t trigger this boom; and as I said in the review, I sort of missed that big cabinet feel in weighty rock or large scale orchestral music. So the W8 didn’t have the excessive bass weight of bigger cabinets (which is a good thing if you have a boomy room), and was more tuned to my room in the bass department, much like the B&W 804D that they were potentially replacing. Whether that means it won’t have the ‘punch’ of your PMCs is impossible to know without demoing but it it is possible. Speakers are so room-dependent, particularly in the bass department, that a home demo is really the only way to find out.

 

[Bronzeage]

What speakers do you have @Bronzeage ? You have EWA speaker cables like me don’t you? If so, great taste

At the moment I use one Proac D18 with one Proac Tablette Anniversary, keeps the bass in control with the added refinement of the Tablette. Sometimes I switch to JPW mini monitors just for some Electronic music, but not so much now.

And yes, I do have the most excellent LS-80 speaker cables.

 

[Electric Cafe]

@duckworp I agree W5 to W8 is a very decent leap - but I did have standard W5 and moved to SE W8.

I’m swapping CDs now between my Kudos and W8. The W8 are beautifully detailed but they miss a bit of slam and presence of the Kudos. Hence wondering whether a higher level Boenicke would be an improvement on Kudos.

If you get to hear higher end Kudos and Boenicke in the same show do report back….

I had the W8 but wanted more bass. I now have the W11 and I'm happier with the bass, but I keep thinking about the W13s.......maybe one day.