Why the Bowers & Wilkins Matrix 802 is one of our *favorite* vintage speakers...

[@brandonburr4900]

Great to see a pair of these great speakers! I still have my matrix 802 series 3 speakers (with original boxes like these)I purchased in the late 90s. I have mine on sounds anchors stands made specifically for them along with the jps golden flute bass alignment filters made for 802 and the matching matrix htm center speaker. I haven't had a lot of speakers but have enjoyed them greatly over the years. Even in a suboptimal listening room these have continued to get better with every upgrade (good or bad)to this day over the years. Anyone considering these speakers...do not use a receiver! These speakers love power and they were transformed in performance with getting a big (115 lb ) amp, separate dac, preamp, and a pre/processor. Get the right synergy of equipment going and the midrange on these can be spooky! I love the bass these do as well. It's never overdone. Always tight and will shake the listening room when the music or movies calls for it. Unfortunately, as these are monitors, these have tought me that not everything I like was recorded well. The stuff that is recorded well is goosebumps city that sucks the listener in. I love his comment at the end pointing at the nautilus series that followed the matrix series. I feel the same way. More of a cosmetic upgrade.

[@MuratCannoyan]

Had a pair for over a decade. Absolutely loved them.

[@Grue_ni]

Still in love with my 803D....after 15 years of owning them...

[@smndlzll21xx77]

I recently acquired a pair of these in a cherry wood finish. The grills are a bit rough but the cabinets and drivers, mid range housing and tweeters are in good shape. They sound absolutely fantastic. I'm about to remove the crossovers and send them to Wilmslow Audio in England as I am a Brit, living in Britain. Wilmslow are going to refurbish the crossovers and upgrade the components for me, while I refinish the cabinets using French Polish to give some shine and I will replace all grill cloths including the top ones on the cabinets. Really looking forward to doing this. I'll use my B&W 805 Matrix, while the 802s are being refurbished. B&W forever! My favourite speaker manufacturer❤

[@johnmcl00]

I have had mine for 32 years. They are great, they have just had the crossovers upgraded.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Nice! Hang on to them and enjoy, and thanks for commenting. Keeps us motivated to post more.

[@BeelzebubLXXV]

Had a pair of 801's for several years. The bass was superb,middle and treble is better these days. Have 803d3 today.

[@TheMirolab]

In '86 I owned original 802's, then 801's, and then later, Matrix 801-S2's which I've owned now for 25 years! I still love them. I've done several crossover component upgrades. I tried the North Creek crossovers, and did not like them. They changed the character too much, into something I did not like. While the 801's are not perfect, I have other speakers I swap out occasionally, but I'm always happy to return to the 801's. These 802's are equally wonderful, but with lesser low end, and probably better in a smaller room. The 801's are a bit loose in the LF, but that makes them fun. LF can be adjusted greatly by the height of the stands. I set mine on a pair of 4x4's, so they are raised just 3.5 inches, and I find that perfect. Higher is not better.

[@tomfrank2707]

My favorite B&W is still the 801 Matrix. Heard it in my mid 20s, and at that time I was already 10-12 years into high end audio The 801 was the first speaker I ever had give me the goosebumps experience. Sounded like the live performance was right in front of me. Tonality, sence of space...everything sounded like I was hearing a live performance. I've listened to many audio systems and speakers since then...but I've never been emotionally moved to the point of goosebumps like the 801's.

[@steveschu]

I really like this channel. You guys are in a whole new league of audio. There’s stuff in that shop I’ve never heard of and the ones I did know like the Macintosh amps and receivers are really cool. I had a friend that had a full home theater with Macintosh amps, super sub woofer, and a array of mains. I can’t remember what brand but I remember my mind was blown listening to it all properly cranked up.

[@SkyFiAudio]

Awesome and thank you for the feedback!

[@MichelLinschoten]

I had the 802 for about one year, on a pair of Vincent monos, very nice . I thought it was the best thing I ever heard at the time. I also had a bass alignment filters , those are rare these days I understand. They produce the typical"English" sound as we called it. It was not meant for the American match stick size and dampened livingroom. But more for the European , concrete boxes. Very laid back sounding .. I seen these goes for lot of money, a bit high up on the price for what you get. But that's vintage for you.. The best one I ever heard from the bowers and Wilkins staple, is the 801 nautilus paired with two rel studio subs. My god that was incredible.. pair of stax dma x1 monos blocks 1 ohm stable class a/b 1500 watt (super rare and pricey) Incredible system that a family member had .. enjoyed them plenty bowers. I went from that to quad esl57, and I've been a planar/esl guy ever since. Hard to go back to cabinet speakers after that.

[@jaystone4816]

Hi, I bought the 802 S2 new and have had them ever since. I agree with one of the comments below these speakers are fussy about amplification. Obviously the amplification has to be of the same order of quality as the speakers, but even then some are going to be a lot better than others. It was only when I purchased a Simaudio integrated amp that these speakers really came alive. This integrated is only rated at 75 watts per channel, but puts out enough Class A headroom to take the 802s where they want to go. I also placed them on Sound Anchor stands with spikes. I still consider the Matrix 802 S2 to be a great musical speaker. That was B&W's mission when the founder John Bowers was alive. Current B&W speakers are very good, but I agree the sound is more hyper-real and forward. I've attended classical concerts for many years in different cities, and I feel the sound of the Matrix 802 S2 does justice to those performances. B&W higher end speakers today, while very good, are extremely overpriced. You're paying for the cabinetry fit and finish, and more importantly, the inflated snob appeal they've gained over the years.

[@blasterman789]

Friend of mine had these. My critique: fussy with amplification and requires oodles of power, but its B&W. Once positioned and amped right nicely transparent with excellent air. Vanishes in a room. However, as the reviewer indicated they arent exactly detailed as today's speakers and bottom end is a bit dry. For their intended audience though they are excellent. My personal preference was for Thiel though.

[@jaystone4816]

I seriously considered both the Matrix 802 and the top Thiel model at that time. Both were great, and it was a hard decision. In the end I chose the Matrix 802 because of the size and layout of my living room and the matrix bracing for wall clearance.

[@monzarace]

Have a pair of 802s3 myself with Sound Anchors and filter upgrade. Sounds terrific and much better than when used as they came out of the factory. More sound, more space, faster, tighter, more details and still very musical. I'd say they lost the downs and kept the good sides. Totally worth having. Cannot see myself investing in some high quality modern speakers for a long time. And if so, I'll build a set myself. Anyway, as stated in the comments, the way to go is upgrade the filter and the North Creeks are very good. But even then, some components have developed even further and one could possibly do sligt mods on the North Creeks. The stands are a very good upgrade too, but this model you have here, needs a couple of pieces of asphalt damping on the inside before filling them up with a mix of baked sand and lead. Funny enough, I don't find the series III as power hungry as earlier models are. I don't have a lot of watts but I have a big power supply that can deliver some amps. The most power hungry was the first 802 model before the matrix series came out, and with no front port vent. B&W did develop drivers further and filters as well. Anyway, a very good set of very good speakers with the absolute best upgrades. One should be very careful when moving them as the connecting rod between bass cabinet and the rest is a bit loose, and should be checked for tightness. Units are repairable from several specialists, if need ever be. And every couple of years, rotate the mid and two bass drivers 180 degrees so they don't sag and can possibly touch the airgap outside the coils. A possible explanation why this set got renovated. And finally: these are musical speakers, especially with those two specific upgrades, and still present you with speed and detail. Not the modern present day overanalytical and irritating high frequency sound that you won't hear in a concert hall. I find mine works best in my listening room with a bit of toe in, but not pointing towards me, rather behind me. My listening position is about 1 meter away from the wall. Lucky buyer is the one who gets this set. Highly recommended. Thanks for showing. Kind regards. ps: that 31,5 is a good transport.

[@XtremeKremaTor]

I have dm330i and I have to say that changing the capacitors (to pp) and resistors, makes a difference to the tweeter signature. It becomes more accurate, clinical but more harsh too.

[@adamant3844]

Those tweeters on the 802's look identical to the tweeters on my dm620's and 600's. They must be one and the same. Even the cabinetry looks very similar. It's a fabulous metal dome tweeter by the way.

[@SimonLloydGuitar]

i had a pair of these for 10 years before upgrading to Nautilus. they were fantastic speakers and unbeatable for their price. The tweeter covers are missing on these btw.

[@nicoastylehifiman]

Yes i want for my collection of long time 💯💯💯

[@BB..........]

I've owned a pair of B&W 802 S3 for over 20 years. In 2019 I bought a used pair of Dunlavy SC-III, then a few weeks later a pair of SC-IV, then a year after that a pair of SC-V. The Dunlavy's, especially the SC-IV & V, are so much better than the 802s, it's not even close. The Dunlavy SC-V are the best speakers I've ever heard. I never got a chance to hear the North Creek crossovers, but I know that Sony and others used them on the 802s in their studios. Replacement drivers for the 802 are very hard to find. Woofers haven't been available from B&W for over 15 years, maybe 20, and when I blew up a mid in 2002 it was one of the last they had in stock, and cost me over $200 back then.

[@carmenandthedevil2804]

Too bad you havent heard the Duntech Sovereigns.

[@MichelLinschoten]

I've never ever blown a woofer on any speaker....

[@BB..........]

@@carmenandthedevil2804 Don't need to, John Dunlavy considered his DAL speakers superior, and thought that the SC-Vs the best speakers he ever built.

[@BB..........]

@@MichelLinschoten me either, but unless you find one used you're SOL if one gets damaged somehow. They're also 16 ohm drivers.

[@haywyre817]

do you rebuild tweeters for these?

[@barneyrubble9309]

Nice cherry N803's in the background...had a pair of those and loved them but have just sold them (for reasons nothing to do with sound quality).

[@SkyFiAudio]

Nice find. We can barely keep B&W's in stock for more than a few weeks. Lately it's been days on some higher demand models from the early 2000's.

[@karolykassovicz7068]

Én talpakat szeretnék hozzá hol lehet kapni?

[@DrBroncanuus]

is that car on the ramp a Lancia Delta Integrale ? ( the Holy Grail ) 8min 45sec

[@SkyFiAudio]

Good eye! We actually had two in our shop recently.... That's correct two! One was this "1992 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evolution - Special Edition 4WD 2.0L Turbo" which you can view on our website.

[@DrBroncanuus]

@@SkyFiAudio I was lucky enough to own the Martini edition

[@mkosam7280]

What is the price of these speakser? thanks

[@SkyFiAudio]

They're not listed just yet, check back later thanks!

[@socksumi]

I still prefer the original series 80 802s. Why? The cabinet isn't a matrix but it's still well braced and quite inert so it's comparative slight lack of rigidity doesn't bother me. The real benefit to my ears is the highs because the series 80 versions used soft dome tweeters which are much easier on the ears than the somewhat abrasive metal domes in the matrix series. But still... some folks prefer the crisper sound of the metal domes. Fair enough. What other advantage does the soft dome offer? Much lower mass, something most folks don't even consider. But the lower mass of the gossamer thin soft domes offers better low level detail. This is audible and demonstrable and the highs from the original 801s do sound very detailed without glare or screaming at you.

[@Planktonyeijk]

B&W 802’s and a Delta Integrale in the same room. Not your avarage evironment to be in 👌.

[@crossoverchef]

I makes new crossovers for these and other B&W models.

[@Greg-u9v6z]

I'm down.

[@motorheadbanger7720]

Put any jbl 15 inch vintage speaker side by side... You will put the B&W away at the same day

[@robertm8518]

I don’t think so….

[@motorheadbanger7720]

@@robertm8518 no worries

[@joeygonzo]

sure if you have a stadium. I'd rather have L100 than any 15" JBL

[@motorheadbanger7720]

@@joeygonzo well it depends on what your wife allows you to do...., I do not have that problem at all! I use to live the way I want to

[@VoltLover00]

Absolutely terrible design, tons of diffraction issues. Pointing the drivers in different directions is real dumb. B&W is one of the most overrated brands

[@SimonLloydGuitar]

You should write and tell them. I bet there's a designers job with your name on it.