B&W 801 2or 3

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.

I also own 802 III's, but I don't understand your criticism of the Nautilus series. They seem very well built. Although I have never heard the comparison, a couple of acquaintances have told me they chose the 802 over the 801, because they felt there was a "hole in the middle" due to the large bass driver in the 801. The 802 uses two 8-inch bass drivers. Despite criticisms about B&W, I find my 802's very competitive & revealing speakers. I think some people don't like them because they don't warm up the sound or plump up the midrange, and they reveal the faults of the other associated components. I know that I can hear very fine small details my Vandersteens never could, but the detail is not shoved in your face. It is just there to be heard deep into the mix. Of course, the addition of the Northcreek crossovers improved sonics so significantly that I think my speakers are halfway between a stock 802 III & a Nautilus 802.