Need info on the 801 S80 vs 801's N or D Series

[Eve]

I own a pair of 801 s80's and I must admit I am extremely happy with them. My husband thinks I should upgrade my speaker because he feels that their time is over. Is the difference that big that I should consider selling my 801's?


I don't really know much about B&W speakers. I have auditioned several other speakers but I found that the B&W's are what I come back to. This is the first forum I've seen dedicated to B&W so I was hoping you could take a few minutes to educate me. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[farmdoc@earthli]

Can only speak to 801's

I assume you have 801 series 80 (also designated 801F). These are not Matrix. They have a acoustic control, 3-way, on the rear of the midrange enclosure.
If this is your beast, be happy. I also have a set, bought new, in the 1980's. I have not tweaked them (although if I have had the skill, I would be tempted). I like their honesty, and cannot say I have fatigued, even after hours of listening to them. Some who know more than I do think they are dated, but I think the manner in which music thus speaker technology has be been presented has changed over the years. I am tempted to look around, but then I ask myself, am I unhappy with the sound presentation I have now... I think I'll hold onto them for a bit longer.
Also look at www.audioasylum.com/speaker. They have interesting threads and lots of gurus with different opinons.

[Eve]

Farmdoc,

Thank you for your reply. Yes, you are correct, I have the 801F's. I agree with you about the presentation. I can sit for hours in front of my speakers to enjoy the stage. I too have thought about tweaking them. My husband stands by ready to operate but I refuse to let him. For now I'll continue to enjoy them.

Eve

[RNKC]

My Dad has 801Fs as well. I have 802N. The rest of our systems are fairly comparable, but Dad's room is much better suited for listening than mine is.

Every time I go home, I must admit that I'm suprised by how good those old 801 sound. I should note that we picked up one of those old (and now, very rare) 801 line filters from Audiogon and it's made quite a difference particularly in the bass. I love listening to the 801, but I have to say I prefer the sound of my N802. The older recordings sound fantastic on the old 801, but the new digital recordings are lacking a bit of definition relative to the Nautilus sound.

Ultimately it's a matter of preference. I find that the 801F are warm and forgiving speakers. You don't really need a top-notch system to get a good sound from them (although having one certainly doesn't hurt). The Nautilus and Diamond lines on the other hand are more fussy. Any weakness in your system and definitely any shortcoming on the recording itself is immediately exposed.

But sonic perfection is elusive. No matter what you have, there will always be something better out there. And you can spend more than a house on a top-of-the-line system. Unless $$$ is unlimited, you're probably best just drawing a line in the sand and saying "enough". You've got great speakers and you seem to be enjoying them - keep at it!

[RNKC]

On a somewhat related note, I was recently in Salzburg, Austria and took a tour of the Festival House there. They have a few halls in there where they have orchestral concerts and operas etc. The Grosse Festpielhaus was built in the 1960s where as the new Haus fur Mozart was completed in 2006.

When we took a tour of the facilities, both Dad and I noted how the newer hall sounds very Nautilus-like and has that sort of digital perfection to it. Apparently, members of the Vienna Philharmonic were complaining that the hall was a little too perfect as they could hear people in the back of the hall rustling programmes etc! The larger and older hall on the other hand had a warmer, Matrix-like sound. Both halls were very good and sounded simply fabulous, but at the same time they just sounded different. In the end, we decided that we liked them both!

[Eve]

RNKC,

I had a chance to listen to the 802N's and I thought they were fantastic.

For now I am enjoying my 801's which I must admit sound beautiful. They have settled in nicely with my current system.

I have, as you have said, drawn the line in the sand!!

Thanks

[DM3000 Owner]

RNKC,

I had a chance to listen to the 802N's and I thought they were fantastic.

For now I am enjoying my 801's which I must admit sound beautiful. They have settled in nicely with my current system.

I have, as you have said, drawn the line in the sand!!

Thanks

Eve,

I went from Klipschorns to B&W N801's. The Klipschorns, while very different than N801's, were outstanding after I had them tuned in.

On ething that really helps old speakers is replacing the capacitors in the crossovers. Capacitors, even when just sittign on a shelf, deteriorate and break down, increasing their ESR (equivalent series resistance). Solen Fast Caps are very good and pretty low cost.

[Eve]

My husband has mentioned to me a few times that I should consider the crossovers for the 801s.

Where could I get the Solen Fast Caps?

[DM3000 Owner]

My husband has mentioned to me a few times that I should consider the crossovers for the 801s.

Where could I get the Solen Fast Caps?

First, you need a schematic to determine the values.

The websites are:

https://www.solen.ca

Partsconnexion is also good:

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatran&1174954103

and partsexpress.

A little warning, when caps are first put in, teh speakers sound a little bright. as they break in the mellow out (like new speakers).