Home Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

Re: B&W 801 S2 mod to S3, any experience ?

I agree with David!
The NON FERROFLUID series 2 tweeter is a remarkable device.
The series 3 crossover requires the ferrofluid tweeter.
They ain't cheap!

I can tell you from owning the series 2 801's for many years that IF you are experiencing brightness, something is wrong, somewhere.

801 is only TELLING you about the condition of what it is being fed.

My B&W Matrix 801 series 2's are anything BUT bright.

I did the Van Alstyne mod, including adding a resistor in series with the tweeter coil.
But, I took it out, once I got electronics the 801 liked.

I do NOT recommend defeating the woofer Zobel, as Van Alstyne says to do.
It make the Bass tubby sounding.

Moving the coil in the crossover so it is perpendicular to the other coil really makes a difference at high power levels.

DB Keele identified coil interaction in his review of the 801 in Audio Magazine.

If it were me, I would put 801 back to it's original condition.
IF you must replace caps, use the exact same brand and value.
They are Bennic electrolytics.

I did replace some of my caps, and TRIED all sorts of "wonder" caps.
They did sound different, but not better overall.

Replacing the tweeter cap with the exact same new one had a HUGE effect, it was like a layer of grunge was suddenly gone!

But it took about a month to finally let the top end air out.
The grunge was immediately gone.

Even by today's standards, a series 2 Matrix 801 is a hard speaker to beat overall.

I have "rescued" many an 801 Matrix series 2.
One trick I always do to ANY used speaker is this.
I remove the midrange driver, and massage it!

That's right, woven Kevlar will take a set after many years, imparting a crackling, hard sound if the weave shifts.

Simply remove the driver, and gently massage the cone and surround.
Sometimes you will actually hear the weave "go back together.

Then, GENTLY, stretch the driver inward and outward.

This assures the driver is able to move fully.
A LOT of stuff can happen in 20 years!
Dust, bugs, and other sonically negative stuff can find it's way into the voice coil.

The rubber grommets should be replaced, and I like to also clean the speaker terminals with contact cleaner.

I will BET the harshness you heard in your stock 801's, before you screwed them up, is simply the drift of the Kevlar midrange driver weave.

John Bowers of B&W himself told me about this at a CES show, when he was still alive.



This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Kimber Kable  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups


You can not post to an archived thread.