Matrix 800 vs Diamond 800 D2...should I upgrade?

[jazzcat]

I've had a pair of Matrix 800s for about 20 years now and I love them. I've built a full theater around them including the original HTM center channel and 2 pairs of SCM8 dipolar surrounds. I also have 2 JL Audio f113s but one is currently out for repair. I use Bryston amps throughout and drive the M800s with a pair of 28B SST2s.

My local store is offering me a deal on their last pair of 800 D2s that they have. They are brand new in a box and the dealer wants to keep them that way until sold. Unfortunately, I've never heard the 800 D2s before and am not sure how they'd compare to the M800s that I have. Until now, I've been very happy with the Matrix 800s although my fiancé finds them large and unattractive. I have an emotional attachment to them and am somewhat skeptical that the new D2s would outperform them by a large margin. If I had one complaint about the M800s, I'd say they don't offer the amount of bass that I'd expect give the size of their drivers. Anyway, I thought I'd ask the audience. What would you do? If you have 800 D2s what do you like most about them? What do you find they lack?

• Will moving to the new D2s trigger the need to move to the D2 series for my center and surrounds as well or will the timbre still have a decent match?
• If so, what would be the appropriate side/rear speakers?
• What about ceiling speakers for ATMOS?
• Would 802 D2s be overkill for the rears if I use them to replace the SCM8s and revert to a 5.1 setup (eventually going 5.2.4 for ATMOS)?

Thanks!

-Gerald

[sunshdw]

Originally Posted by jazzcat

I've had a pair of Matrix 800s for about 20 years now and I love them. I've built a full theater around them including the original HTM center channel and 2 pairs of SCM8 dipolar surrounds. I also have 2 JL Audio f113s but one is currently out for repair. I use Bryston amps throughout and drive the M800s with a pair of 28B SST2s.

My local store is offering me a deal on their last pair of 800 D2s that they have. They are brand new in a box and the dealer wants to keep them that way until sold. Unfortunately, I've never heard the 800 D2s before and am not sure how they'd compare to the M800s that I have. Until now, I've been very happy with the Matrix 800s although my fiancé finds them large and unattractive. I have an emotional attachment to them and am somewhat skeptical that the new D2s would outperform them by a large margin. If I had one complaint about the M800s, I'd say they don't offer the amount of bass that I'd expect give the size of their drivers. Anyway, I thought I'd ask the audience. What would you do? If you have 800 D2s what do you like most about them? What do you find they lack?

• Will moving to the new D2s trigger the need to move to the D2 series for my center and surrounds as well or will the timbre still have a decent match?
• If so, what would be the appropriate side/rear speakers?
• What about ceiling speakers for ATMOS?
• Would 802 D2s be overkill for the rears if I use them to replace the SCM8s and revert to a 5.1 setup (eventually going 5.2.4 for ATMOS)?

Thanks!

-Gerald

Ok this is my opinion.
1) If you make the jump and like it then yes I'd get the center to match. Surrounds however I can't say that I'd worry about them. Most bluray movies have about 15% of information coming out of surrounds so I'd leave them alone
2) Use B&W speakers for Atmos and you'll be fine. I've used there CCM683 several times in Atmos projects and they do a great job.
3) Yes using 802's for rear channels would be over kill. Rear surrounds should typically be 6' off the floor for better effect and coverage.

Having never heard the M800 I can't compare them vs the 800D2 but I can say that musically the 800's are incredible sounding!! The detail of the diamond tweeter and midrange gets you every scrap of information out of whatever you are listening to.

[Masterlu]

jazzcat... Welcome to AA!

[Rod#S]

I've never heard your speakers and only you will be able to determine how the 800D2s compare to them, just because they are more recent speakers doesn't necessarily mean you'll be blown away by them.

If you do go with them I would recommend finding a HTM2 D2 but be forewarned it can't compete with the 800D2's or 802D2's in seamless integration due to lacking the midrange Marlan head. It's a great speaker but outmatched by the 802 and 800.

If you want to do ATMOS, Auro, etc. then my understanding of the specs and speaker placement has the main bed channels at ear height and then the ceiling speakers plus all bed speakers are direct radiating so your SCM8's would have to go as they are inappropriate as bed speakers (if moved down to ear level) and the same goes for them being ceiling speaker substitutes.

You could actually just move your Matrix 800's to the surrounds.

My opinion is if multichannel music is a high priority or you like to listen to stereo music with matrix surround processing then surround speakers are quite important and they'll be getting music signals practically 100% of the time. This is where using your M800's as surrounds would be a huge benefit or of course getting 802D2's or even some 803D2's. If your only interest is with movies then speaker matching isn't as important.

I really like my 800D2's, a very nice improvement over the 802D2's in fullness, bass. It's the lower midrange that is noticeably better between the two and my Bryston 28B-SST2's drive them great, particularly at low levels when I'm primarily using the Bryston's Class A region. When opened up there is no end to the amount of volume it seems. They certainly don't need all the power of the 28's, I drove them with a 4B-SST for a number of months with no complaints whatsoever.

[meltemi]

Twenty years of continuous development between Matrix 801 S3 and 800 D2 do not go unheard.

The backside of the medal: every generation of B&W 800 Series flagships got more speed, precision and transparency and less distortion and resonances.
In some way, this makes the younger speakers more demanding with respect to the quality of all other components in your system, and may well lead to reconsider all of them (signal sources, DAC's, preamps, power amps and cables) and their combination.

In order to get the most of the 800 D2's you might need to upgrade all other components as well.

Martin