The lucidity of the Matrix 801 and near bottomless bass is what forced me to buy this speaker over its younger counter-part. I have lived with my 801's for almost two years now and I swear these speakers keep revealing the inner detail of CD's I purchased years back. The 801 series III are true reference quality transducers. I have yet to hear this quality of sound from other speakers in this price range other than the Aerial 10t's. I was fortunate to hear the Wilson X-1's at SoundEx in Willowgrove, Pennsylvania and, of course, its an unfair comparison but they are the only speaker I have heard to date that TRULY out muscle and perform the Matrix 801. Then again the X-1's are 70k plus. For all those who read this review, if you own a pair of 801's do not do yourself a disservice by not purchasing the proper companion equipment to complement a stellar speaker. As my fellow audiobuffs indicate, one needs proper cables, high current amplification(preferrably in a biamped configuration), etc. If you really want to treat yourself to audio delight go out to your local music store and purchase Keiko Matsui's latest work Dreamwalk. It's HDCD encoded. Slip it in your HDCD player and listen. I guarantee you will be impressed.
The only minor quibble I have is that I wish the speaker was available completely in black lacquer. Other than that, it is two thumbs up from me.

Well said Scott
Yes, I was happy with the mids. The bass... it doesn't really hurt, so people don't notice. But to hear true bass means you forget about the Hz range and listen to the instruments instead. I will try Dynaudio.

JUST PURCHASED A PAIR OF B&W801 SERIES3,WHAT A AWESOME SPEAKER,,,,,,,, IN MY ROOM THE BASS WAS KILLING,,,,EXTENDED AND TIGHT JUST THE WAY I LIKE
IT.NOW THAT THE NEW NAUTILUS LINE IS OUT,YOU CAN GET THE 801MATRIX AT A
REALLY GREAT PRICE.BUT BACK TO THE REVIEW,THE MICRO-DYNAMICS ARE TO DIE FOR.
THE MID-RANGE IS SUPER CLEAN,,,,,,,WHAT CAN I SAY,THIS IS THE RIGHT STUFF!!
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT: ARAGON24K
ARAGON8008BB
CAL DELTA
A/A DDE3.0
A/A DTI2.0

My set up includes a citation 7.0 processor + Citation 7.1 Amp + Citation 5.1 Amp...I upgraded to the Sony DVP S7700 and the 801's at the same time....but the addition of these two literally bought my system to life....along w/ the B&W HTM1 for the center the front stage is abolutely killer...the bass could be deeper if they were alone....but I already had a ULD18 and their sounds blend perfectly w/ one another...the 801s replaced my older 804s which are moving to the rear...I got these speakers at dealer cost for $3,300 as a closeout....I was going to get the new 801's but at over 10k vs 1/3 the price I did not think the new ones were 3x as good....I have to agree w/ alot of others that these speakers gobble AMP power....so it is just a matter of time before the Krell Monoblocks are in my system...who needs a new car..hehe

I had a pair of 801's for two years. I was very impressed with the bass slam, sweet highs and huge sounstage these speakers produced. There are however two things which led me to sell them. First, they are large and cumbersome speakers that require a large room to enjoy their full potential. Second, the mid-range can be to laid-back which can produce a somewhat sterile, boring sound which fails to engage the listener. I often found myself leaning forward when listening to these speakers in the hope of being drawnto the music. In a few words, they are not very dynamic and lack spirit. I just replaced them with a pair of Mani-2's which are not at par in the bass department, but exceed everywhere else.

I bought my first pair of 801s (SII) back in 1989, after an amusing struggle with another customer(we became friends shortly after). My setup then, was less than ideal, with some heat-of-the-moment acquisitions, however, the transparency and neutrality that characterize these speakers was immediately evident. After the growing pains as an audiophile (and they aren't short-lived), I began making more intelligent choices which have led to my current system. Not without defecting to alleged superior alternatives and gracefully rejoining the thick ranks of 801 owners, this time around with the Series III.
There wasn't one time when I was invited by my audio guru and very good friend, to enjoy an evening of good music and good wine at his house, that I didn't recriminate myself for my thoughtlessness in selling the Series II.

I listened to many loudspeakers, only to miss the qualities i had found on the "little robots", in short, there was no magic. So I decided to buy a pair of 801s Series III, and my soul is now happy and at peace.

The 801's are not the forgiving kind, they will sound awful in the wrong room, I have witnessed that one too many times. Everything up the chain is acknowledged by the 801, speaker cable (not only single or biwiring, but lenght and make/model as well), amplification and so forth. A poorly recorded piece of music will sound.... well ... poorly.

And placement, it isn't a chore to be dealt with in one day, not even if you spend 20 hours, which isn't the ideal way to do it. It takes a long time and a well thought out strategy, and most of all, a clear mind. Once you achieve the "ideal" setting, the listening experience will be most rewarding, and I can assure you, you won't want to buy anything else ... unless ... you can afford the Nautilus 801 ... but that is another story.

My setup?

Audio Power Power Wedge
Wadia 8 CD transport
Wadia 15 Decoding computer
Classe DR-6R Pre Amp
Two Classe M700 Amps
Cardas Interconnects and speaker cable
Love for music.

could anyone tell me what are the differences between the Matrix 801 series 2 &3I understand the main differences is the change of crossover components and board and permanent fixture of midrange head. Are there any other changes to the drivers, tweeter etc etc. Can I purchase the series 3 crossover and swop it over to the series 2 so that it becomes a series 3, thanks.

Okay, it seems evil to submit a review of a discontinued product, especially one that I like less with each listen, but since everyone seems to give reviews of products they are in love with there is no point made of what these products don't do well. So here goes:
The Matrix 801 has 4 major faults that come in matched pairs. First, the midrange is forward from ~500-1500 Hz with a grungy rolloff above that and a major rolloff below. The midbass, however, is too much also which balances the forward midrange. Like the midrange, the bass driver doesn't do well in the octave above or below its midbass focus. Thirdly, the treble seems rolled off and yet somehow fatiguing at the same time. But there is no lower midrange or upper bass to speak of so it seems balanced. And of course, there's the 5th flaw which is that you can immediatle point to each speaker unless you've done the expensive crossover modifications which put them into exotic territory pricewise.

The final analysis - 801s sound very balanced, but as soon as you listen to individual instruments they fall apart. Cellos and upright string bass have no speed or definition, pianos and voice sound blary and unnatural and cymbals don't sound like the real thing.

Speakers I'd rather own for the same or less - Aerial 10Ts or PSB Stratus Golds (both similar without the flaws), NHT 2.9/3.3s (much more accurate across the board) and the new JMLab Electra 920 (Wow, are those fantastic!).

So they get two stars for being a classic and being balanced and lacking obnoxious flaws. They would have gotten three stars about 5 years ago and they might have even been a 4 ten years ago. But today, in real terms, they're twice as expensive as they need to be to be competitive. Those Nautilus 801s had better be 4 times as good!

Equipment used: Meridian 502/605 mono blocks, Pink Triangle PT Too/Alphason HRS-100/AT-37E (modified by Prof. van den Hul personally)
Audio nirvana, unless you're willing to spend silly money (which I'd rather spend on tunes...). Having gone the route of mini monitors for 10 years (KEF R102, Rogers LS3/5A, ProAc Studio 1) I finally wanted to experience real bass. Subterranean, without any distortion or false bloom, is the best description for the 801s' output. My ProAcs are a tiny bit faster though. Wilson Puppies as well, but I think the B&Ws not as in-your-face, less hi-fi-ish. Midrange clarity exceptional, voice comparable to 3/5As. Very, very neutral. They don't suffer bad recordings gladly: if the engineer screwed up, you'll hear it.

Not fussy to set up, except for the weight (about 60kg/speaker). Very important: the build quality is excellent, and very child resistant, so no worries about probing fingers and damaged cones! Spousal accetptance of the design is open to discussion. My wife listened to them for ten minutes and said that even though they are ugly as sin, I could keep them! You do get used to the look eventually.

Overall, a bullet proof package that will satisfy head-bangers and classical music enthusiasts alike.

I have be an audio enthusiast since the mid-1960s. But really got serious about hi-end in the early 1980s. I have spent hundreds of hours listening to many top speakers over several years. The most serious competition came from Dunlevy SC-IVs and Aerial 10ts. Dunlevy seem faster but no deep bass. And you wonder if Dunlevy will be around 30 years from now like B&W. Lets face it, what are you going to do 10 years from now if your Dunlevy's fail in some way. Hopefully Dunlevy does not go the way of Delorean. One other person in this forum listened to B&Ws with Adcoms and rated them as 4 stars. What sort of dealer hooks up a demanding speaker like B&W 801s to Adcom amplication (unless it is Adcoms new amp released last month). Bi-amping with realistic amps is the way to hear the 801s. Buying a stereo system that uses speakers the quality of 801s says that you ready for hi-end. If the money is not there then wait.
The other reviewer puts down B&Ws bass and then says that the Adcoms driving them just could not cut it. Boomer-rang thinking perhaps? On another front, Legacy plays loud. Very loud. Maybe they should be used as backup at a rock concert. You can probably get quite a few of them used since they have the resale value of a Yugo. There are tons on the market. I have heard that the 801s have outsold several of their top contenters combined. Yet there is not a corresponding amount of them on the used market. That is probably the strongest statement for a speaker that was first released in the late 1970s. However, I was very favorablely impressed with the Aerial 10ts. They deserve a serious listening in a good room with serious amplication and music source.