To Jeff Fritz,
Just to throw my two cents in on "Comparisons on Paper: B&W 803 Diamond vs. Tidal Contriva Diacera SE," I feel that the Tidal is the better speaker, hands down. At the same time, I could live with the 803s, as they are very nice and do a lot of what I would want my speakers to do. At the same time, the Tidal is just a richer, more fulfilling audio listening experience waiting to happen. I will confess that I reviewed the Contrivas, the non-Diacera model, and it was the best speaker I have had in my house. About 12 other audiophiles who came by to hear them would tell you the same.
I have heard the 803s at one of the local audio salons (Audio Consultants), and though they are a nice speaker, my opinion is that they do not perform to the same level as the Contrivas. I would put the 803s in the same class as the Vienna Acoustics Mahler's, which I would prefer over the 803s. As to your question, in terms of value, six times better? I won’t go as far as to say that, though in my opinion, I would give it at least a five!
Michael Wright
Contributor, The SoundStage! Network
