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B&W 801F

F

Fitnessed

pfm Member
Always wanted a pair... and been waiting a longtime...

These and are quite rare in non black and in decent condition.

Came with all the grills and even a little brush for the grills.

Cosmetically these are really good and not abused and no studio handles..
Will investigate crossovers etc.

Very very impressed with these and early days run most things on the 405.1 at first....

As with 105 sound really good from the get go...

Bass is very punchy...

As with the KEF105s the crossover is quite complex and they are not super efficient.

Having tried valve amps with 105s and epically failed I am not going to bother with these and swap a quad 909 when i have time...

The engineering and quality is outstanding, a mere tap on the cabinet gives a reassuring thud that i have only had with ns1000s....

Emailed B&W Regarding driver part numbers etc, and was met with the speakers are over 30 years old and not supported,B&W marketing were quite happy to use the 801 to promote the newer ranges but strangely cant supply any driver information.

Believe Quad are not supporting the quad II valve amplifier anymore.....

Not sure if the protection circuit is engaged or how to use the buttons.

Believe Sergeauckland runs a pair of these active,which i can only imagine is something else...

bw-blog-history-of-800-series-banner-1 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr
Decca studios 1980s....
decca studios 801 black by Vintage Audioworx,IMG_6139 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr on Flickr

Abbey road...
abbey rd 801 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

CBS
emi by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

IMG_6141 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

IM

G_6142 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

IMG_6145 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

IMG_6144 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

frequency response by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

zstereo.co.uk

B&W 801

Its brief was simple; “to be the first commercial effort to design and produce a loudspeaker that would reflect the highest standards attainable without regard to any of the so-called ‘practical co…
zstereo.co.uk zstereo.co.uk

pmamagazine.org

The Innovations of the Steyning Research Establishment

Before the SRE. An experimentation in sound | testing the 801 head unit at the National Physics Laboratory, 1979. The Steyning Research Establishment, inaugurated by John Bowers in 1981, was not merely a research facility but the cornerstone of Bowers & Wilkins' commitment to pioneering audio...
pmamagazine.org pmamagazine.org

Bowers & Wilkins - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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Mystery solved as to why the speaker protection circuit was not working a mere 2.7v later versions were self powered off the audio signal..
IMG_6155 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

Enviromental controls cleaned and verified and readings compared between L/r speakers nothing in it...
IMG_6170 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

Mid tweeter crossover in the top head,like the kef 105.1
Capacitors checked and all resistors in spec L/R speaker specs well matched.
As with Kef 105.1 the components were matched at factory. Assume component quality is a lot tighter these days...
Head is made of fibercrete and is solid and heavy,no resonances here...
IMG_6168 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

Relay based protection Left button to test right to reset....simples...
IMG_6171 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

Lower bass crossover sits on the floor of the speaker...
IMG_6182 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

Woofers rotated and the fixing bolts not overtightened,there are rubber damping washers.
Aluminium thread inserts do not have wings to grab into the cabinet and are pressure fit so over tightening will cause issues.
Had to use a small impact driver and carefully recut the thread and bond one insert in...
No voice coil rub and all looking dandy, minor white corrosion cleaned off,have seen this with the green kef 105 resistors in the lower crossover also..
IMG_6174 by Vintage Audioworx, on Flickr

Vacuum and clean grills and lightly sand and oil cabinets and all is done..
 
These produce some of the most accurate bass I've ever listened.
According to someone I know who owns a pair the protection circuit needs bypassing and the crossovers reconditioning.
 
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I've had a couple of pairs of them for a quad system.
The only thing they lacked was the 50p that was supplied for removing the head.
The manual told you how Abbey Road did not set them up for a flat response for mixing, so they'd create a recording that had a similar impact as the old loudness buttons.
With correct room conditioning, they'd go flat down to about 20Hz which is about 15Hz lower than the "accliamed" Isobariks bass with the same kit.
The "domestic" version, the 802's, weren't nearly as good.
 
dalryc said:
I've had a couple of pairs of them for a quad system.
The only thing they lacked was the 50p that was supplied for removing the head.
The manual told you how Abbey Road did not set them up for a flat response for mixing, so they'd create a recording that had a similar impact as the old loudness buttons.
With correct room conditioning, they'd go flat down to about 20Hz which is about 15Hz lower than the "accliamed" Isobariks bass with the same kit.
The "domestic" version, the 802's, weren't nearly as good.
Click to expand...

The non-ported 801? I doubt it.
This is an in-room response measurement, and you can see another on the top right FR plot above:

0cjeild.png
 
dalryc said:
Maybe my recollection was wrong!
However, I did FR analysis and they did go lower the the Isobariks.
I don't have the graphs from my DSPeaker Dual Core but here are the Isobariks:

[url=https://ibb.co/R6Y9PjJ][/URL]
Click to expand...

The sealed-box 801s are much better (performing) speakers than the Isobariks in every respect: flatter response, lower distortion, much smoother off-axis response.
 
I've had quad 801s, quad Wharefdale Linton Heritage, both with B&W HTM2D as centre.
Then quad Isobarik with Sara as centres - that was very integrated sounding.
Then just stereo Quad ESL2912.
I've ended up with active ATC SCM50s, ditched the quadrophonic setups and simplified the box count.
The ATCs seem to go lower than anything but the DSPeaker Dual Core raised the nose floor too much - so that went too.

801s - if you can source a good pair - are a bargain.
 
I had a pair of 801 series 80, driven by a Nakamichi CA7/PA7 pre-power combination, in a cavernous room. It remains the best sound I have ever created at home. The balance and sheer scale was utterly joyous. Normal living rooms need not apply.
 
I have a vaulted 4.5 x 4.5 m room but live in the sticks so I can crank it to 90-100dB without any issue for neighbours as they are a few hundred metres away.

Room size has never been a problem to my ears - but all ears are different!
 
tuga said:
These produce some of the most accurate bass I've ever listened.
According to someone I know who owns a pair the protection circuit needs bypassing and the crossovers reconditioning.
Click to expand...
Have to agree....
Leaving the protection circuit in the drivers are worth protecting,checked the crossovers and all measured ok and tight tolerances between pairs.
No sonic differences...
A really excellent speaker,bass is super punchy, very revealing like the ns1000 and changeable according to the recording...
The kefs105s smooth over everything and sound good all the time.
The mids are excellent,actually quite different speakers in a sense....
 
Had a buzz on one of the bass drivers,on certain low frequency's.

My guess is these have been rotated already,and i have put them back to original position. :)

All fine and verified now....

Anything i touch i leave notes inside with dates for the next person...

Always written service date on oil filters when servicing cars...
 
These just look like proper speakers, if you have the right amp to drive them then they are pretty much end game of their type.
 
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