B&w 801

[prem]

I was reading this other thread where Suri and Malvai seemed to disagree about how the 801 sounds. I have heard the 801s. At one place it sounded the way Suri described its sound and the other place it really sang. IMO the 801s if set up properly can sound very nice. The most important aspect in its set up is how the 801s come in contact with the floor. I think many times its bass is sluggish because of amp mismatch or because resonance transfer from the speaker to the ground is not fast. The 801s sound fantastic under the Cerapucs/Cerabases or under the Alto Extremo Lyd1s. I am sure there are other footer options also.

 

[reignofchaos]

The big 800 series B&W's need a big amp with lots of current that can actually control those huge woofers. We're talking a minimum of 300W of quality power. If you can do that they'll sing. Else you'd keep wondering what the fuss is all about!

 

[madbullram]

Prem: Its not only the amps, there are other aspects also that adds to it and acoustic being very important and speaker placement along with quality of the recording, etc...

I heard a crappy Matrix 805 with threshold and an awesome Matrix 805 with threshold amps...the room and the source made a big difference.

And, two people will/might have different opinions, which is very natural. I hate this Malika Sherawath and my friends think I am gay

 

[malvai]

The big 800 series B&W's need a big amp with lots of current that can actually control those huge woofers. We're talking a minimum of 300W of quality power. If you can do that they'll sing. Else you'd keep wondering what the fuss is all about!

i'm doing quite good with 200 wpc of Class A amplification!

 

[malvai]

Prem: Its not only the amps, there are other aspects also that adds to it and acoustic being very important and speaker placement along with quality of the recording, etc...

I heard a crappy Matrix 805 with threshold and an awesome Matrix 805 with threshold amps...the room and the source made a big difference.

And, two people will/might have different opinions, which is very natural. I hate this Malika Sherawath and my friends think I am gay

bingo! spot on!

 

[prem]

Hi Madbullram

Obviously source and room make a huge difference. This is true for any speaker. I was talking with specific reference to the 801s. They respond very well to certain footers. In the same room under the same conditions, the 801s will sound way more coherent with the Cerapucs under them than without them. I am saying this from personal experience

 

[madbullram]

Oh yes...thats synergy once other factors are similar...I loved the B&W with Thresholds and Krells but not with Adcom

 

[anm]

I have not heard the speakers, but I agree with Malika bit, and your friends are prolly too despo to like her.

Prem: Its not only the amps, there are other aspects also that adds to it and acoustic being very important and speaker placement along with quality of the recording, etc...

I heard a crappy Matrix 805 with threshold and an awesome Matrix 805 with threshold amps...the room and the source made a big difference.

And, two people will/might have different opinions, which is very natural. I hate this Malika Sherawath and my friends think I am gay

 

[murali]

If I may, talking of speakers, one has to consider both subjective and objective views. It is alright when one says the speakers sound great with the right amplification, another says they are the best I have heard, yet another says they sound bad. These are all subjective views, from individual perspectives, and if I am one investing my hard-earned money to buy one, I cannot by subjective opinions alone.
Then comes the measurements. Are the speakers accurate, reproducing the frequency spectrum withou time and phase distortion? A reputed magazine like Stereophile, with decades of experience behind them, still use such measurements to analyse a speaker's performance. We are only fooling ourselves if we just decide whether a speaker is good or bad from its sound without any measurements.
B&W Nautilus series are great sounding speakers, no doubt, but are not accurate from measurements reported. I read some comments about the Thiels which measure very well but subjective opinions vary.
When we deal with low-end speakers which do not cost much, it is easier to decide based on listening experience but when it comes to investing money to own a pair of speakers one is going to live with for several years, certain objective parameters also should be considered. This is my humble opinion and need not necessarily be what everyone else thinks. If tomorrow I decide to own a pair of Quad electrostats, I won't have to think twice for they are exceptionally good to listen and quite accurate in measurments too. But when it is going to be a B&W or Dynaudio or Dali or others, I may look a little more.
And finally, I belong to the small club that gives least importance to a speaker's physical beauty and stuff like that. What comes from inside is what counts ultimately.
No controversy meant, just some personal thoughts, and time to take a back seat or exit.

cheers and all the best.
murali

 

[ajay124]

Good post Murali.
Can somebody simplify the mysteries of a waterfall curve.Sounds like a yummy dish.How can I simply interpret the watefall plot of my Vienna Acoustic Beethoven Baby Grand which according to somebody knowledgeable, comes pre packaged with a nasty dip in it's mid range frequency response.My humble ears have not detected any nasty dips in the mid range frequency response
Energy time curves?Cumulative decay plots?Psycho Acoustical Response Curves?Enough to send someone like me (locked out from the mysteries of math and science since junior school) running to a Psycho Analyst.

 

[deba]

I was reading this other thread where Suri and Malvai seemed to disagree about how the 801 sounds. I have heard the 801s. At one place it sounded the way Suri described its sound and the other place it really sang. IMO the 801s if set up properly can sound very nice. The most important aspect in its set up is how the 801s come in contact with the floor. I think many times its bass is sluggish because of amp mismatch or because resonance transfer from the speaker to the ground is not fast. The 801s sound fantastic under the Cerapucs/Cerabases or under the Alto Extremo Lyd1s. I am sure there are other footer options also.

You need a large quality Power Amp and a really large room to drive the 800 series.....in small rooms it will not deliver performance.......

 

[hemantwaghe]

yes,b&w 800 series requires a quality and power full amp.not only this one most of the speakers generally requires a high current amps to deliver their bass levels. some times power only not do the justice.synergy is very imporent. i drove my NS1000M with the yamaha mx1000/cx1000 and enjoyed their combination well till i got the sansui D11.
When i hooked up the sansui to yamNS1000M every thing was changed.crystal clear highs and belly hitting low bass.even my 5year old daughter identified the difference.but here the wattage has no role. the sansui is only110w rms/channel where as mx1000u is 260w rms per channel.
from this my openion is the synergy between the mating parts is much importent than the wattage of the amp.
just this is my openion.
regards

You mean samsui AU-D11?
Is it so good?

 

[hemantwaghe]

So it is AU-D 11 right?
Feel very sad - was offered this..and in the end seller realized it is defective! Good part that he told me on the same day of audition!
Still lookin fpr AU-D11 or BA 3000 or G33000
BTW how is 7070 DB or 8080 db ,any feedback?

 

[malvai]

Yes hemant the AU-D11 was built like a tank, with the best components of that era... it was as amp that was CLEARLY ahead of its time.

If it were built now, it would cost as much as the accuphase gear... it sounds deadly! I have had it while growing up and it can compete with some of the best amps today.

 

[santhosh]

sorry, i dont want to higack the thread, but intrested to answer our friend question.just see the interior of d11. so that you can have some idea.
Defekte Gerte und Klassiker - Reparatur oder Austausch?
regards

Wow, the interiors on Sansui in link you posted is :licklips:. What is the fin like structure in front of the transformer and caps?
http://onepixeldesign.com/stereo/AUD11_interior.jpg

 

[iaudio]

Santhosh, Heat sink/exchanger I guess.

 

[malvai]

Guys, allow me to put some of the conjecture to rest!

The 801 S3 is truly a great speaker, its now been three days that I have been listening to it. You know my electronic chain from my signature so I am not going to list it out again...

The fact is that it is an amazingly revealing speaker... My CDP being the weakest link in the chain, I knew I'll have to buy somethign better, and that is on the cards as well... having said that, my other concern was room size and placement. Currently my room is 20 feet in length, 15 feet wide on the narrow side, height is the standard 12-14 ft of mumbai residences.

I felt that it might be an overkill - frankly, its not...

Now, the speakers allow one the smoothest most musical experience... as Prem mentioned they need to be decoupled from the floor, in my case they are - don't remember the name, but they are pretty expensive.

The bass is ample, and its quick enuff. the mids are to die for....

The design of the speaker, makes it very precise in its time & phase alignment... what it truly excels in, is the dynamics.

I can write thousands of world to describe the dynamics of these big babies, but it would not translate into the experience.

I invite all the people to hear it for themselves.

See, this speaker not only is a stunner on paper, but also on the actual experience.

You may pull out some weaknesses, but know this: NO speaker is perfect. Every design compromises on something... When one buys a particular sound its about buying in the strengths of that design and loving it...

 

[malvai]

hi, the heat pipe is filled with freon for best heat dissipation(not exactly remembered),but the sound i am enjoying is deadly.:yahoo::yahoo:
every where copper,copper.silence like a tomb.but finally superb.if you find any sansui gear(some models like 717,alpha series,ba3000,5000,d11),your neighbours will complain the autorities(the sound is damn good with soft,deadly thrusty bass,you will definitely increase the volume to party levels).i hope the sansui gear may best suited to 801. just try.

dude, the 801's require a minimum of 200wpc, preferably Class A amplification...

My krell is conservatively rated at 200 wpc (full class A).

If i have to do better than this, it'll have to be ML 333 or Krell FPB 300 or something. Having heard a Krell FPB 600 with 801s3 at another friend's place (who had it in a huge room in his bungalow) i found the sound stage becoming bigger... that's all...)

For apartments like mine in delhi and mumbai, the FPB 200 is optimal.... drives them dynamically , putting out a more than ample sound stage... I just can't complain!

 

[jls001]

G[IMG2]

The 801 S3 is truly a great speaker, its now been three days that I have been listening to it. You know my electronic chain from my signature so I am not going to list it out again...

...

You may pull out some weaknesses, but know this: NO speaker is perfect. Every design compromises on something... When one buys a particular sound its about buying in the strengths of that design and loving it...

Congrats on the new babies

I love the part about the philosophy of embracing and loving the strength of a particular design. In the fickle world we inhabit, I guess that must be qualified with "till the next design comes along"
Joshua
/must come and listen one of these days.

 

[suri]

Congrats on the new babies

I love the part about the philosophy of embracing and loving the strength of a particular design. In the fickle world we inhabit, I guess that must be qualified with "till the next design comes along"
Joshua
/must come and listen one of these days.

in the "fickle world that we inhabit" - there are some certainties-

1. never (ever) - believe that a speaker with an oblong driver (especially woofer) will ever cut the ice- they are meant to please a certain type of audience. (apart from the thiels, there is one another - i cannot quite place the brand)

2. if a three-way loudspeaker has a woofer that is more than 10 inches in diameter - be sure, that (without active equalisation) it will not keep pace with the mid-range and treble - it will lag.

3. and completely forget about anything but SS amplification (with huge current and HUGE feedback) to control the mass of the TITANIC woofer

and, (without dis-respect to anyone), i truly believe that Bowers & Wilkins have made a monumental mistake with their large loudspeakers-

the (better) loudspeakers of today - are fast, agile - and do not have large cones that try (ineffectually) to keep up with the faster mid-range and high-range transducers-

and what is the consensus about the best compromise? - since loudpseakers are a compromise anyway?

Well - the consensus among the cognoscenti is - "two-way"

and those who have seen furthest - it will always be - "SINGLE-WAY"