B&W 801 2or 3

I was a B&W dealer (hobby type) for several years and found the MK 1s and 2s easy to drive and that they sounded good with about everything. That said, I would think a high current amp of considerable size would work well. Some of the older Krells are showing up at reasonable prices. I was a Krell dealer also but not at the same time. I would avoid the KMA 100s as my pair blew up twice. I would also not use the Classe DR 9 as I think it's deficiencies would aggravate those of the 801. Have not used their later models. I think you will not be disappointed ; I have thought about picking up a pair myself, notwithstanding the fact that I have more now than I can manage. I would get stands for them if possible. Drop me a line if I can be any help. Stan

Having listened to many high end speakers over the last 30 years driven by various quality electronics, my ears prefer the B&W 801 matrix s.3 speakers driven by Krell's most powerful class A amps. I love big orchestral music and nothing I've heard has reproduced the weight of that music as well as the B&W/Krell combo. One improvement to the factory M801s I've really enjoyed is the addition of Northcreek external crossovers.

Steve, The 802's are nice, aren't they? I am loving mine. It is amazing how much power they crave though. It was tough to imagine, considering their relatively small size. I ended up going with an Innersound ESL 300 to supply the juice. It was designed for electrostats, and I feel as though any less power for the 802's would leave me high and dry. What do you drive them with?

I had owned a pair of B&W 801 series 2 and have just recently traded in for B&W n802. The matrix 801 is a great speaker that I have used for about 10 years. I have to slightly disagree with the comment that the classe dr9 are not a good match. With a single dr9- about 100wpc the sound as I recalled was ok. But at that time I purchased a 2nd dr9 and bridged it. The sound jumped a quantum level in that it woke the speaker up. There was a sense of drive and excitment that was not there with just one dr9. I also found that biwiring the speaker help improve the sound. Also I puchased the anodyne bass aligment filter which also improved the sound. If you have any other question please feel free to e-mail me. Albert

It was a pair of B&W 801 III connected to a big Krell amp that got me hooked on the hobby.