Windfall B&W Matrix 800


A good friend is transitioning to a smaller living space and has asked me to babysit his speakers for a while. They're B&W Matrix 800s, considered to be among the best that money could buy in 1990. In the "Shortcomings" section of Lewis Lipnick's Stereophile review, he wrote: There are none. :-)

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/691bw800

The MIT cables that came with them cost more than my system as a whole.

For a guy with a modest rig, this is like some kind of dream. They are 93-dB efficient, and my 38-watt tube integrated does a surprisingly good job considering they are more commonly paired with high-current transistor power. Impedance dip reportedly doesn't go below 3 Ohms.

What's more, the wife (who has a modern, Dwell magazine kind of aesthetic) really digs their design and has welcomed the D'Appolito monoliths into our living room.

Just wanted to share this joy with fellow audio-nerds who can understand it. I really appreciate the fact that they might be taken back in a month or in a year; it reminds me to savor every note from every listening session.
cymbop
68pete, any problem with the woofers sagging and the surrounds on the drivers rotting out? Would you say the crossovers need to be recapped as well?
i got to hear a pair of 800's and i was extremely impressed with the sound.
I also liked the design very much. I could picture these speakers in many modern-furnished rooms as well as dedicated audio rooms.
they do require a very elaborate set of cables (quad-wiring) which, if you are going for very good wire, can get extremely expensive. Imagine if B&W would design a speaker like this again, only using current technology. And if they could engineer a BIWIRE connection, that would also solve a major problem.
even at current pricing it could pose a major challenge to speakers costing 6 figures.
Awesome. Those are some of the best speakers B&W ever made. They would probably be $40k if introduced now. How do you like them? And enjoy them while you can!