Advise Need on Series 80 Model 801 speakers

[svennn]

I'm looking for some input on what I should do with these 801 speakers. I was just left with the set as a good friend moved out of town and could not take them with him.

They need a bit of work and some parts to bring them up to standard. I'll list out the items and would love anything from members to help.

Cabinet finish
Grill Frame cracked
fuse cover and fuse missing on one speaker

Outside of these 3 items they are pretty good and function 100%.

I would say the first order of business is the fuse cover. Without it the one speaker will not function. Do I just order a new one? Where? After a bit of googling it seems like a good amount of people wire around the protection circuit. Is that considered a hack that could drop the resale value in the long run?

Thanks for the help.

Steve

[TomScrut]

Whereabouts are you? In the US they have a site where parts can be ordered from, BUT they won't have a lot (if any) parts for a speaker that old I don't think.

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[Alaric]

I have heard those speakers. Not your exact pair, but that model. They would definitely be worth restoring, IMO. I think the protection circuit has a battery (?), and they would likely need replacement, and new, high quality, capacitors in the crossovers wouldn't hurt. Also, check the surrounds on the drivers. The pair I heard was driven by 1000 watts of tube amplification and sounded very good to me. Huge soundstage with very good detail. They liked being about 2.5 feet from the walls and responded well to adjusting the toe in. They rewarded proper placement with making the room sound much larger than it was. Nice score!

[svennn]

Whereabouts are you? In the US they have a site where parts can be ordered from, BUT they won't have a lot (if any) parts for a speaker that old I don't think.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

I'm in Maryland, USA.

I'll try calling today and see what they have.

[svennn]

I have heard those speakers. Not your exact pair, but that model. They would definitely be worth restoring, IMO. I think the protection circuit has a battery (?), and they would likely need replacement, and new, high quality, capacitors in the crossovers wouldn't hurt. Also, check the surrounds on the drivers. The pair I heard was driven by 1000 watts of tube amplification and sounded very good to me. Huge soundstage with very good detail. They liked being about 2.5 feet from the walls and responded well to adjusting the toe in. They rewarded proper placement with making the room sound much larger than it was. Nice score!

Having never gotten into speakers before I'm not sure I'm up to the task.

[svennn]

I'm told by B&W that those parts are no longer available. I guess I'll wire around it to get things functioning.

[aarsoe]

Hi Svenn
You could with a bit of work get a truly great sounding speaker on your hand. Not much that can match the umph of those 15" bas units.
Now there have been a couple of different versions of that speaker so I will suggest you as one of the first things take some photos of the unit. Front, back and close-up of the back of the head and the name plate on the back.
Also if possible see if you can get a photo of the cross over.
Depending of the model I may be able to help with info. I have diagrams of the cross over for a couple of different models and have renovated a pair myself including "upgrading" the cross over.
The end result was so good that I still envy the friend that bought them from me. The only downside is the dated look, but if you can live with that and have enough power (read current) to drive them then you will not regret doing it..

[aarsoe]

Svennn - have you given up on the project? You really should do it. The speakers are worth it... Trust me..