B&w 801

[Julius]

Does anybody have an experience with B&W801 serie 80 speakers. This a predecessor of Matrix with closed enclosure of bass enclosure? What is a difference in a sound copmare to Matrix 801 serie 2,3. Thanks Julius

[pasadena]

Hi Julius,

I used to own a pair of B&W 801 Matrix Series 3 Speakers and a cousin of mine still owns a pair 801 Series 80's.

For either of these speakers you need a large room, otherwise the sound will be drowned out and sound terrible. A high current amplifier +200w is also a recommended requirement to get the best out of them.

During the time the 801 Matrix Series 3's existed, they were probably some of the best speakers around and having resided in Abbey Road studios speaks volumes about this speaker. I still reckon they hold their own and still rate amongst the best.

I liken the Matrix S3's to Luciano Pavarroti and I nicknamed my S3's after him because they were so effortless, dynamic and sublime.....absolutely beautiful. I tended to think that the bottom end may have been a bit too basey but they certainly reproduced the full range with great effect. Great for Home Theatre and 2-CH. With Home Theatre you can get away with a SUB because the S3's produce and an extremely powerful base, will shake anything close to you.

The Series 80 has to be mated with well matched components to get real benefits from them. I auditioned the Series 80's mated with Adcom gear before my cousine bought them and they sounded really good. You probably want to stick to adcom, rotel or better for these. The sound is not as refined and more bloated and centainly doesn't have the soundtsage like the Matrix S3's. This is my opinion and may differ with other people.

I had my Matrix Series 3's hooked up to a Denon DCD-S10 cd player, Dr. Thomas pre-amp and a NAD 208TH power amp and they sounded pretty spectacular.

If you have the extra money to spend, it's well worth the extra $1000 you're going to pay to go to the Matrix Series 3 but you'll be an extremely happy man. Shop around.

If you've got a small/med sized room I'd suggested the smaller siblings. Otherwise you'll be paying all that money for speakers that will sound crap in smaller rooms and smaller speakers will sound better.

Lots to think about.

Cheers
Pasadena.

[Julius]

Hi Pasadena,
thanks for your experiences with B&W801 speakers. For now I´m limited with a small/mid size room. I have auditioned a serie 2 in a larger room with 120W biamps and sounded pretty nice. I will be carefull with purchasing them for my limitation.
Julius