Summary: In reading a few of the reviews it dawned on me that reactions to these speakers are very different in opinion. If one understands the perspective that the Bowers & Wilkins engineers were trying to convey one would know the precise characteristics they were attempting to achieve. B&W has always set as their goal to produce a sound that is very flat across the spectrum. What this means is the sound they attempted to produce is brutally honest to the very recording being played through them. I personally like playing around with the sound recording and engineering side of music. That being said, a flat precise monitor is what I would need to be sure of the recording being produced. This can be good and at times disappointing. If the recorded material is produced successfully then WOW,the sound is simply astounding! Other times the recorded info is less than perfect and it makes it self manifest in such a way as one wanting to run and hide in embarrassment! This is the perspective I have when I sit for a listening session. There are other speakers that can do a thing better here and there but overall there is not a speaker out there still, in the right environment, with the right "recipe" of amps, pre stage and transport system that can produce the utopia of sound that I experience with the 801's. I have tried countless combinations through out the years... thats what an audiophile does, I still come back to the 801's. The value is unmistakable. The key in doing them justice is in all the other equipment involved. The sound quality is only as good as its weakest link, right down to a dedicated power source and separate grounding. Let the experiments continue but for now the 801's are still the reference standard. There is a reason they are so popular all over the world and still on the class A reference lists of many audiophile organizations. They are what they are, nothing more , nothing less.
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Summary: I have found that many speakers will have strengths in one area or another but the Matrix 801 Series 2 is still the best all around speaker that I have heard to date.
Simply awesome from high through midrange to the lowest of lows! There is a reason these speakers are still world famous however they do best on high quality peripherals and especially amps with high power - I strongly suspect that the reviewers who knock these are really hearing limitations in their other epuipment that are simply being laid bare by the 801's.
The low price of the 801's is what leads people to underestimate them and is probably their greatest weakness as they often get paired up with junk amplifiers and cheap transports.
When placed properly and in an acoustically good room and a good amp the bass is the most accurate I've ever heard. In many audiophile speakers it is simply missing.
The mids and highs are also up there with the best and the detail is second to none. The Matrix 801 sounds awesome and effortless to me - totally engaging.
As usual B&W combines the finest detail while keeping all the subtlety and musical emotion. B&W build quality is excellent and these speakers are now one of the best used deals out there.
Strengths: As good today as ever - ignore reviewers who do not list there other equipment. Because these speakers can be picked up cheap they are very often underestimated and paired with junk. They deserve top notch peripherals to really show their stuff.
Weaknesses: Too cheap for what they are - simply amazing.
Similar Products Used: B&W Matrix 801 Series 3's and B&W DM2/II's
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Summary: Maybe they were great once upon a time; but there is better stuff now. If you are looking for a deal on high-end audio; look for used Dynaudio's. These do NOT have the detail of Dynaudio Audience 80's or Contour 2.5T's. These speakers are huge and cost plenty; so shouldn't they sound as good as a pair of used Dyn's? Well, they don't. You don't even have to test it side by side, it is way apparent.
Strengths: As of 2006, these are mid-range speakers. I'd compare them to Paradigm's, rather then Dynaudio's, Thiels or Meridian's.
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