# B&W 801 Series 80, Matrix series



## Voodoo Rufus (Feb 24, 2010)

I've been looking at these to upgrade my stereo system, currently GR AV-1s with a pair of Emotiva Ultra 12s.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...67&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123#ht_500wt_1413

These B&Ws are on Ebay for a pretty good deal, and have the following specs:
http://www.bwgroup-support.com/downloads/manuals/bw/801F-OM.pdf
http://www.bwgroup-support.com/downloads/specsheets/bw/801 Brochure.pdf

I'm thinking of moving the current stereo setup to HT duty and have the B&Ws as the primary music setup in the living room. They are configured in a 12" sealed box alignment, so I'm not sure they'll have the low end extension (45Hz -2dB) that my current system does. I know in room response will help extend that a bit, but might I still want to have the subs in the room? I think they'll be fine for blues/rock music, but classical/pipe organs/soundtracks might punish them a bit. But then again that music can punish any speaker.

Do these appear to be a good deal?


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
B&W 801's are a true Audio Classic. The Series 80 are fairly old, but another Member here purchased those very Speakers last year and loves them. You might want to consider the smaller 800 Series that are in the Nautilus Series as they are both newer and the N Series represented a major leap forward. Regardless, any 800 Series would be fantastic.
Cheers,
JJ


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## jmschnur (May 31, 2011)

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> B&W 801's are a true Audio Classic. The Series 80 are fairly old, but another Member here purchased those very Speakers last year and loves them. You might want to consider the smaller 800 Series that are in the Nautilus Series as they are both newer and the N Series represented a major leap forward. Regardless, any 800 Series would be fantastic.
> Cheers,
> JJ


I have had these speakers since 1981 and love them. I replaced the capacitors in the xovers and repaired the woofer surrounds about 8 years ago.
They take lots of power and are very neutral. They live in our 25x26 living room and are powered by Brystom 4b sst. They are a little shy on the low end but are perfect for classical, vocal, and jazz.


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## Voodoo Rufus (Feb 24, 2010)

I'm a big fan of big speakers, and the girlfriend has been forewarned about that. Already started introducing her to quality speakers (built the Parts Express BR-1s for her birthday present and she loves them) and her only question is when she can play her music on whatever speakers I build or purchase.

So, I might need some bigger subs? I anticipate my Emotive XPA-2 being able to adequately power these to any sane listening levels in a reasonably sized room.


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## jmschnur (May 31, 2011)

Voodoo Rufus said:


> I'm a big fan of big speakers, and the girlfriend has been forewarned about that. Already started introducing her to quality speakers (built the Parts Express BR-1s for her birthday present and she loves them) and her only question is when she can play her music on whatever speakers I build or purchase.
> 
> So, I might need some bigger subs? I anticipate my Emotive XPA-2 being able to adequately power these to any sane listening levels in a reasonably sized room.


The sub needs to be low distortion . Xover at 50 hz or so. The 801s need to be about 2.5' feet or so from front walls. The imaging is very good and you will need to play a bit to optimize sound field. However they are fairly easy to integrate into a room except for their size . My wife called them r2 and d2 when we got them.

There are md range and treble adjustments on the speakers you can play with. If you equalize and have the amp power, the 801 s can deliver substantial bass. I believe B&W sold a bass alignment kit that did this in the early 80s.

There is a big 6 volt battery that runs the protection circuit. Be sure to change the battery. I changed this out to a 9 volt smaller battery. That worked.

Enjoy


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