Great detail, warm and natural sounding, powerful, well built

Bass is slightly loose sounding

I purchased a ten year old pair of these speakers after a comparison audition with a used pair of the newer 802 Nautilus model. The Nautilus speakers were more than twice the price of the 801 Matrix Series 2 speakers and they definitely did not sound twice as good! Not to mention that, in my humble opinion, the Nautilus speaker cabinets are ugly as sin! Because the 801 Matrix speakers were designed as studio monitors they reveal any weaknesses in the original recordings. Since these speakers are not that efficient - they have a sensitivity rating of 87 - they do require a good quality high powered amplifier to send the musical information in their direction! That said, these are excellent speakers that are limited only by their crossover network. Since these speakers were originally manufactured as studio monitors, they had to be mobile and dependable. In order to save space, B&W was forced to use small (and inferior) components in the crossover network which is located at the bottom of the cabinet. And in an effort to prevent studio downtime due to damaged drivers, protection circuitry was wired into the crossover network which degrades the signal. The first thing that I did after acquiring these speakers was purchase an aftermarket performance crossover network from North Creek Music Systems. Their website address is www.northcreekmusic.com and they manufacture the crossovers at their facility in New York using only American made components. Did the North Creek crossovers improve the 801 Matrix Series 2 speakers? YES!!! The bass is tighter, the soundstage is wider, the speakers are more detailed and the sound is much more dynamic. Without the performance crossover network, these are great speakers. With the performance crossover network, these are awesome speakers! I enthusiastically recommend these crossover networks to anyone who already owns a pair of B&W 801 (or 802) Matrix series speakers or to anyone who is considering buying these speakers. You will not be disappointed in the improvement that the North Creek crossovers make to what is already a great loudspeaker. Keep in mind though that the protection circuitry is eliminated with these performance crossover networks so if you are a serious 'headbanger' they may not be for you! For those of you who are wondering, this is an unsolicited and unpaid endorsement of these performance crossover networks. :-)

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Wide open, natural timbre, detailed.

I have owned these speakers for 10 years, while most of my other components have been replaced at least twice. The timbre of the 801 is more natural and truer to the original instument than any I've heard, which takes in nearly all the major players.

Whenever a piece of gear is inserted in the system the sound of the 801 undergoes a real transformation, Every component has its own sound that the 801 passes right through. The changes are rarely small ones.

The low registers of the 801 are truly remarkable, and perhaps this is what gives the feeling of space and dynamic sound. The actual venue of a recording can be heard since low frequencies are omnidirectional.

I am in the process of another system upgrade(sound familiar to most of you). Guess what is not being replaced!

Absolutely honest reproduction, enjoyable even without taking out a second mortgage for supporting electronics

B&W's dealer network/ support is the industry's worst !!

From the time I first hooked my used 801 s2 into my system I was absolutely amazed.
I had been 'speaker-shopping' for a good 10 months and was getting weary. Spending weekends in different towns to audition more speakers I started to gain quite an understanding of the different design-philosophies and 'real world' functionality of the biggest players in the industrie.
I thought I knew what I wanted, a speaker that could do everything. Unrealistic? Perhaps. I sure as heck exhausted the majority of hifi retailers up and down the mississippi.
I listened to $12,000 units hooked to $80,000 electronics and $2,000 ones with 'average' electronics. None of them pleased me too much.
The most aggravating part was that there was one speaker that seemed to live up to my expectations, but none of the 3 dealers carrying this brand seemed to be knowledgeable, enthusiastic or even caring about hifi.
Yup, the ole B&W. Great stuff if you're willing to spend your afternoon with somebody who doesn't really care about you or the product he's selling, not to mention the mental abuse one has to take when someone previously employed selling canned goods tries to convince you that everything you have learned about hifi is wrong and he is right, after all - he's got he 801's on the floor (squished between some Klipsch horns and some horrendous looking homebuild job).
But it is wrong to blame these people, after all - that guy really didn't care what he sold anyone, just so as long as they bought something - anything.
This procedure was repeated 3 times, in 3 different stores. Great speakers if you do not ever need the salesman's help again.
Great company with no support? Good product with mediocre exposure? High end audio sold by K-mart emplyees?
How can one put his faith into a company's product if the company shows a complete lack of interrest when it comes to presenting and supporting its own product?
In the end I gave in to my frustrations with the salesman and bought the one speaker that, in my opinion, runs circles around everything else, even if your electronics aren't up to snuff (I'm working on that part right now and every improvement made there has further enhanced the capabilities of the 801's)
The only drawback I can see goes along with any speaker: plenty of room for placement. If this is an issue to you you may want to take a look at the 802's. Even so the bass reproduction is not quite as good as that of the 801's, they offer great overall performance while only occupying about 1/2 of their big brothers footprint.

Stunning transparency, neutral midrange, potent,authoritative bass and high power handling

NONE

I first received these reference transducers in the summer of 1996. Quite frankly, I was and still am awe struck at the revealing capabilites and resolution of this monitor. Once the Matrix 801s2 has you in its clutches, it has the ability to transport you to the acoustic venue where the artist performed and recorded the song. The tweeter is neutral, rich, open and unfatiguing that serves to emotionally involve the listener with the music. The kevlar midrange is smooth and unrestricted. It is also quick,lith and agile. The cobex woofer has an extremely quick rise and settling time which allows it to play R&B and rock convincingly. I am a fan of Keiko Matsui and I have her recording entitled "Full Moon and the Shrine" and the bass line in that song is quite convincing and richly delineated on the Matrix 801.

I recenly purchased a back issue of Stereophile. I believe it was the December 1987 edition that had the first review of this monitor. Needless to say that the reviewer then could not find one fault with the speaker except for the price then and nor can I. At the time these monitors came out on the market, they were severely underpriced by B&W to promote sales. This monitor could easily cost five figures.

I recommend top electronics such as Krell or Mark Levinson and Theta to pair with the B&W, but it will feel at home with a quality receiver with a bypass mode for analog sources. It is an absolute requirement that you bi-wire these speakers to obtain the best sound. I found Tara Labs to work quite well. Also, try to locate a stand for these speakers to lift them off the floor so as to reduce unwanted coloration.

Any person who purchases this speaker is in for a real treat for years to come. I do not predict selling these speakers any time soon. Every time I step into my great room, I receive that pride of ownership feeling knowing that a company such as B&W can produce a reference transducer against which all others are to be judged. Happy listening.

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