How could some of my favorite albums have been mixed on these?

[audiomagnate]

They sound horrible.

[Robh3606]

OK I'll bite

What are they?? Kef?? B+W?? Why are they in pieces??

Rob:)

[grumpy]

They look like a version of B&W's 801 Monitor. IIRC, they're better when used
with a dedicated outboard EQ. They could be 25+ years old and in need of some care.
The "Matrix" version is the only one I've auditioned ... and that was far too long
ago to offer a strong opinion. My vague recollection is they sounded pretty good up off
of the floor, but with electronics I had no budget for, so no sale that day.

[gferrell]

Looks like a good winter project to me!

[Hey19]

They sound horrible.

to work as a unit.:banghead:

[Lee in Montreal]

The B&W 801 serie has evolved a lot during its life. And as any speaker, it is a good idea to keep the crossovers in spec. The early 801 didn't sound too good though. I prefer the later version.

53540

[Mr. Widget]

I remember finding the very first 801 a bit lacking, but by the time the Matrix version came along (third version?) I thought they sounded pretty good. They were not as dynamic and certainly couldn't play as loudly, but I thought they sounded far more "realistic" (neutral in their tonal balance) than the 43XXs of the time. I think a lot of pros thought so too... in fact about the time they were introduced a lot of studios were shifting to the Urei "time aligned" speakers and JBL answered with the 44XX series.

I don't think any of these speakers were really time aligned (phase coherent), but it was the fad of the day started by the Kef 105 and B+W 801.


Widget

[Lee in Montreal]

... the fad of the day started by the Kef 105 and B+W 801 I had some Kef 105/2 until a few years ago. And I loved them. 53547