Home Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

RE: B&W 801 S2 Fatigue VS. 802 S2 No Fatigue?

Most objectionable, shrill sound comes from the midrange drivers distorting, NOT the tweeters, which produce very little sound. Those Kevlar drivers sound terrible unless their intrinsic ringing is damped or attenuated properly by the crossover.

Both the 801 and 802 use electrolytic capacitors in their midrange crossovers. It's possible that these have deteriorated in the 801's more than in your beloved 802's. I found the midrange a bit brash in my 802's until I replaced those caps with decent poly film caps. It may not be necessary to go to that extreme, but you might consider replacing the 'lytic caps with newer and much better quality (still not at all expensive) parts. B&W really skimped on the quality of their xover components in those days, which is a shame for such quality drivers and careful designs.

To diagnose which driver is producing the negative impact, you might try alternately screening the tweeters and then the midranges with a piece of thin cloth attached (tape?) to the sides of the enclosures and stretched over the driver under test. This would certainly reduce any glaring high frequencies and allow you to determine where the problem sound originates.

I think that your estimate of amount of glare is exaggerated. Do you really know what 5 to 7 db sounds like? That much boost at almost any upper frequency would not just sound bright, it would probably immediately drive you from the room.

A complete diagram of every component inside that speaker, including exploded views of the enclosure, the individual drivers, all wiring, and schematics with parts lists is available from B&W, free for the asking. You might need to provide them with serial numbers so they know you really own a pair.

Peace,
Tom E
berate is 8 and benign is 9



Edits: 01/25/17

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  The Cable Cooker  


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.