B&W Loudspeakers - Tribute to John Bowers

[microstrip]

Steve, great move - B&W really deserve it!

We should be very happy to have someone having owned the Matrix 800 in this forum. I listened to them several times, and did not buy a second hand pair at a nice price some years later because of size. Their soundstage in appropriate rooms was enormous, but they had to play loud - at low volumes they lacked finesse. I am trying to remember the electronics that were used in a great demo I assisted, but can not remember.

We should consider the Matrix 800 as a predecessor of the big Nautilus, not in the line of the current 800D. As far as I remember the Matrix 800 weighted more than 500 lbs - in the Maxx scale!

 

[jadis]

The speakers in front are the 801S3 with matching stands, which I discovered were a necessity otherwise too much bass boom will occur if not used. My 801s were walnut finish but sadly I never took a picture of them in my room. The midrange/tweeter heads can be swiveled for toe-in purposes and is one of the best provisions that I ever encountered in loudspeaker design.

 

[jadis]

This pair of 800 Matrix owned by a neighbor of mine and I took the picture myself. He had the woofers 'pointed into' the room as against mine which were pointed out towards the side walls.

Here pictured with the humongous Krell MRA mono blocks. I was told it took 4 people (at least) to carry each of these amps.

This is one of the cleanest and punchiest bass producing system I have heard, playing Sheffield Lab's James Newton Howard and Friends, the kick drum and percussion is one of the best I've heard at almost live levels.

 

[Steve williams]

Wow Phil

You and your neighbors sure have some great systems. I remember those MRA's very well including his matching Master Reference Sub

What are the speakers behind your B&W

 

[jadis]

We should consider the Matrix 800 as a predecessor of the big Nautilus, not in the line of the current 800D. As far as I remember the Matrix 800 weighted more than 500 lbs - in the Maxx scale!

Yes, Microstrip, this Nautilus came immediately after the Matrix 800. But I think it was short-lived. We have to consider that in the 90s, the SRP of the 800 was around $12,000, if I'm not mistaken. Not bad value-for-money wise and the workmanship is top-notch, in my own books. It can be quad-wired, bi-amp'ed or tri-amp'ed. I have heard a bi-amp'ed version with Jadis 200 on the mid/hi's and Krells for the bass units. Fantastic sound.

The Nautilus:

 

[jadis]

Wow Phil

You and your neighbors sure have some great systems. I remember those MRA's very well including his matching Master Reference Sub

What are the speakers behind your B&W

Steve,

The picture with the black 801s with stands are not mine, it's from a net photo as I never got to take pictures of my own 801s. The ones at the back would be a pair of Martin Logins, I guess.

 

[Steve williams]

and in the middle

 

[naturephoto1]

Phil,

Is that a Proceed AVP in reply #22? I remember mine fondly.

Rich

 

[jadis]

Back side of the 800, in bi-wired configuration. There is a short 'jumper' cable from the mid terminals to the tweeter terminals. Then a 2 meter jumper cable provided by B&W for the lower bass driver to link with the upper bass unit. If one desires, he can buy 4 pairs of long cables for quad wiring.

 

[jadis]

Phil,

Is that a Proceed AVP in reply #22? I remember mine fondly.

Rich

Rich,

Apologies as that picture was just taken from the net and not my system.

 

[jadis]

and in the middle

I couldn't make a guess out of the one in the middle, Steve. I thought is was a small Maggie but it now looks like a box-type speaker. The picture reminds me of those HK hi fi shops where all speaker brands are bunched together.

 

[microstrip]

Back side of the 800, in bi-wired configuration. There is a short 'jumper' cable from the mid terminals to the tweeter terminals. Then a 2 meter jumper cable provided by B&W for the lower bass driver to link with the upper bass unit. If one desires, he can buy 4 pairs of long cables for quad wiring.

XLO signature 5.1 - some of the best cables at that time! They were really stiff, I also used them for some years with the matching signal cables. These cables were really a pain to keep in place and we had to tighten the speaker binding posts very strongly. Is the jumper cable Straightwire Maestro?

 

[Steve williams]

Wow

my first really good set of cables were XLO speaker cables

 

[karma]

HI Steve,
I think moving it is a good idea. Go for it!

Sparky

 

[jadis]

XLO signature 5.1 - some of the best cables at that time! They were really stiff, I also used them for some years with the matching signal cables. These cables were really a pain to keep in place and we had to tighten the speaker binding posts very strongly. Is the jumper cable Straightwire Maestro?

Hi Microstrip,

Yes, the XLO Signature 5.1s were very popular in those times, in fact, its designer Roger Skoff visited Manila and met with the local audio community here. They were stiff as heck indeed. I never got to use them for the reasons you mentioned. The short jumper cable is custom made by XLO too but the bass woofer jumpers were a pair of M-Series cables from Monster Cable. They were provided by B&W.

 

[jadis]

In those days, the 800s were so popular here that within 30-minute driving time distance, there were 4 other owners of the speakers aside from me. John Bowers himself should have made a trip here then. One reason is that among top-of-the-line speakers then, the 800s offer good value for its size and performance. I recall in those days the Thiel CS5 flagship was out here too but it has little bass performance but excellent transparency. The IRS Beta was an option but it needed another power amp to drive the servos. The Gen 2 and the Wilson Grand Slamm X1 were here too but they were 2x or 3x the price of the 800s. Those 12 inch woofers were virtually indestructible (provided you have the big quality amps) and the favorite tests materials then were the heavy hitters from Telarc. Playing 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' (Telarc) was breathtaking. Blown away is more like it.

 

[JackD201]

I remember those days when B&W and Krell shared distribution. To this day there is that wonderful synergy between Matrix generation B&Ws and Krells from the same period. Melo (of Melo's Steak House fame) still has his 800s. Killer LP collection too. I asked to be put on his will for the latter. Hahahahaha.

Nice to see the vintage pics of Leoncio's system. I hear his X2s are on the way. Too bad the MRAs have given up the ghost with no chance of resurrection. He should do a Steve and LL1/ML3/Gotham. Hehehehehe.

 

[Steve williams]

In those days, the 800s were so popular here that within 30-minute driving time distance, there were 4 other owners of the speakers aside from me. John Bowers himself should have made a trip here then. One reason is that among top-of-the-line speakers then, the 800s offer good value for its size and performance. I recall in those days the Thiel CS5 flagship was out here too but it has little bass performance but excellent transparency. The IRS Beta was an option but it needed another power amp to drive the servos. The Gen 2 and the Wilson Grand Slamm X1 were here too but they were 2x or 3x the price of the 800s. Those 12 inch woofers were virtually indestructible (provided you have the big quality amps) and the favorite tests materials then were the heavy hitters from Telarc. Playing 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' (Telarc) was breathtaking. Blown away is more like it.

The last speaker I owned that wasn't made by Wilson was the Thiel CS5. I drove it with my Krell KSA-250

 

[RBFC]

I'm currently driving my 801Ds and HTM1D with a Krell EV403 amplifier. I've eliminated any of the "bass boom" issues by crossing over to a pair of JL Audio F113 Fathom subs via the recommendation of Barry Ober of JL Audio. In my humble opinion, the compatibility between the two brands still exists. I need to get some newer photos up....

Lee

 

[jadis]

I remember those days when B&W and Krell shared distribution. To this day there is that wonderful synergy between Matrix generation B&Ws and Krells from the same period. Melo (of Melo's Steak House fame) still has his 800s. Killer LP collection too. I asked to be put on his will for the latter. Hahahahaha.

Nice to see the vintage pics of Leoncio's system. I hear his X2s are on the way. Too bad the MRAs have given up the ghost with no chance of resurrection. He should do a Steve and LL1/ML3/Gotham. Hehehehehe.

Yeah Jack, indeed the synergy of the Krells and the B&Ws were good. I've heard Krell 250 driving 802 and 800 as well and they all sounded good. I thought he should have gotten the X2MK1 long ago but he chose to get the Eggleston Ivy because when they heard it with the Krell MRAs in HK the matching was fabulous. Unfortunately, the MRAs broke down for good so he now has to go back to the drawing board. While he should indeed go with the LAMMs, you and I know why that will be difficult to do. Hahaha...