B&w 801

[sidvee]

FYI
here is a stereophile review of the 801 s2.

Stereophile: B&W Matrix 801 Series 2 loudspeaker

this should dispel all doubts about this speakers capability.

Personally me thinks it is a superb speaker - I heard it once in an audiophile's basement in Dayton, Ohio and was really taken by it - spent almost 2 hours enjoying various genres. Caveats evidently being it needs a large room - the room I heard it in was at-least 20 x 15 and quality amplification - I remember this gentleman had a threshold (do not remember the model), which conveyed startling dynamics.
Enjoy Malvai - envy you that you have the room to accomodate and enjoy these beauties. I dont think your thiels stood a chance with these.
Cheers
Sid

 

[malvai]

Thanks sidvee!
I in fact have a similar room 15X20!
I am these big babies with a Krell FPB 200 - 200wpc of Class A amplification! the amp don't break a sweat and yes - you're right! The theils don't stand a chance in front of them!

 

[arj]

i once sold my electrocompaniet 4.6pre amp tp a gentleman in Belgium who ran Matrix 801s with a full electrocompaniet setup Nemo + Pre +cdp. As per him he loved the sound of the combination so much that he was building a smaller setup with 803 speakers !

even AudioEngr in this forum had the same speakers i believe

 

[suri]

this person has just heard the song "Lightning Crashes" -

but why is not anybody asking - why the tear in the left eye?

 

[malvai]

i once sold my electrocompaniet 4.6pre amp tp a gentleman in Belgium who ran Matrix 801s with a full electrocompaniet setup Nemo + Pre +cdp. As per him he loved the sound of the combination so much that he was building a smaller setup with 803 speakers !

even AudioEngr in this forum had the same speakers i believe

Yup arup has the 801 s2. and arj, you have to hear these to believe what a speaker can do.....

I remeber still, I had just bought the thiels and wanted to upgrade from the Bryston 3 BSST. The Krell came up for sale and I travelled all the way to Vellore to visit the seller.

I wanted to hear the Krell. This lovely gentleman made arrangement for me to stay in his city, as he somehow knew that the listening session would go deep into the wee hours of the morning.

He started playing the Krell on his beloved B&W 801 S3's.

The next 7 hours, the question to buy or not buy the Krell did not arise.
Another question, however did: Should I have looked around for a pre-owned 801 s3?
And my heart and soul kept answering in the affirmative...

Then when I auditioned the Coherence 2 preamp, this gentle man too had a pair of 801 S3's. (not for sale at that time....)

And once again, the same feeling flooded back....

Finally, last week, the gentleman relented.

I think the 801's are here to stay with me for a long long long time!

 

[sidvee]

Yup arup has the 801 s2. and arj, you have to hear these to believe what a speaker can do.....

I remeber still, I had just bought the thiels and wanted to upgrade from the Bryston 3 BSST. The Krell came up for sale and I travelled all the way to Vellore to visit the seller.

I wanted to hear the Krell. This lovely gentleman made arrangement for me to stay in his city, as he somehow knew that the listening session would go deep into the wee hours of the morning.

He started playing the Krell on his beloved B&W 801 S3's.

The next 7 hours, the question to buy or not buy the Krell did not arise.
Another question, however did: Should I have looked around for a pre-owned 801 s3?
And my heart and soul kept answering in the affirmative...

Then when I auditioned the Coherence 2 preamp, this gentle man too had a pair of 801 S3's. (not for sale at that time....)

And once again, the same feeling flooded back....

Finally, last week, the gentleman relented.

I think the 801's are here to stay with me for a long long long time!

Boss you are one determined audiophile:clapping: Kudos for taking a systems approach, IMHO the only way to acquire a quality setup.
Cheers
Sid

 

[ajay124]

this person has just heard the song "Lightning Crashes" -

but why is not anybody asking - why the tear in the left eye?

I think he's listening to the Stones
I can get no satisfaction

 

[santhosh]

hehe! - the person (so afflicted ) is often noted to have a faraway look with a hint of a (glad) tear at the corner of his left eye.

but why is not anybody asking - why the tear in the left eye?

Well, last time I asked .... you had tears in both eyes but still did not answer my questionhyeah: http://www.hifivision.com/diy/4250-all-speakers-i-made-suri-33.html#post134751

 

[murali]

yes, taste is subjective, but, of course -

for me, when compared to the (best) lightning-fast Lowther designs-

3way designs are fat and obese grandmothers (long in the tooth)

2-way designs are old women trying to be young-

the best will have to be single driver - two-channel - driven by high end SS amplification -

possibly, bastardized by the addition of a subwoofer (to satisfy subliminal needs)

YMMV

Is the implication here is that a single driver speaker will deliver the entire frequency spectrum and the rest is bliss???

This is what a great analyst of high efficiency speakers says about single driver speakers:

If we increase driver size to 8" diameter, treble may be limited unless we use a whizzer cone and the whizzer cone introduces some new problems. I still have to see (and hear) a decent response profile from a whizzer cone driver. People play all sorts of games to tame the uneven response from these drivers and the often seen rise in amplitude at 3-8 kHz (e.g. Lowther).
The response graphs presented at manufacturer's websites are usually fake or digitally manipulated to look reasonably smooth. But response graphs tell only little about sonic performance. I've had drivers showing bad response profiles, yet didn't sound harsh or sibilant at all. All depends on what causes the response irregularities. As a rule of thumb: If a peak does not follow a serious dip in frequency response, the peak may be kind of good-natured, only representing higher level in a certain area, not tearing our ears apart as if derived from serious cone break-ups and sudden very sharp phase shifts (Again: Lowther).

I presume between 2-wheel drives and 4-wheel drives, your preference will be the former in all sorts of driving conditions. Lucky we don't have single-wheel driver cars around!

cheers.
murali

 

[suri]

Is the implication here is that a single driver speaker will deliver the entire frequency spectrum and the rest is bliss???

This is what a great analyst of high efficiency speakers says about single driver speakers:

If we increase driver size to 8" diameter, treble may be limited unless we use a whizzer cone and the whizzer cone introduces some new problems. I still have to see (and hear) a decent response profile from a whizzer cone driver. People play all sorts of games to tame the uneven response from these drivers and the often seen rise in amplitude at 3-8 kHz (e.g. Lowther).
The response graphs presented at manufacturer's websites are usually fake or digitally manipulated to look reasonably smooth. But response graphs tell only little about sonic performance. I've had drivers showing bad response profiles, yet didn't sound harsh or sibilant at all. All depends on what causes the response irregularities. As a rule of thumb: If a peak does not follow a serious dip in frequency response, the peak may be kind of good-natured, only representing higher level in a certain area, not tearing our ears apart as if derived from serious cone break-ups and sudden very sharp phase shifts (Again: Lowther).

I presume between 2-wheel drives and 4-wheel drives, your preference will be the former in all sorts of driving conditions. Lucky we don't have single-wheel driver cars around!

cheers.
murali

hehehe! murali -

you know what? - i live in a very exclusive world - a crystal palace, if you will - and i rarely venture out on the road in a motorised vehicle -

and here , in this delicate palace, filled with delicate things (as opposed to monstrosities covered in black cloth -)

i think a segway would do very well -

or do you suppose that you will destroy everything in my house with a 4 WD Nissan?

on macadam roads - (you know that i do not have to suffer those blasted sand-dunes) that i know and need to drive on -

i would absolutely prefer a rear wheel (2 WD) BMW - ( offers the user direct involvement, and marries the motor area of the user's cortex to the mechanical parts- but - what would you know about that in a toyota?)

you suffer your choices -

do not drag me (down) there:indifferent14:

and do not forget that 18-wheel long haul trucks are available and you, perhaps, would relate to the species that drives them

 

[malvai]

Is the implication here is that a single driver speaker will deliver the entire frequency spectrum and the rest is bliss???

This is what a great analyst of high efficiency speakers says about single driver speakers:

If we increase driver size to 8" diameter, treble may be limited unless we use a whizzer cone and the whizzer cone introduces some new problems. I still have to see (and hear) a decent response profile from a whizzer cone driver. People play all sorts of games to tame the uneven response from these drivers and the often seen rise in amplitude at 3-8 kHz (e.g. Lowther).
The response graphs presented at manufacturer's websites are usually fake or digitally manipulated to look reasonably smooth. But response graphs tell only little about sonic performance. I've had drivers showing bad response profiles, yet didn't sound harsh or sibilant at all. All depends on what causes the response irregularities. As a rule of thumb: If a peak does not follow a serious dip in frequency response, the peak may be kind of good-natured, only representing higher level in a certain area, not tearing our ears apart as if derived from serious cone break-ups and sudden very sharp phase shifts (Again: Lowther).

I presume between 2-wheel drives and 4-wheel drives, your preference will be the former in all sorts of driving conditions. Lucky we don't have single-wheel driver cars around!

cheers.
murali

Bingo!
If single drivers THE way then all other loudspeaker products would have died along the way... THERE IS NO PERFECT SPEAKER. Including the much (over) rated single drivers.

No dynamics. No highs to speak of no lows. No energy...

 

[suri]

Bingo!
If single drivers THE way then all other loudspeaker products would have died along the way... THERE IS NO PERFECT SPEAKER. Including the much (over) rated single drivers.

No dynamics. No highs to speak of no lows. No energy...

single driver loudspeakers still live-

two-way loudspeakers still live-

three-way loudspeakers still alive-

four way loudspeakers still live - breathing fire!

line array loudspeakers still live.

electrostatics still (just) alive

oops! today - what is really live and kicking is active! - passive crossovers are pass - the world is moving over to active loudspeakers and the digital domain- ask venkatcr!

 

[prem]

Guys why don't you just enjoy what you have instead of sitting and bashing other peoples preferences? If someone likes B&W so be it. If someone else likes a single driver, so be it. Why are you guys getting at each others throats.

Obviously a single driver cannot match the B&W in the lows, macro dynamics and scale. Ditto a B&W cannot compete with a single driver in coherency, transparency and microdynamics. So it all depends on what you want from your speaker.

 

[malvai]

Boss you are one determined audiophile:clapping: Kudos for taking a systems approach, IMHO the only way to acquire a quality setup.
Cheers
Sid

Sidvee, i second that... a systems approach is tough to folllow what with the low availability of the products or when the products arrive - then the funds....

But, yes, a patient systems approach is the only way for long term bliss...

 

[malvai]

Guys why don't you just enjoy what you have instead of sitting and bashing other peoples preferences? If someone likes B&W so be it. If someone else likes a single driver, so be it. Why are you guys getting at each others throats.

Obviously a single driver cannot match the B&W in the lows, macro dynamics and scale. Ditto a B&W cannot compete with a single driver in coherency, transparency and microdynamics. So it all depends on what you want from your speaker.

thanks Prem! that's something which i have been trying to interject since the last 4 days... but for some reason the '801' has become a whipping boy....

the way I truly see it, and i say this again, no speaker or amp or cdp is perfect.... we all buy into the COMPROMISE that works best for us.

 

[suri]

Guys why don't you just enjoy what you have instead of sitting and bashing other peoples preferences? If someone likes B&W so be it. If someone else likes a single driver, so be it. Why are you guys getting at each others throats.

Obviously a single driver cannot match the B&W in the lows, macro dynamics and scale. Ditto a B&W cannot compete with a single driver in coherency, transparency and microdynamics. So it all depends on what you want from your speaker.

hehehe! prem - we all (each one of us) settle down with what we want (and can get)-

but -

it just bewilders us that the other fellow down the line cannot see what we see!

and then one starts thinking -"maybe the other person is constrained - let me further his education by imparting precious knowledge that only i am privy to".

No, Prem, this (getting at each others throats) is a rite of (ritual) passage amongst adolescent males of the human species

enjoy the battle!:lol: (from the sidelines)

 

[prem]

The daily soaps on Star Plus and Colors could learn a thing or two from you guys on how to keep a dead topic alive

 

[suri]

No, Prem, this (getting at each others throats) is a rite of (ritual) passage amongst adolescent males of the human species

and i must say -

looking at myself objectively -

that, though i have reached advanced years - the wrong side of forty - my behaviour resembles that of a (challenged) 14 year old:lol:

 

[arj]

Do you folks consider Planars as a single driver OR infinite drivers ?

 

[suri]

No controversy meant, just some personal thoughts, and time to take a back seat or exit

think - very carefully - and exit