Reall very nice hights and mids. Good bass. Not so difficult to drive if you find the good match. Very good soundstage too

The look!!!

I do not understand what people say about the nned of power! My speaker are acarian alon II, with ah! tjoeb 4000 cd player (nos tubes from mullard, valvo, siemens), krell kav300iL (powercable synergistic research ac master coupler) and transparent super cables (musiclink and musicwave). I read many reviews of the b&w matrix 802 s3 saying that they need a lot of power. The result with the krell was not bad but not exactly what I was looking for (warm sournd but lacking transparency and like I'm used to have with my Alon's). Than, just for fun, I connected a pair of VTL tiny triode (2x25 watt - class A), using the pre out of the krell. Waouw! The sound I was dreaming of (almost, because dream is not accessable!). At the same time, transparence (nearly as good as alon's) but with a warm sound, and really very goog bass too. At the price you can buy it second hand, it's really an exeptionnal value. With the alon's and the B&W, I have two pairs of great speakers. The first sound a bit more "real" with very good jazz recordings (more transparent), but the 802 are warmer and transparent enouth with the tiny's. The soundstage of both if wery good I bought a pair of

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Acarian alon II

Hello all. Bought these used a year ago and have finally found my audio nirvana. Although all speakers are supposed to be sonically neutral, anyone who's listened to speakers from different manufacturers knows this isn't true. Each design has positives and negatives. I think the first thing you you need to decide is whether you're a silk dome or metal dome tweeter person. To me, silk domes sound gentler and metal domes sound crisper. It's really a personal preference thing. You can disagree if you want but I'm just stating my opinion. The other thing is matching speaker's with your electronics. B&W's have a metal dome tweeter and they work great with my AES-3 tube preamp and Marsh A-200 solid state amp. I get a big spacious sound, the speakers truly disappear, guitars are crisp and voices have a delightful slightly liquidy quality. Bass is solid due to solid state amp. Another big benefit of the Matrix 802's is they are front ported. Means they will produce a nice soundstage even if only a foot off the wall. Key factor in the real world. So like I said, every person perceives things differently. All I know is that the B&W 802's let me feel all the emotion that is the beauty in music. I recommend heartily. Plus, one of the great used bargains in high end audio. I laugh when I think of the prices they are charging for the Nautilus line that is only marginally better.

Mid and high, clarity, soundstaging

Need high-quality amp with lots of control, lack of lower bass

Very nice speaker with great and fine soundstage. Mid and high are fantastic, but demands a high quality and powerfull amplifier to drive them (I got best results with Mark Levinson 23.5 and 332). Lower frequencies are not very present (below 45Hz)

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B&W P6, Mission 753, Scanspeak Event, B&W Nautlius 802

Big, open sound which can reproduce the weight of big orchestral pieces with the right electronics. Relatively small footprint.

Need lots of clean power to sound their best.

The B&W Matrix 802 series 3 is one of the most natural sounding dynamic speakers I've had in my system. Its reproduction of the human voice is nothing short of marvelous! With good electronics the 802s have a soundstage which is both wide and deep, extending well beyond the walls of my listening room. They virtually disappear. I have used and enjoyed B&W 801 and 802 Matrix speakers since their introduction in the late 1980s, but didn't understand their full potential until discovering George Short's external NorthCreek crossovers a few years ago. If you are a B&W fan, treat yourself to this upgrade which retains the natural sound of these wonderful speakers, but adds a "you are at the concert" feeling to well recorded music of all types. The bass response is tighter while the mid-range becomes more open and liquid. The highs are more extended than with the factory crossovers and have no hint of hardness or brightness. Like most highend components the crossovers are not inexpensive, but the investment in them has paid big listening dividends for me over the years. One caveat...802s require lots of clean power to sound their best so don't skimp on the electronics you use to drive them. My current system consists of the following: B&W 802 Matrix series 3 w/NC crossovers Krell FPB600c Krell KCT Krell KPS28c Krell CAST interconnects Siltech speaker cables Technics SP10MKII w/Grado Sonata Krell KPE Marantz DV-8300

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B&W Matrix 801 series 2, B&W 801 Matrix series 3

Balance, voices, tight nuanced bass. Not too heavy to move (70lbs).

None

I finally found the magic I''ve been searching for seemingly forever in a speaker. Perfectly balanced, totally human voices, springy tight bass, the whole package. Bought them used about 3 months ago and they sound perfect. They will produce exactly whatever electronics you throw at them. Case in point. I tried 3 different brands of tubes in my preamp and the Matrix 802''s gave me instant and clear delineation of the strenghts and weaknesses of each. I''ve auditioned a LOT of speakers and nothing does everything as well as these speakers. Top of the line recommendation. I should also mention that they are nearly identical in quality and sound as the severly overpriced Nautilus line. Don''t waste your money. Buy a pair of these used in good condition and you''ll never look back.

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Vandersteen 3A, Thiel 3.5, B&W Nautilus 804

Have the ability to disappear because of the absence of characteristics. They need good equipment, proper placement and a good source.

None

Weird...Everybody is talking about how good or bad their loudspeakers sound. Good loudspeakers should not have any charasteristics, but should only reproduce the exact same information that comes from the source. So...they will not sound good or bad, but they will just sound as good as the source, used equipment and room acoustics. When all of this is good, the entire electronics have the tendency to disappear, so all that remains is music. When I bought these speakers and placed them in my room, they "sounded" terrible. Thin sound came directly from the loudspeaker. There was no soundstage, transparency or precision whatsoever. Deep bass was absent, midrange was too warm and treble was too bright. Absolutely not how I knew these speakers. It took me a few months to find the proper placement, and then I found out that all this time I was listening to the room charasteristics. Now that I have carefully tweaked my system and placed them properly in my room, I can say that these loudspeakers have definitely the ability to disappear. Nothing comes between me and my music. That may be their only characteristic and to me that means that you cannot get any better. Especially at this price. Some reviewers complain about low frequenty reproduction of these speakers. I used an SPL meter and a frequenty sweep. Properly placed in my room and with my equipment I get a flat low frequenty response to 25 hz (subwoofer turned off). Maybe these reviewers should check their room, equipment or source. For the ultra low frequenties I use a Rel subwoofer with the x-over set at 25hz. Now I get a flat frequenty response to 19Hz with useable energy at 16hz. I can definitely recommend Rel subwoofers because of their highly flexible x-over.

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3A, Visaton, IQ, and auditioned many.

Price, detail of sound, style, plus my wife gave her approval!

None that I''ve come up with.

These are wonderful speakers. My present receiver probably doesn''t do them enough justice, but at 120 wattrs per channel, they sound reasonably good. The highs and mid range are extremely detailed and the bass is more than adequate. My intention is to do a surround sound, so I''ll probably add a sub to it. They came with audiophile cables as a bonus. B & W really impresses me. As others have indicated, snagging a pair of these is a much better buy than the new Nautilu$ version. I listen to all sorts of music styles and formats (cd, cassette, vinyl). My music has never sounded more detailed and revealing. I''m in audiophile heaven!

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Accuracy of the midrange and top end. Dynamic range. Retains sonic balance over a wide volume range.

No matter what drives these speakers, the cabinet do only go to about 40 hz.

These are S2 upgraded to S3. Purchased them used and was disappointed with the bottom end but impressed with EVERYTHING else. Bi-amping helped the bottom but the the lower registers were still weak and lacked detail. Upgraded the 10 yr. old power supply caps in the two Hafler amps and... wow, the bottom end is strong and fast. Midrange and topend detail is the best I''ve heard. Midrange may be slightly warm but great for voice or acoustic instruments. These speaker do need a serious current source to get any tight bass, but it can be had. Overall, a very natural sounding speaker with outstanding midrange detail and beautiful B&W woodwork.

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B&W DM6, Mission 700 series

I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of the last, if not THE last, pairs of new and unused B&W Matrix 802 Series III. We set them up to test them out and also to do a side by side with the new Nautilus 802.

First of all, these speakers sound incredible. Any compaints about lows or anything else you can come up with as an audio snob, is ridiculous. These sound incredible in every way with lows that render a subwoofer unecessary during DVD or LD playback.

Lastly, the comparison to the Nautilus revealed that all the talk of the Nautilus being "better" is a bunch of crap. The sound is very nearlt identical and the slight difference in the sound is simply that, a slight difference. The difference has ZERO to do with quality but more to do with the fact that these are two different pairs of speakers, not necessarily different models. The were more or less identical sounding, and if really pressed for a preference, the Matrix wins out. That super futuristic aerodynamic cabinet on the Nuatilus is really weird looking. I cannot believe anyone in their right mind would rather put those things in their homes rather than the more conventional looking Matrix models. Indeed the Matrix 802 is a little strange looking, but it does not have that fake shiny material all over it and has that beatiful black ash wood finish.

Hats off to B&W for a top flight speaker in the Matrix 802 Series III AND for being able to sell the EXACT SAME SPEAKER with THE EXACT SAME SOUND for TWICE THE MONEY! In the year 2001 with "virgin" Matrix 802s for $2000, while the new Nautilus 802 are $8000, I think there are a lot of FOOLS out there who have the word "SUCKER" on their forehead while sitting in the corner in the back of the room, on a high chair, with a multi-colored dunce cap on their head, strapped below their chin to make certain it doesn't fall off!

a lot!

none

I bought a pair of theese a few months ago and I'm still excited! I got addicted!
The B&W 802 Matrix Series 3 sounds like heaven! A very detailed and clear sound! I'm running an AVM Evolution A2
and an Sony cdp-xa555es, which is for me a perfect combination for this pair of speakers!