[midnite8791]

I know there are quite a few who know about speakers here, but if theres somewhere better this should be then let me know.
Anyways I bought this pair of B&W Matrix 3 speakers about a year and half ago and have never really been able to identify exactly what model they are and havent found a whole lot of extra info about them. I have found a couple manuals from B&W's site but they describe how these can be bi wired but unless im missing something it doesnt appear that they can... Maybe That was an option the original owner decided not to get but im not sure. I got them from some guy who had them in a storage unit so they are a bit scratched up but still sound amazing.

 

[Hermitt]

That is the Matrix 3 series 2. When the Matrix series was introduced, there was the the original Matrix 801. then the series 2 came out with the Matrix 1 series 2, the Matrix 2 series 2 and the Matrix 3 series 2. shortly after, they introduced the Matrix DM1600 and the DM1800. I have a bunch of original B&W brochures form when I bought my DM1800s in the 80's. I also have a really cool pamphlet with 20 years of B&W legacy. I would never part with these, but I may be able to try and photograph the pages of the one covering the MAtrix series 2 loudspeakers if you are interested.

 

[skeeder]

Series 2. I noticed that, Series 3 they did some changes across the board of their speaker line up. I think the matrix's are no longer made.

 

[midnite8791]

thanks you guys! You can kind of see the tested Jan 1987 sticker in there but barely.

Hermitt I would be interested in those pictures. I actually found these speakers on craigslist, and the guy had them in a storage unit in Forestville.

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnite8791 /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks you guys! You can kind of see the tested Jan 1987 sticker in there but barely. Hermitt I would be interested in those pictures. I actually found these speakers on craigslist, and the guy had them in a storage unit in Forestville.

Yeah for sure post those pics! I'd love to see them too!

 

[Hermitt]

wow.. it's tougher than i thought to take pics of glossy brochures

This is the Matrix 1, 2 and 3 Series 2. My DM1800s are refined Matrix 2 Series 2 in walnut, but my stands are from the 500 series. I will probably never part with them because they sound so holographic when they are properly placed. I remember when I was buying them, there were 2 sets of the 801s in the showroom for $5k a pair. I sooo wanted those

That pair of M3S2 that you got from forestville, I bet was purchased from the same store where I bought mine

Cover

Pg 1

Pg 2

Pg 3

Pg 4

Pg 5

 

[Hermitt]

heh... I also remember the sales guy when I was looking at the B&Ws, the display DM1800s had a cast iron hammer sitting on top of it and the sales guy would bang on the cabinet anywhere you wanted him to, to show that there was no box colorations due to cabinet vibrations. It sounded like a solid chunk of wood

 

[nelamvr6]

Thanks for the pics. I always find brochures like that very interesting.

 

[Hermitt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nelamvr6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the pics. I always find brochures like that very interesting.

Heh, that's why I still have brochures and litutature for a bunch of B&Ws, Nakamichi, Tandberg, Threshold and Carver

 

[midnite8791]

thanks for the pics! Yeah the guy i bought them from had a bunch of old carver amps and other audio stuff in various states of being taken apart. He said he was a tinkerer but didnt have much time for the B&W's. I bought them with one tweeter missing and had Audio Video Showroom in Santa Rosa replace it and test them. I got them for quite cheap

 

[Hermitt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnite8791 /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks for the pics! Yeah the guy i bought them from had a bunch of old carver amps and other audio stuff in various states of being taken apart. He said he was a tinkerer but didnt have much time for the B&W's. I bought them with one tweeter missing and had Audio Video Showroom in Santa Rosa replace it and test them. I got them for quite cheap

Audio and Video showroom used to be called Sonoma Soundmasters and was started by the 2 guys that ran Catania Sound in Santa Rosa. Bill and Craig were who I bought all my home gear from when they were still at Catania.

On a side note, their servive was second to none. One time while playing tubular bells, i could hear a very faint rattling in one of my woofers. I brought the speaker back to Bill, and he shipped it to B&W in NY. Well, the B&Ws are shipped with a computer printout of the actual frequency response of the drivers and then drivers are matched and serial numbered. NY couldn't find a replacement driver to match the spec of my driver, so they sent it back to Worthing, England and the B&W factory re-wound the driver to specs. All covered under warranty...

 

[nelamvr6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hermitt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Audio and Video showroom used to be called Sonoma Soundmasters and was started by the 2 guys that ran Catania Sound in Santa Rosa. Bill and Craig were who I bought all my home gear from when they were still at Catania. On a side note, their servive was second to none. One time while playing tubular bells, i could hear a very faint rattling in one of my woofers. I brought the speaker back to Bill, and he shipped it to B&W in NY. Well, the B&Ws are shipped with a computer printout of the actual frequency response of the drivers and then drivers are matched and serial numbered. NY couldn't find a replacement driver to match the spec of my driver, so they sent it back to Worthing, England and the B&W factory re-wound the driver to specs. All covered under warranty...

I bought my B&W's used, so I don't think I'm eligible for warranty service, but I'm hoping I'll never need it. These things are built like tanks, and the sound is simply out of this world!

I've always had a huge amount of respect for B&W, they've always been one of the marques that I dreamed of owning. It's just such a thrill every time I listen to mine to hear the great sound and remember when I would sit and dream!

 

[classicalguy]

While we're going down memory lane, how about my B&W 801 series 80s, which I purchased used in 1994 for the princely sum of $1,200 (wow, 13 years ago!). I believe they were made in the mid 1980s. All original. They still sound fantastic. They image like mini monitors, and the bass is clean and tight - an acoustic string bass sounds like a real string bass. Note that these were acoustic suspension woofers, not bass reflex. I've always been a fan of acoustic suspension. I have never heard the more modern 801s (well, I heard the sea-shell-looking model at a stereo show, but it was such a big room I couldn't tell what it really sounded like). It would be very interesting to compare the later models in a similar acoustic space. I know they go a lot lower, and the matrix system was supposed to be great at preventing box resonances, but these sound awefully good to me.

I can't figure out how to post my pictures. Do I have to upload them to another site and link?

If anyone knows more history, I'd be very interested.

 

[midnite8791]

im still kind of confused why mine has a single set of speaker inputs, where on all the literature it appears that they should have 4 in order to be biamped/biwired. Maybe it was an option?

 

[classicalguy]

Midnight: where is the crossover that you are photographing? I'm just curious.