extensive bass

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I have used the 801 s3 for about two and half years driven by a Crimson (transistor) amp and been struck by the neutrality and acuracy. I use them as monitors in a listening room of about 8m by 5m which is acoustically treated to ged rid of resonances. I found that to get the speaker up above the mixing console, I had to have a stand made about 1m high, solid and filled with sand. The improvement that this made to the bottom end was enormous. The extension down to the bottom register was now incredible.

I recently bought a couple of QUAD II valve power amps and coupled these up - while some of the extension in the bass seems to have gone lighter - the clarity of the whole spectrum if absolutely incredible. Voices just come out of the speakers at you. I find myself now listening to CDs that I thought were digitally "edgy" and now sound significantly clearer. They shine on classical music and the like.

These are truly incredible machines when coupled to the right amp even at the QUAD rated 15 watts per channel.

Amazing bass response - very `quick` woofers
They go very, very loud

Ugly as sin, midrange seems a little recessed compared to my Rogers LS5/8s (Main BBC monitors), treble not quite on a par with my old Tannoy 15" Monitor Golds

Well, to start, it took two of us to shift them up my stairs - 56kg (8 1/2 stone) each, and no real carry handles! I must say they are possibly the most unattractive looking loudspeakers I have ever seen! But, more importantly... sound.

The main thing which sets these speakers apart from anything else I own is the precision of the bass response. Not necessarily in terms of frequency response (my listening room has far from perfect acoustics), but they have incredible transient response - the bass is controlled to the nth degree. There`s no muddiness, floppiness, or booming at all. This is due to the Matrix cabinet design. As far as the mid and top goes, they are merely quite good. In comparison to my Rogers (12" bass, 1 1/8" tweeter) LS5/8s, the midrange is not quite so `there`. The tweeters are not quite as good as my old Tannoy Lancasters (15" dual concentrics), but the bass is way, way cleaner and tighter than either. Debatably the tweeters are on a par with the Rogers LS5/8s. They sound like a scaled up version of my BC I`s. I`m not sure I could live with them as monitor loudspeakers in a sound studio (I`m a broadcast engineer) for sound balancing, but they`re superb for pounding dance and rock music. If only the midrange was on a par with the exceptional bass...

If you`re buying a pair S/H, check the condition of the cloth on the top of the main bass enclosure - it doesn`t look possible to change this if it gets damaged or fades..?.. I need to ask B&W about this, as mine are starting to fade ever so slightly (they`re by the window). Spares availability and customer service from B&W is superb (I dinged a tweeter grille getting them out of the car ..sob).

If you like music with high energy bass, or want a pair of speakers which could double as a high-fidelity P.A. system then these are the ones. If your listening material is acoustic / chamber music etc. then I could see that there are perhaps other loudspeakers which would be a better choice.

Similar Products Used:

Rogers LS5/8 (bi-amped with Quad 50 Power Amps)
Tannoy Lancaster (15" Monitor Gold drivers)
Spendor BCI`s (also exist as BBC LS3/6a)

very accurate sound approaching a good pair of Sennheiser headphones. Every spectrum of frequency is evenly balanced.

Nothing only when compared to Nautilus 801 for maximum output

This is a truly state of the art high end monitor. There's nothing to describe this speaker except, listen and you'll see. To do justice to this speaker, make sure your ancillary equipment including cables are up to the task. This is another God send speaker from heaven, enjoy!!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

matrix 803,804,805,801S2.

Just thought I'd join the 801 S3 bandwagon with my own 5 star rating. Properly amplified (I bi-amp mine with a pair of Proceed AMP2's) with Sound Anchor stands, these are as good as anything I've heard. I have noticed they are not kind to poorly recorded material, but that is no fault of the speaker. Great build quality, too!

Definately Reference Standard.With proper setup and ample power to drive them, they create the most
natural, accurate and wonderful soundstage in the industry.
Low frequencies are accurate, tight and with presence with mid & highs
airy and silkly smooth.
Although they have been described as "R2D2 clones", their capabilities
are awesome and in some environments can be quite pleasing to the eye as
well as the ear.
In a "no holds barred" system, I would definately rank them high among
the best loudspeakers in the world.
best loudspeakers in the world.

Nothing short of perfect !

Nothing at all !

The B&W 801 series 3 is a speaker that really can perform. But it's surely can also be put to misperforming when fi. set up incorrectly or using wrong equipment or even non mathing cables ! When set up correctly problems George, Scott Eaton, John Ashman, Ondra or Brian Ravnaas had simply will not occur ! Every unit of the 801 is precisely fit for its purpose. When some listeners experience some frequencies (rather low frequencies) lacking this is acualy the way your music should sound (or the way it was recorded), your equipment sounds or a faulty set up (or maybe even a listening room that sounds - or rather colourates - for its self). this is one of the vew speaker systems in the world that alows you to hear everything to the exact detail - how painfull they somethime maybe - so if you can't face the thruth don't ever buy this. Almost every good classical recording studio (and label) use this type of loudspeaker... and they should know. One revieuwer did'nt choose to keep the 801's because they lacked coloration !? That's a strange remark coming from someone who cals him self a audio enthesiast; coloration's are (in any event, including live performance's) unwanted just like any other form of distortion !
My 801/3 are performing in combination with:
* TEAC VRDS-T1 cd-transport
* Siltech HF-8si digital interconnect cable
* Wadia 12 digital to analogue converter
* vandenhul the first analogue interconnect cable
* Audio Research SP9 Pre amplifier
* MIT MI-330E/CVT analogue interconnect cable
* Mark Levinson no. 29 Power amplifier
* MIT MH-750 shotgun loudspeaker cable
* B&W 801 series 3 loudspeakers

Although the Mark Levinson's output is "only 50 watts" per channel, the No. 29 handles the so called power gobblers like a dream.

Musically only surpast by the nautilus 801/802 !

Similar Products Used:

B&W Matrix 803/1

Terrific full-range speaker, great bass, extremely sweet mid-range and highs

none

I just love the sound of these speakers. Even though I have upgraded to the Nautilus 801s, I am still keeping these speakers.

These speakers are extremely sweet sounding, with a marvelous bass. I have come to appreciate why the Matrix 801s will become classics for many years to come....

At their original list price of $5,500, they were a great value, just imagine how much better is their value at their used price........

I have listened to A LOT of speakers. I have heard the big names like B&W, Martin Login and Theils. I heard the popular brands like Boston Acoustic, Infinity, Definitives, and PSI. I was even crazy enough to hear the brands outcast by audiophiles like Bose, Klipish, and Jensen. Yes, this required a very open mind, but I knew that the sound of a speaker relies a lot on the electronics and the room acoustics. Yes, cabling will make a diffence also, but I really beleive they are way overpriced for the anel diffences they make (I live in the city so the diferences are usually drained out by city noises!) I have McIntosh electronics (tube pre-amp, solid state amp) and the average 12X20ft living room. My favorite music is acoustical as I perform in live performances that use acoustical instruments and voice. Of course I like Rock, Jazz and Classical and experience my fair share of concerts. I also like movies. So you can imagine the great conflict I have been through seeking out speakers.
So what about the 801's. Well, I can see why so many recording studios use them. They have a lot of resolution and are tonally very balanced. And when the rotatable drivers were set right, the imaging was pretty precise. So, in terms of the Audiophile technical blabble, I agree with what the other reveiwers say about this speaker.

BUT and this is a big But, I found these speakers sounded too much like a recording studio. They were too perfect! Live performances do not sound this way! I think these speakers would be great as stage speakers at a live performance, but are too "pro" sounding for the home. At a live performance, whether we like it or not, sound is colored by the reflections and echos of the space. That is not to say I am shooting for a Bose system, come on: no highs, no lows, must be Bose! I found the tone I wanted with the 801 but I did not like how they interact acoustically with the listening room. I know the goal of many speakers is to not interact with the room, but to me and my girl freind, who is a vocalist, the sound of such speakers are Boring! This is why I do not call myself an Audiophile! Music is about feeling, not how perfect it is.

I do not think a lot of people listen to acoustical UNMICED music. That is why I like the Martin Login Requests. They have the refinement of the 801 but they put more sound into the room, creating the colorations of a live performance. They are a bitch to set up though! I also liked the big Jensens. Go on luagh! But they had a surprisingly natural tone. They need to be set on 1 foot stands and mated with a subwoofer (I used the Velodyne UDL-12) if you want clear felt bass. Grandtid, they are not as precise as the "Audiophile" brands but they work well in the home listening room because they blend the sound a bit, like a space does at a live performance. That is not to say the Jensens are muddy, floppy and sisslely like most of you would expect. You just need good high current power and nuetral components. I dare any of you to swallow your Audiophileness, go to an unmiced concert and give the Jensens a listen. I was surprised.

All in all it is a matter of preference, because everything I do not like about the 801 and other "audiophile" speakers is subjective. But the 801's do exactly what B&W set out to do, to create a near "colorless" sound. So if I get a chance to build my acoustically perfect theatre, I would definitly consider the 801's for the sound system. In terms of the "small" scale home musical experience, the 801 are too direct: Boring! Although, on a surround system (where the colorations of the room are in the surround channels) you can not beat these speakers. For now as I have a stereo system, I will buy the Jensens for my art studio and the Martin Login requests for my living room. In terms of the 801, I will give them four stars for acheiving colorless studio quality sound. But ask yourself, is that what you really want?

I have had my 801s for about 3 years now. I have never been more satistified with an audio product. The mids and highs are extremely detailed, 3D, and seamless. I have the golden-flutes bass alignment filters. These really made the bass go quantifiably deeper while leaving the mids and highs intact. I know that if you have a bargain basement amp you may not be happy with the 801s. Of course they will not play loud with amps with limited current capability. I bi-amp with big Threshold amps. I get more than >105 db (metered) at 20 feet. Any louder and in a few listening sessions I would not be able to hear the difference between 801s and Radioshack speakers. I have one trivial complaint. I wish the cloth tops on the 801s were somehow easily removable so that they could be replaced if something is spilled on them or naturally fade.

Best speaker (with the exception of the DF BP-2000) you can buy for under $6K!