They never sound overly "bright," and I think you were referring to
"presence" with your term "forward." Yes, they have presence, but
restrained.



You probably can't hear the brightness anymore, nor could I. But all of
the high end B&Ws are designed with a bright high end for detail
extention. It's up to the user to either preverve that or kick it down
via "softer" electronics. B&W wisely chose this route, but it can cause
trouble in some rooms. Much like a large studio monitor, the 802 is a
forward sounding speaker, more so than flagships from Thiel or Martin
Logan. This is NOT a bad thing, just a style presentation B&W prefers.


RB
35s5
NY