How long have you owned your B&W speakers

[audioquest4life]

This is kind of curiosity and rationalization for potential future speaker purchases. I know a few folks in the Klipsch forums who have owned speakers as far back as the 70’s, 80’s, 90s, and into the 2000s, where I fall in the middle. I have owned my N800s since 06 and have loved the music ever since. Does newer technology trump older designs and offer better sound? From what I heard and read, baffled and horn speakers are much better now and offer a performance level that is unbelievable. So, how long have you had your B&Ws and please tell why. Happy listening.

[meltemi]

Originally Posted by audioquest4life

This is kind of curiosity and rationalization for potential future speaker purchases. I know a few folks in the Klipsch forums who have owned speakers as far back as the 70’s, 80’s, 90s, and into the 2000s, where I fall in the middle. I have owned my N800s since 06 and have loved the music ever since. Does newer technology trump older designs and offer better sound? From what I heard and read, baffled and horn speakers are much better now and offer a performance level that is unbelievable. So, how long have you had your B&Ws and please tell why. Happy listening.

B&W never launched new flagship speakers, which were not audibly better than their predecessors, provided you did drive them with an electronic chain truly matching the sonic level of the speakers. And that's where changing speakers eventually gets very expensive, because it will require bringing also your entire electronic chain (analog and digital sources, preamp/amps, interconnects, LS cables and room correction) to a new level.

Merely changing the speakers might not get you the step ahead you were expecting, and even worse, might set you back sonically, because new speakers might mercilessly reveal the weak points of your existing electronic chain.

In my experience you may need to invest between 5x and 10x the price of the speakers into your new electronic chain, and there will be absolutely no shortcut or workaround.
IMHO there are many good electronic components on the market today, but there are unfortunately still only a small handful, which are good enough to unleash the full potential of B&W's flagships.

Financial means are the limit for changing a system.

Martin

[BrianT]

I purchased my first set of B&W speakers new in 1987. B&W Matrix 3 series 1
After many years of enjoying them, I lost a tweeter, I got hold of B&W to purchase a new one, guess what no replacement tweeters available as they had changed to the series 2 and the tweeter was the biggest difference between the series 1 and series 2.
So I gave them away and purchased a set of Paradigm and then Kef 104-2, next up was Caver Amazing (great speaker room too small) and then back to B&W with B&W 703
The only reason I purchase the 703 new is I liked the B&W house sound.

So one night after a great listing experience with my wife and a couple of bottles of red wine, I mentioned to my wife I really would love a set of B&W 802D.
To my surprise she told me it was Ok to get a set. The next morning I called our local dealer, he has a set in Rosewood in stock, before my wife came home from work they were in the house.
So after living with the 802D it was time for a change, as I knew from day one thay where too big for my room, the bass was boomy but I would not admit that to my wife.
I also found it was very easy to take out one one (or two) the diamond tweeters, a little too much power and they were gone at over $1200.00 each to replace them, it was getting costly.
At the time I was running a pair of Carver Silver Seven tube amps 550 wps per channel.
I sold the 802D, and started to look at another speaker, Wilson Sabra, Focal Sopra 2 and a couple of other brands.
While I was in one store listing to a set of speakers, I made a big mistake, I listened to the new B&W 803D3 I took them home the same day!

Brian
Ottawa, Canada.

[btn2803]

I bought the B&W 805s matrix (used) in 1988. I gave them to my son in 2018 and they still sound superb.

[RaceCarDriver]

I have owned my N802s since 2003? I still have them to this day. They were my first audio piece I purchased and will never sell them.

Over the years I’ve owned N804, N803, NHTM2, NHTM1, SCM1, SCM1S, ASW825, ASW855, HTM2D, HTM1D, 805D2, 805D3. I may be forgetting a few.

In addition to my first N802s I still own 805 Sig, 800D3, HTM1D3, CT7.3, CT7.4, 702S2 and Matrix 801S2.

I find the D3 series to be the best of what I have owned.

As far as horns mentioned, the new Klipsch Heritage line has caught my attention and I have a room in mind for those. Maybe I’ll give them a go with a MC275, but I always have B&W in the house.

[audioquest4life]

The N802s are beautiful for sure. 802s were purchased in 05 and are in the living room. Wide said these are never going away, no matter what house we get in retirement. My man room 800s are also nice, but you know, audiophile itch.

[sleep]

After listening to a pair of Klipsch Fortes for around twelve years,I bought what were probably the last available pair of Matrix 801 S3 speakers in B&W's US warehouse in 1998, just as the Nautilus line came out. I put them on Sound Anchor stands and installed the North Creek external crossovers. Yes, they were odd looking, but they sounded wonderful. I did not hear anything better until 2018 when I auditioned the 802D3s and subsequently bought a pair. The rosenut 802s look a lot nicer, too, and my wife no longer complains about hideous black boxes in the living room. I traded in the 801s for about half what I paid for them (not too bad for a 20 year old speaker). The dealer promptly sold them for $1000 more, and who ever bought them got a very fair deal for a pair of terrific speakers. I have now climbed up the High End tree about as far as I am willing to go, and the 802D3s will likely end up as part of my estate, and sooner than I probably will like.

[godwinaj]

I have a set of DM330i my dad purchased sometime in the late 80's maybe when I was 3ish years old.

My 703 which are on basement vacuum tube duty now are from maybe 2006.

I have favorite albums on all my speakers.

[gds7368]

Originally Posted by BrianT

I purchased my first set of B&W speakers new in 1987. B&W Matrix 3 series 1
After many years of enjoying them, I lost a tweeter, I got hold of B&W to purchase a new one, guess what no replacement tweeters available as they had changed to the series 2 and the tweeter was the biggest difference between the series 1 and series 2.
So I gave them away and purchased a set of Paradigm and then Kef 104-2, next up was Caver Amazing (great speaker room too small) and then back to B&W with B&W 703
The only reason I purchase the 703 new is I liked the B&W house sound.

So one night after a great listing experience with my wife and a couple of bottles of red wine, I mentioned to my wife I really would love a set of B&W 802D.
To my surprise she told me it was Ok to get a set. The next morning I called our local dealer, he has a set in Rosewood in stock, before my wife came home from work they were in the house.
So after living with the 802D it was time for a change, as I knew from day one thay where too big for my room, the bass was boomy but I would not admit that to my wife.
I also found it was very easy to take out one one (or two) the diamond tweeters, a little too much power and they were gone at over $1200.00 each to replace them, it was getting costly.
At the time I was running a pair of Carver Silver Seven tube amps 550 wps per channel.
I sold the 802D, and started to look at another speaker, Wilson Sabra, Focal Sopra 2 and a couple of other brands.
While I was in one store listing to a set of speakers, I made a big mistake, I listened to the new B&W 803D3 I took them home the same day!

Brian
Ottawa, Canada.

I went through THREE tweeters on a pair of 800D2 speakers, which made me decide it was time to move on after B&W told me (despite only being 18 months old, and driving them with Classe CA-M600 monoblocks sold to me from the same dealer) that they wouldn’t replace any more tweeters for me under warranty. It was at the same volume I’ve listened to my whole life. Those speakers were really fun, though not the last word in accuracy as the tweeter was a bit “hot” ... still great for rock and electronic music.

[gds7368]

Originally Posted by sleeper

After listening to a pair of Klipsch Fortes for around twelve years,I bought what were probably the last available pair of Matrix 801 S3 speakers in B&W's US warehouse in 1998, just as the Nautilus line came out. I put them on Sound Anchor stands and installed the North Creek external crossovers. Yes, they were odd looking, but they sounded wonderful. I did not hear anything better until 2018 when I auditioned the 802D3s and subsequently bought a pair. The rosenut 802s look a lot nicer, too, and my wife no longer complains about hideous black boxes in the living room. I traded in the 801s for about half what I paid for them (not too bad for a 20 year old speaker). The dealer promptly sold them for $1000 more, and who ever bought them got a very fair deal for a pair of terrific speakers. I have now climbed up the High End tree about as far as I am willing to go, and the 802D3s will likely end up as part of my estate, and sooner than I probably will like.

Sleeper, I also had Klipsch Forte 2s as my college speakers. Great times playing REM, Roxy Music, Rolling Stones, even classical! Thanks for the trip down memory lane while I stay sequestered inside ....