Hi Paul,
Yes..I have a pair with just about 325 hours on them from new. I bought my Anniversary Limited Edition 801 (Rosewood) for not much more than you,(although I drove 1900 miles round trip to get them! :)... and although good sounding, they are not even close to comparable vs. the NC' XO's.. The Anniversary is basically a S3. Drivers and crossovers in a S2 cabinet with the swivel head assembally. The APOC is not active just like your S3, and the woofer impedence compensation circut is intact as well like the S2..(not on the S3). At first hook up you notice an immediate increase in dynamics at low levels and a more resolving bass and upper mids. The highs follow with more extension and then the mids bloom better than any 801 Ive ever heard.The well document "tubby bass" of the 801 becomes a non isuue when the NC's are on board.The bass is much tighter and seems a bit leaner and cleaner...But, when the music has bass dynamics and slam and truly deep bass material, you are astounded that this is the same speaker. The bass is still not world class IMO...but MUCH better than stock.They still tend to roll off around 30Hz rather quickly, but the XO's transition points are the same in the NC as stock. I felt that the drivers as well as the crossovers of the stcok 801 were equally at fault for the limited dynamics and a sense of restraint and compression when the speaker is pushed. Not bad,much better than some slim collum 2 or 3 ways of more recent designs and which are much more popular these days, but could be better for a speaker of this caliber that sold for $6900 new even 14 years ago. What amazed me is that I found that the drivers and cabinet were very good designs and were VERY limited by the stock XO. Ive heard some say that B&W used a trio of drivers with different sonic signatures and each having a very different make up that was heard as a severe coloration in the finished sound, but I dont think so now. The real problem was and is the stock XO. NC recommends a full 300 hours of break in, and they seemed to get to that "liquid" sound right around that mark in my set up. My 801 came with the Sound Anchor stands which are a must with these speakers. I used to have the matching stand with my older 801 S2..the kind that matches the speaker cabinet and is sand filled with the platform over the sand loaded base. I think they were Arcici stands...but could be wrong. They are indeed much harder to find, but I believe that the SA are a better design and do a better job of mechanical isolation and coupling to the floor. This MO anyway. I can highly recommend the NC's for your 801's. George usually can have a pair made within a week or 2, dpending on his availability of boxes and finishes.He is very helpfull and of course the 45 day money back warranty is nice. I would be suprised if he actually had a pair come back! I dont know though. :) That $1600 is well spent believe me. Many audio guys dismiss the 801 Matrix as old technology and to be honest, I did too. When you hear them set up with excellent components in a good room, you hear the potential, With the NorthCreek's, that potential is realized.
Good luck- Ken
Yes..I have a pair with just about 325 hours on them from new. I bought my Anniversary Limited Edition 801 (Rosewood) for not much more than you,(although I drove 1900 miles round trip to get them! :)... and although good sounding, they are not even close to comparable vs. the NC' XO's.. The Anniversary is basically a S3. Drivers and crossovers in a S2 cabinet with the swivel head assembally. The APOC is not active just like your S3, and the woofer impedence compensation circut is intact as well like the S2..(not on the S3). At first hook up you notice an immediate increase in dynamics at low levels and a more resolving bass and upper mids. The highs follow with more extension and then the mids bloom better than any 801 Ive ever heard.The well document "tubby bass" of the 801 becomes a non isuue when the NC's are on board.The bass is much tighter and seems a bit leaner and cleaner...But, when the music has bass dynamics and slam and truly deep bass material, you are astounded that this is the same speaker. The bass is still not world class IMO...but MUCH better than stock.They still tend to roll off around 30Hz rather quickly, but the XO's transition points are the same in the NC as stock. I felt that the drivers as well as the crossovers of the stcok 801 were equally at fault for the limited dynamics and a sense of restraint and compression when the speaker is pushed. Not bad,much better than some slim collum 2 or 3 ways of more recent designs and which are much more popular these days, but could be better for a speaker of this caliber that sold for $6900 new even 14 years ago. What amazed me is that I found that the drivers and cabinet were very good designs and were VERY limited by the stock XO. Ive heard some say that B&W used a trio of drivers with different sonic signatures and each having a very different make up that was heard as a severe coloration in the finished sound, but I dont think so now. The real problem was and is the stock XO. NC recommends a full 300 hours of break in, and they seemed to get to that "liquid" sound right around that mark in my set up. My 801 came with the Sound Anchor stands which are a must with these speakers. I used to have the matching stand with my older 801 S2..the kind that matches the speaker cabinet and is sand filled with the platform over the sand loaded base. I think they were Arcici stands...but could be wrong. They are indeed much harder to find, but I believe that the SA are a better design and do a better job of mechanical isolation and coupling to the floor. This MO anyway. I can highly recommend the NC's for your 801's. George usually can have a pair made within a week or 2, dpending on his availability of boxes and finishes.He is very helpfull and of course the 45 day money back warranty is nice. I would be suprised if he actually had a pair come back! I dont know though. :) That $1600 is well spent believe me. Many audio guys dismiss the 801 Matrix as old technology and to be honest, I did too. When you hear them set up with excellent components in a good room, you hear the potential, With the NorthCreek's, that potential is realized.
Good luck- Ken