B&W 800 Stereo Setup

[helpneed]

Hello All,

Have dreamt of owning the B&W 800 all my life, any idea how much money would it burn also what is the ideal Amp setup? Would a 2 Channel be enough? Or would I need to break my house for it?

Thanks,

 

[koushik]

800 of which series? Matrix? You can search on audiogon. Matrix 800 is quite a speaker not only for their sound but also in terms of look.

BTW the speaker may not cost house breaking but combined with shipping and custom it may damage some serious amount of money. Salt to the wound dollar is closing 65

 

[koushik]

2 channels should be working. Depends on you budget.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Hello All,

Have dreamt of owning the B&W 800 all my life, any idea how much money would it burn also what is the ideal Amp setup? Would a 2 Channel be enough? Or would I need to break my house for it?

Thanks,

Rs 18 lacs for the speakers (800 Diamond).

Add amps, source, cables and sundry items to taste. You should be able to work it out under Rs 30 lacs.

 

[CLEARCUT]

As I am enjoying B&W 801 matrix mkiii. I take the opportunity to interfere and comment about this speaker. I do not argue in price factor here. It is huge and heavily superb built up speaker. It is versatile speaker. Ofcourse it needs a good amplification and speaker wire and interconnect and cdp or good dac with cpu. Thats all You can forget your hifi search in future till next generation of any hifi models. That is my sincere opinion. But availability and purchasing these guy is too tough. Since it is your life time ambition like me. I sincerely wish you to get you success in your wishes and enjoy the hifi with all cheers.

 

[helpneed]

Hello Koishik sorry I was talking about the Diamond and yes the usd is killing but I am hoping a dealer might have a pair in stock?

800 of which series? Matrix? You can search on

2 channels should be working. Depends on you budget.

Ranjeetrain,

Thanks for the prices I assume those are msrp do you think I could get a good discount on them? I am confused if a single 2 channel amp will be enough cause all reviews I read have paired them with multiple amps and pre amps and the works

Rs 18 lacs for the speakers (800 Diamond).

Add amps, source, cables and sundry items to taste. You should be able to work it out under Rs 30 lacs.

CLEARCUT,

Thanks for the nice words can you tell me how are you running your matrix? I assume the diamond and Mattix are almost similar right? And yes I do think once I buy them I don't think for life I will need to replace them unless anything went wrong

As I am enjoying B&W 801 matrix mkiii. I take the opportunity to interfere and comment about this speaker. I do not argue in price factor here. It is huge and heavily superb built up speaker. It is versatile speaker. Ofcourse it needs a good amplification and speaker wire and interconnect and cdp or good dac with cpu. Thats all You can forget your hifi search in future till next generation of any hifi models. That is my sincere opinion. But availability and purchasing these guy is too tough. Since it is your life time ambition like me. I sincerely wish you to get you success in your wishes and enjoy the hifi with all cheers.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Ranjeetrain,

Thanks for the prices I assume those are msrp do you think I could get a good discount on them? I am confused if a single 2 channel amp will be enough cause all reviews I read have paired them with multiple amps and pre amps and the works

Yeah, a pair of Classe monoblocks would be wonderful. There is a dealer in Mumbai. I am sure you know about them. Why not speak with them and find out?

Some discount on MRP is always possible.

 

[helpneed]

Hello

Spoke to them a few days back over the phone and hated their attitude, they sounded like they will oblige me by selling them to me, I'm a small time guy so would love to deal with someone who is down to earth and will work with me with patience

Also any idea how much would a pair of classe mono blocks cost?

Thanks again really

Yeah, a pair of Classe monoblocks would be wonderful. There is a dealer in Mumbai. I am sure you know about them. Why not speak with them and find out?

Some discount on MRP is always possible.

 

[asliarun]

Hello Koishik sorry I was talking about the Diamond and yes the usd is killing but I am hoping a dealer might have a pair in stock?



Ranjeetrain,

Thanks for the prices I assume those are msrp do you think I could get a good discount on them? I am confused if a single 2 channel amp will be enough cause all reviews I read have paired them with multiple amps and pre amps and the works



CLEARCUT,

Thanks for the nice words can you tell me how are you running your matrix? I assume the diamond and Mattix are almost similar right? And yes I do think once I buy them I don't think for life I will need to replace them unless anything went wrong

I vouch for what clearcut said. I heard the 805 matrix, and in my humble opinion, it was the best speaker I have heard. I instantly fell in love with it.

The matrix is an older series of the 800 series and no longer made.

You can also get it for a fraction of the price. They are extremely well made so should still be in good shape.

 

[koushik]

I will any day go for Matrix. And no, they are no way similar, neither technology nor sound. Matrix was way way superior than Diamond according an ex-audio engineer of B&W.

 

[koushik]

BTW, he himself uses a pair of tube monoblock from Audio Research. Forgot the model though.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Hello

Spoke to them a few days back over the phone and hated their attitude, they sounded like they will oblige me by selling them to me, I'm a small time guy so would love to deal with someone who is down to earth and will work with me with patience

Also any idea how much would a pair of classe mono blocks cost?

Thanks again really

Yes, attitude of some dealers can be a trouble. Unless they see a keyring with keys of an Audi in your hand. Unfortunate, but there isn't much you can do about changing people's attitude.

I very strongly recommend you to look at American used market. That's the way to go. American dealers (and people in general) are a lot more honest and easy to deal with. It will be bothersome in certain ways, but there is no gain without pain.

 

[arj]

Hello

Spoke to them a few days back over the phone and hated their attitude, they sounded like they will oblige me by selling them to me, I'm a small time guy so would love to deal with someone who is down to earth and will work with me with patience

Also any idea how much would a pair of classe mono blocks cost?

Thanks again really

helpneed, you have the best thing going..you are clear of the model and brand you want. My view (personal) is that for Speakers, unlike electronics, the best deal is to go for used, no matter how you look at it. The Shipping + Cutoms More than offsets the premium on new and speaker are the easiest to repair/get replacements.

My suggestion is to look at the HK and Sing used markets and talk to dealers in used Hifi there
eg Floorstanding Speakers
OR
Audioline
there are others like lw_415, willycom who sell on audiogon

They are not cheap, but will be cheaper than from the US (including shipping)

if you get in touch with them they will inform you when a product is available...and then you wait
if buying new. at these price levels you are better off buying from the local dealer(despite the premium) ..you can see Sidvees post on the same.
the clientele they have is different so expect their attitude to be on those lines as they make their money from a different set of folks with a different outlook/behaviour so they need not really be interested in the majority of audiophiles

 

[arj]

-deleted- double

 

[helpneed]

Hello all thanks a lot for the inputs, any idea if I got new or used shipped from the USA or Asia what sort of customs will I be looking at? Also is installation easy or would I need someone?

For now I was thinking of the speakers paired with a good 2 channel amp and perhaps run it into a good AVR so can use it for movies if at times I wish to? Does it seem good? Maybe later with more money I can move the setup to mono blocks?

Thanks again

 

[arj]

Hello all thanks a lot for the inputs, any idea if I got new or used shipped from the USA or Asia what sort of customs will I be looking at? Also is installation easy or would I need someone?

For now I was thinking of the speakers paired with a good 2 channel amp and perhaps run it into a good AVR so can use it for movies if at times I wish to? Does it seem good? Maybe later with more money I can move the setup to mono blocks?

Thanks again

30% of whatever is the declared value. and they should not be classified as 'used" as it is not allowed to import used equipment
CHA agents handle everything once it enters customs

 

[nosortf]

Actually I say sorry for the following statement, by current standards all B&W speakers are mediocre.
The 800 Matrix was rare, 800D was good, the 800 diamond is ok, the 800 Signature was the best.
A used pair of the 801/802 Matrix series 2 is the best value of the whole lot. The series 3 is not good. If you are a rock fan avoid all B&W speakers except the 801N the 15" woofer model and the 800 Signature, these will require 600-800 watts on tap to do their thing. This info should be good enough.

 

[koushik]

Actually I say sorry for the following statement, by current standards all B&W speakers are mediocre.
The 800 Matrix was rare, 800D was good, the 800 diamond is ok, the 800 Signature was the best.
A used pair of the 801/802 Matrix series 2 is the best value of the whole lot. The series 3 is not good. If you are a rock fan avoid all B&W speakers except the 801N the 15" woofer model and the 800 Signature, these will require 600-800 watts on tap to do their thing. This info should be good enough.

+1 to above post. Current B&W are no longer anywhere close to what it used to be. The quality has fallen drastically.

The special line has been made bold above. I would also add Matrix 805 to that list of legends 801/802. Bass alignment filter is also necessary to extract the best from these speakers.

 

[reubensm]

I have listened extensively to the B&W DM3000 vintage floor standers (there received rave reviews in their hay-day) on my setup. My take on this is that these speakers sound different, they pack a solid punch and have great mids and silky highs. However, they are definitely not the sensitive type and have to be driven with a powerful amp. I exited owning these because I had set my eyes on another B&W model but somehow the deal did not come through, also was planning to leave India for a while, so these speakers ran the risk of physical damage with my little kids around at home. They are currently with my good friend JK_Chaos and he's enjoying them with his new NAD poweramp accquisition.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Actually I say sorry for the following statement, by current standards all B&W speakers are mediocre.
The 800 Matrix was rare, 800D was good, the 800 diamond is ok, the 800 Signature was the best.
A used pair of the 801/802 Matrix series 2 is the best value of the whole lot. The series 3 is not good. If you are a rock fan avoid all B&W speakers except the 801N the 15" woofer model and the 800 Signature, these will require 600-800 watts on tap to do their thing. This info should be good enough.

That's a blunt but very honest post. I like how you put it.