I had an opportunity to pick up a pair of these for $600 Canadian. Having always wanted to own a pair of the 800 series I couldn’t pass them up. The owner had them hooked up to a Yamaha receiver that came with his home and had the speakers hooked into what I would guess were 18 gauge cable. He also had them hooked up on top of a tv table about 3.5 feet off the ground as that was as far as the in wall cables would stretch. Needless to say they did not sound very good. I was unsure whether or not I should purchase them as I already had a pair of 603 S2 speakers which sounded much better in my estimation. The cabinets were in near mint shape and grills had no broken tabs. I decided to take the chance and buy them as at $600 I was sure I could resell them and not lose money if I didn’t like them. Once I got them home I immediately hooked them up to my Denon AVR-3313ci which I’m using as a preamp and my Rotel RMB 1080 power amp. The bass is less than what I was getting from my 602’s but a little more refined. The mids and highs are a little better than the 603s and I felt like I could hear a little more detail in music. I wouldn’t say heads and shoulders better however I would definitely say an improvement. Listening to 1) Sam Smith and Normani belt out Dancing with a Stranger provided us with the feeling that the mids were a little muddy but I attributed that to the recording. The highs were not harsh and the lows were subdued. 2) Norah Jones Turn me on made me realize I’d made the right choice. Smooth mids, crisp but not fatiguing highs, and lows hit and disappeared. 3) Cheap Trick’s The Flame made me remember why I enjoyed this song so much. Easy listen that I can only describe as well rounded 4) Belly & the Weeknd’s Might Not was very harsh on the highs and the lows hit but were subdued while the mids were very good. 5) Renee Olestead again confirmed my choice in replacing the 603’s with this speaker. 6) Birdy Skinny love live in London really made these shine. Great presentation and balanced with her vocals coming through clearly...staging was just great. In summary if you like your music where bass is the primary focal point of listening or a very close second you’ll feel like the speakers are lacking something. You won’t be unhappy but feel wanting. As someone she had said earlier if these are driven with adequate power they will absolutely reveal a bad recording. If you want to hear the musi

Bass response is a little lacking as some have said although if you’re looking for a lot of bass just add a musical sub. Jazz and pop sounded great. Speaker placement as always makes a difference as the room configuration.

Hi, I own psb t5; polk rti70, linn helix, Elac b6, polk lsi9 . These are my top set the b&w804 for 2way stereo listening. They are all good products , but to me , they give you the most complete sound and best harmony of bass/treble and mids. They are smoother and easier to listen to,especially when used for longer periods. I listen to current top 100 ,Reggie-ska (2nd wave) , calypso , new wave, orchestral, some rap. 80s music. Mowtown. Just not country. Sorry. These speakers give you the best sound and appearance you could get in its day for the money. Today you can get much more appealing looks because of different shapes and colours provided . But the performance is still up there.l have had mine for years (since new), not 1 mark .will never sell them. Could not be happier. Will leave them for my brother when I leave this world. Hope he can be patient.

Only problem was that in its time you could not pick colours .

Good high end, sweet mid, and just enough punch for playing jazz, which is my favorite type of music.

Some of the user may complain bass is not so strong from the six inches woofer.

I feel I can really tell how this speaker holds up. I bought it new in 1997. I am finally in the market for a replacement speak 20 years later. So, here is what I know. Yes the speaker has a sound. I can hear my speakers sound different compared with other brands that have been connected to my system. The thing is every time I make a change in my system, the speakers react. Change wires? I can hear it. Change amps? yes. Change phono cartridges? yes. The system resolves. I am trying to get my electronics to the point where the speakers are topped out. I think I am close now. I have Classe CP-60 preamp, Wyred4sound Power Amp, VPI Classic 1 table, and a Cambridge Audio Azure 840 CD player. I am stymied on my choices for a replacement speaker.

Like all great speakers, it needs good power to get the best results. No sub woofer needed.

The B&W 804 matrix are a great speaker if you pair it up with good gear. The problem with these speakers is that they will reveal a bad recording when it's played. These speakers need a lot of power to run them or they tend to get shreaky in the top end. Buy good cables for these speakers, I'm using the higher end kimber cable and then I switched to cardas silver core wire. Both great wires. If you have the extra cash laying around a good DAC warms up these speakers and presents a better sound stage. If you want these speakers in a newer form, B&W has brought out a newer version of the old matrix (CM-8 , and the CM-10) they come in a piano black finish and they are based on the old design with a much higher price tag (CM-10 roughly $4000.) great speaker with the newer tweeter from the nautilus. the only real complaint I have with these speakers is the price tag. You are paying for 30 old technology at a premium price. From the matrix to the nautilus is a 50% jump and to the diamonds is even higher price range. The replacement tweeters are at a staggering $550 plus taxes for the matrix alone! The Nautilus is a $1000. Plus taxes. Expensive to repair and referbus. Great speaker if you enjoy a flat sounding speaker that will deliver great detail and soundstage.

Really good for the money!!

I got them from local dealer that convinced me that is best value for the buck. I tried to connect to My holographic Carver and the result wasnt outstanding. Then I tried Bryston 4B and it sound even worst. Basses are lack depth; mid/high are real harsher from that I expected from Kevlar speaker. I didn't like it. The idea behind getting B&W was to achieve clear and emphasized midranage with advantage of clear highs. Previously I used Klipsch Heresy II and was tired of too high tones from these speakers.
Previous experienced with:
ProAc Studio 150 (I probably going back to this one!)
Klipsch Heresy II
B&W DM600

THIS IS MY FIRST BREAK IN WITH B&W SPEAKERS AND THEY DO LOOK NICE,PICKED THESE UP BY LUCK AND PUT THEM ON SOME 20W VALVE MONOBLOCKS I HAVE, AND WOW WHAT A FANTASTIC SPEAKER ELECTRO STATIC LIKE WITH TIGHT DEEP BASS SORRY BUT TO ME THEY DO HAVE A SOUND LIKE QUAD 57S SPEAKERS BUT BIGGER I WILL STILL KEEP MY TANNOY LOCKWOOD RECONED BERKLEYS BUT HEY KEEPING THESE TOO!!!! WELL DONE B&W

Sound really good.

hard to find good used.
people keepim'
Often mint electrically/mechanically but not as good cabinets.

Finally found a mint used pair for the deal.
Mechanically/electrically and cabinetry.
What a musical treat!!!
You don't seem many for sale and you don't have to wonder why!!
Great for the fronts.
Using DM 2000's on the surrounds
600series on the rears.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM 2000's side/surrounds
B&W 602 series on the rears

Midrange and highs are pretty accurate , and the bass is more than adequate for most listeners. Very good balance for a speaker in this price range.

Not easy to find since they were replaced by the Nautilus series.

I guess an audio enthusiast is an audiophile on a budget. My system was primarily for 2-channel music until I recently added HT components. For a moderately priced speaker, I found the matrix 804 to be very accurate for the music I listen to (jazz, both traditional and fusion) in the midrange and treble after the break in period. Not a heavy thumping bass, but more than sufficient for a wide range of music unless the listening room is very large. Raising them off the floor a few inches really improved an already good sound. I would encourage anyone in the market for a well rounded, high quality speaker to seek out the matrix 804.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsh, Kef, Linn