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In Reply to: Many Have No Idea Just How Good A Matrix 801 Really Is posted by ka7niq on March 19, 2007 at 22:44:51:
ka7niq,the 801's really are that good and I miss them, but, you omit to acknowledge that their studio monitoring heritage means that they only sound truly 'right' (to my ears, at least) when they are playing LOUD... and therein lies their greatest weakness; in the domestic setting.
After a hard day's labour and way past late... thru' to the early hours... 90db+ takes me back at the speed of light, to my teenage years and my dear ol' short tempered Pa, screaming "turn it down" followed by numerous expletives...
Enjoy,
Follow Ups:
The "Van Alstine mod" has a provision for clipping the lead of the Woofer Zobel circuit, thus raising the bass level by 2 db.This mod "warms em up" for lower listening levels due to the Fletcher Munson effect.
My 801's have this mod done, and I can "control" it by passive bi amp, using a bass amp with level controls.
I turn my bass amp's gain down slightly, because a 2 db boost is a little too warm, in my room.
My only "problem" with the matrix 801's is they will not play as loud as I would sometimes like, in my large room.
Other then that, they are about as close to a "perfect" all around speaker as I have ever heard.
Bass definition is a bit lacking compared to the VMPS RM 40's, and some others, but tolerable.
ka7niq,My 801's were original/unmodified and driven by a single amp as, I hazard to guess will be the case, with the majority of 801's in the domestic field :-)
Regards
FW
It is my understanding B&W built the 2 db possible bass response variation into the Matrix 801 series 2 so it might better suit whatever room it is in.
It takes all of 10 seconds to effect it.
All one need do is snip one lead of the woofer zobel capacitor.It can easily be put back to stock if one does not like the change.
You are correct, many are not aware of this mod, and I suppose for them the 801 will be just as room dependant as any other speaker is.
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