B&W - 704 vs Matrix 804

We had experience with the Matrix 804's.

We continued to improve our system and enjoyed our time with them. We started with a pair of Snell K II's, then the Matrix 804's, then Aerial 10T's, then Watt Puppy 5.1's and now Sasha I's.

The 804's were combined with the following equipment:
Amplifiers: Audio Research V70, Pass Aleph 0's and a Threshold T-200.
Pre-amplifiers were An Audio Research LS2B, a Threshold FET 10 E and then we ran our system without a pre-amp.
Front end digital was a Theta Data III transport and Gen Va DAC, which were good pieces in their era. We also used Meridian 500 series digital components, which were very good performers at the time (we now run Meridian 800 series components).
Cables were upper tier AudioQuest and then MIT.
These speakers were used without and with a sub-woofer - a Janis 12" unit with it's own amplifier and cross-over.

Each transition to our next speaker was an across the board improvement - increased transparency, imaging, bass response, articulation and resolution.

The 804's paired well all of our equipment. We had custom wood stands made for them, 1 1/2" thick solid oak with a lead filled center. They lifted the speaker up about 10" which allowed them to produce a more realistic image - as we felt their tweeters and image presentation was too low.

How did they sound - pretty darn good as I remember. The Aerial 10T's were a significant step up in performance (and cost) but we enjoyed our 804's for many years. Their imaging and natural timber was their strengths. Weakness - ultimate resolution wasn't as high as some of the MUCH more expensive speakers we upgraded to, and bass response wasn't as deep.

Overall, I can confidently recommend them.

I cannot speak for the 804, but I owned the 704, 603S3 and the 684. First I owned the 603S3 years ago. I bough them based on the reviews (big mistake) and listening to them at the local dealer. Got them home and listeners fatigue set in after awhile. They seemed to exhibit strange harmonics that were irritating, and the treble was shrill and bright. So I got rid of those and a couple years later I thought I would give B&W another chance so I got a pair of 704's. After owning them for a brief time I concluded they were nothing more than dressed-up 603S3 in a nicer cabinet with the tweeter on top. To me they sounded about the same and exhibited all the traits that made me get rid of the 603S3. Then last year I picked up a pair of 684's locally. Personally they were the best out of the 3 models. They may have been a bit less resolving, but they seemed to have gotten rid of a lot of the irritating harmonics and bright treble. Even though I thought the 684's were better in this regard than the 603S3 and the 704, they still wore on me after while and I recently sold them locally. Not to say that I am done with B&W for good (maybe everything happens in 3's after all) but if I was ever going to try another B&W speaker it would have to be in the 800 series (no more 600 or 700 series for me). Good luck.