B&W 800 MATRIX

Yeah, Ct!  Still enjoying them on a nightly basis, and feeling thankful every time!

I had B&W Matrix 801s3 speakers and the older Pass Aleph amplifiers (SE Class-A) really made them sound particularly incredible- any hashiness from the tweeters disappeared.  If you can afford any of the newer Pass XA amps i would think they would sound somewhat similar.  I did get to hear the Matrix-800's and i was VERY impressed by them, although they should optimally be quad-wired- woofer-mids-tweeter-woofer.
    Not to get off the subject but WHY does B&W not want to update this design using more modern drivers and materials beats me, as so many manufacturers today are offering top models with a similar configuration (Wilson, Evolution Acoustics, Kharma, Rockport, etc,).  
Plus a good modular design is easier for the lower back to set up- Just build it up like a series of "Lego" blocks...

Been liaising with Mike (OP) in possibly acquiring the 800 matrix..

A question for owners. This specific pair have a serial number range in the 500’s and have something I have not seen before. The Midrange and Tweeter crossovers are joined; there is only one speaker connection for both the midrange and tweeter drivers on the back.

Do any other 800 matrix owners have this kind of connection ?

Did they come from B&W like this in later runs ?


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French Fries
Not to get off the subject but WHY does B&W not want to update this design using more modern drivers and materials beats me, as so many manufacturers today are offering top models with a similar configuration (Wilson, Evolution Acoustics, Kharma, Rockport, etc,).

FF - I do have an opinion on this - will post later.

This specific pair have a serial number range in the 500’s and have something I have not seen before. The Midrange and Tweeter crossovers are joined; there is only one speaker connection for both the midrange and tweeter drivers on the back.

Do any other 800 matrix owners have this kind of connection ?

As an update
It was confirmed through B&W that this is a private owner modification after purchase. All 800 matrix have separate binding posts for the tweeter and midrange drivers.

Found this on a Portuguese website. How cool is this picture ?  

http://www.hificlube.net/media/174409/Abbey-studio-big-1280.jpg

Matrix 800 in Abbey Road (801 Matrix can be seen behind cubicle wall) 

Description of this picture from the Website.

The Matrix 800 parecia ter sido desenhado por Picasso, depois da noite boêmia , e foram that tão feio sua imagem aparentemente foi banido da história da marca

translated

The Matrix 800 Appeared to have been designed by Picasso, after the bohemian night , and were so ugly his image was apparently banned from the history of the brand.

8^0  - hah hah

@ French Fries

I said earlier (FF - I do have an opinion of this - will post later) 

My opinion is that during this John Bowers era it was more about F over F -

Function over Form.