B&W Owners Thread

That sounds like about what broke the wire, yes.

The Matrix 1s actually sound a little more musical to my ear, but it's all a matter of taste. The 2s have more bottom end. Both continue to, as my friend who listened to them on day 1 said, "image like crazy" and make my ears happy. Sometimes I put on Kiri Te Kanawa's Cantaloube from the Chants d'Auvergne just to relive that first test :)
 
Thats great you still get such enjoyment out of them. Yes they do have great imaging. If the Matrix 1's ever come up for sale locally l may have to try them also by the sounds of it.
 
Just joined this forum.

I've been a B&W-holic since the "pregnant penguin" (Google that if you don't know what it is). I frequently lament because I didn't keep them - they're quite rare these days.

I now own the 1st-gen Diamond series. I have yet to hear the D3 series. Has anyone here listened to them?
 
Hi, I have own DM 2a in the past in love it, on youtube you can see some vidéo of their New D3 line,very impress with the quality and time they have put in their New speakers, Diamond tweeter New suspension, the new body aluminium of the tweeter and midrange tphe new cone material and shape of it ,New woofer, I thing they say over 250 mods with research in the last 5 years or so. They are really one of the leader in sound reproduction, amasing compare, Bravo! Yvan
 
Hi everyone,
I'm running DM2 Series 2 with my Pioneer SX-1980.
Absolutely fantastic!
The Pioneer really has more than enough power to drive these and really make them sing.
Having a refurb conducted on the Pioneer at the moment so it should sound even better once it's finished.
IMG_2151.JPG IMG_2152.JPG IMG_1823.JPG
 
That is a VERY nice setup you have there. Both your DM2's and your Pioneer look in fantastic condition. I refurbed my SX-939 and it improved the sound by a substantial margin, like night and day, beforehand it had sloppy bass and very poor midrange, now sounds fantastic with my B&W DM-309's and Matrix 2's.
Hope your big SX-1980 sounds factory fresh when you get it back! :). Let us know what your impressions are.
 
Hi Oldsansui441,
Thanks for your kind words.
Yes, indeed. I will post my thoughts when I get the SX-1980 back after refurb.
It's having a complete 'going over' & I've even bought four new large Caps to replace the originals around the main transformer from Germany for installation.
Although my DM2's are still original & work well, to my ears anyway, I was contemplating refurbishing the Cross Over boards. What do you think?
As the DM2's are 38 years old I came across a comment on a forum that the Caps may be 'tired' & need refreshing. Your comments are of value as if I'm getting a fresh SX-1980 back it's going to be kicking out highly efficient watts into 38 year old electronics. :dunno:
 
Your welcome Idunno, yes your Pioneer should come up very nicely, good move on replacing the filter caps also, l have found very few that are still 90-100% of their orig values.

I would definately recommend doing the crossovers in your speakers, for the money you won't get a better return in your system, the values of the caps have most likely drifted as you say being 38 years old.
Here is a link that may interest you, looks like the original crossover caps are mostly electrolytic so won't cost much. I normally just replace electrolytic with the same decent quality replacements, l don't think expensive polypropylenes are necessary unless fitted originally.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/just-got-some-rare-speakers-need-advice.530109/page-2

All the best.
 
Thanks for the link Oldsansui441.
Very interesting thread and I'll make contact to get the update on the Cross Over refurb & how his DM2's found now.
By the way, I did something a bit different by replacing the 22000uf Filter Caps with 47000uf Filter Caps. Awaiting the installation outcome/feedback from the guy refurbishing my SX-1980.
Any thoughts from you?
 
Some guys increase capacitance of the main filter caps by up to 20%, l usually just replace with the same values. Going up 100% would put a huge strain on the other power supply components, diodes, power on switching circuit etc.
Maybe check out some SX-1980 restoration threads on here for advice.
 
Okie dokey.... I'll use the original 22000uf's then.
I'll sell the 47000uf's.
Originally thought that they would allow the unit to 'breath' more easily.
I thought that they only held the charge from the transformer and all the components would feed off them what they required.
Understood that incorrectly I have.
Thanks for the heads up.
 
I recently changed the HT system I have. I'm running 4 B&W CDM7 SE and a CDM CSE. I loved the 603s3 biased system, but these speakers handle all movies with ease. A true step up in sound and power.

I have the same B&W subwoofer. This is the best HT system I've owned.
 
Thanks for the heads up
No worries at all, yes that is what l would do, go with orig value, the other components are chosen in conjunction with these. l near guarantee the old ones are not close to their orig capacitance of 22000uF.
All the best with it.
 
I really liked the 600 based system, but the power and clarity of this system is incredible. I wish I could fit another 7SE as a center as I have become a big believer in same speaker all around. The amount of sound, information and music that is in the rear channels is not served by a smaller or lesser speaker than what the "main" speaker consists of.

Not sure I'd call it serious, I would call it a little overkill for the room size. I'd also call it a blessing.
 
Nice to hear you are more than happy with your upgrade, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on some later B&W speakers, l haven't had the chance to hear many :). I know what you mean about matching speakers, l bought a complete B&W system new years ago, 300 series and l always thought the dm303's were overkill as rears but maybe my receiver just doesn't send enough information to them, it is set to rear speakers as large though. Sounds like you have had a different experience with rears?. They sound great in 4 channel stereo though :thumbsup:.
 
It all depends on which surround decoding you use as to the type of/or amount of information in the rears. I know a few of the settings have less. It also depends on the material being decoded. Some football games have a lot of information. Others. Not so much. Same with movies.

I don't remember which settings I'm using. But it works great. I previously had Rotel electronics. Recently switched to Cambridge Audio. I only have one HT. The other television is a stereo and subwoofer setup. Snell speakers, Velodyne sub and a Cambridge Audio integrated amp.

I like the Cambridge electronics for movies and television. Not as much for music.

The B&W speakers on the other hand, I love for both applications. Music and movies.
 
Been stuck with my Definitive Techs BP-30s for 2 decades, but always wanted B&Ws. Finally this year I started off cheap and picked up a pair of DM10s. I was immediately struck by the midrange voicing B&Ws are so famous for...even in their low end offering.

Couple of months ago I nailed a pair of Matrix 1s for $120/pr and I am in awe. They have some superficial cosmetic damage from being dropped, but there is no effect on sound quality. I doubt I will ever replace them.

I think the thing that stands out most is drums. I never really even paid much attention to percussion in music, except when featured, but now I just sit and listen to my old rock albums solely to hear the drums.

Have them paired with a very conservtively set Pinnacle Digital Sub 300 that gently fills in the bottom without dominating. Driving it all with my Pioneer A-88X.

Really amazing sound
 
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