B&W Matrix Series II 802 Speakers

audiothings · 14th October 2010

Can I find replacement drivers for Bowers and Wilkins Matrix Series II 802 Speakers?

IIIrd · 17th October 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiothings

Can I find replacement drivers for Bowers and Wilkins Matrix Series II 802 Speakers?

Home Theater, iPod & Hi-Fi Speakers

tried here? thy'd certainly know where you could get one if they couldn't supply

loji · 20th October 2010

You'll want to try here ::

B&W Group North America Service & Support Homepage

If they don't have them ... maybe some dealer or guy has some spares?

I may be wrong, but I think those are 16 Ohm drivers ... ie: not made anymore. at least the bass are ... you should still be able to get mid/tweeter drivers ..

Goodluck!!! I just rebuilt some crossovers from M802 S3's ... sound great!

CharlesCola · 22nd October 2010

Quote:

I just rebuilt some crossovers from M802 S3's ... sound great!

Hi Loji,

Was it fairly straight forward rebuilding the crossovers and are the capcitors still available - you don't happen to have a list of the caps you used?

How much in total did it cost in parts/caps?

Thanks.

loji · 22nd October 2010

All the info you need are in the B&W service manuals from the link I put above. .

There's also a chap who made a page for a different style crossover ... search google for B&W crossover.

I used regular (original) Bennett caps. You have to be c areful with newer caps, the high DF of the originals was part of the design. Using newer low DF caps will result in a HF ride in the crossover (~3dB).

I did use Mills resistors, I replaced all the electrolytics, but left the HF sections alone.

The 26Uf value isn't manufactured anymore .. I stacked two caps in parallel to get that value. I also hand matched, to within 0.04

You've got to scrap the hotglue off the original caps to get them off the board, and taking the bottom plates off is a pain ... but all-in-all it's not terribly difficult.

CharlesCola · 22nd October 2010

Thanks very much for info.

The North American support site you linked to above is excellent - way more resources than the UK site which I looked through thoroughly to try and find technical manuals etc - probably overlooked a link there...

The speakers here were built in 1997 and from what I gather among the last to be produced - they sound absolutely amazing - this might be a case of "if it aint broke don't fix it"...

loji · 23rd October 2010

Nice. Yea they are pretty amazing!

Mine were from 1995 (said the stickers on the crossover) but both boards had blown. One resistor burnt out on the LF board, and one cap was busted on the MF/HF board. . . needless to say, I had the seller send me a partial refund, and they ended up being a very good (if stressful) deal.

I replaced all the electlyics, as they have a life span of about 10 years .. I figured If one had died, it had been 15 years, it would only be a matter of time before they all went.

I left all the original poly caps, and inductors. They have a longer lifespan, and tested fine. Eventually I might completely replace the wire (they already have good 12 guage wire in there) and rebuild an external xover with air-cored inductors, etc .... but they sound great as-is, so that'll be a long way from here.

I recently added a velodyne optiumum sub ... niiice. Def fill in the gap in the low-low end. the 46Hz roll off leaves it a little lean down there. The series 2 might go down a little further.... it's also a more complicated xover design from what I read. But I've never worked on that series.

CharlesCola · 25th October 2010

It's series 3 here too - with the stripped down crossover...

All the drivers are still available from B&W btw in case you want some spares - they will carry them for another 3 years.

These are my first full range/three way monitors and really feel for the first time i'm properly hearing things after years on active 2 way nearfields.

If your bass seems a bit lean have you tried or have you got the Sound Anchor stands? they are still available and not too expensive from Sound Anchors when in the USA: B&W 802MATRIX STAND they really help the bass tremendously. They bolt solid to the speakers with the threaded spike sockets on the metal underside. No doubt a subwoofer is essential for full low end extension though - it's on the shopping list...

14th October 2010	#1
audiothings Lives for gear Joined: Apr 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 1,257 Thread Starter	B&W Matrix Series II 802 Speakers Can I find replacement drivers for Bowers and Wilkins Matrix Series II 802 Speakers?

20th October 2010	#3
loji Gear maniac Joined: Jun 2008 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 229	You'll want to try here :: B&W Group North America Service & Support Homepage If they don't have them ... maybe some dealer or guy has some spares? I may be wrong, but I think those are 16 Ohm drivers ... ie: not made anymore. at least the bass are ... you should still be able to get mid/tweeter drivers .. Goodluck!!! I just rebuilt some crossovers from M802 S3's ... sound great! __________________ - www.thesounddesign.com - - www.masterdisk.com -

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22nd October 2010	#5
loji Gear maniac Joined: Jun 2008 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 229	All the info you need are in the B&W service manuals from the link I put above. . There's also a chap who made a page for a different style crossover ... search google for B&W crossover. I used regular (original) Bennett caps. You have to be c areful with newer caps, the high DF of the originals was part of the design. Using newer low DF caps will result in a HF ride in the crossover (~3dB). I did use Mills resistors, I replaced all the electrolytics, but left the HF sections alone. The 26Uf value isn't manufactured anymore .. I stacked two caps in parallel to get that value. I also hand matched, to within 0.04 You've got to scrap the hotglue off the original caps to get them off the board, and taking the bottom plates off is a pain ... but all-in-all it's not terribly difficult.

22nd October 2010	#6
CharlesCola Gear maniac Joined: Jun 2008 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 269	Thanks very much for info. The North American support site you linked to above is excellent - way more resources than the UK site which I looked through thoroughly to try and find technical manuals etc - probably overlooked a link there... The speakers here were built in 1997 and from what I gather among the last to be produced - they sound absolutely amazing - this might be a case of "if it aint broke don't fix it"...

23rd October 2010	#7
loji Gear maniac Joined: Jun 2008 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 229	Nice. Yea they are pretty amazing! Mine were from 1995 (said the stickers on the crossover) but both boards had blown. One resistor burnt out on the LF board, and one cap was busted on the MF/HF board. . . needless to say, I had the seller send me a partial refund, and they ended up being a very good (if stressful) deal. I replaced all the electlyics, as they have a life span of about 10 years .. I figured If one had died, it had been 15 years, it would only be a matter of time before they all went. I left all the original poly caps, and inductors. They have a longer lifespan, and tested fine. Eventually I might completely replace the wire (they already have good 12 guage wire in there) and rebuild an external xover with air-cored inductors, etc .... but they sound great as-is, so that'll be a long way from here. I recently added a velodyne optiumum sub ... niiice. Def fill in the gap in the low-low end. the 46Hz roll off leaves it a little lean down there. The series 2 might go down a little further.... it's also a more complicated xover design from what I read. But I've never worked on that series.

25th October 2010	#8
CharlesCola Gear maniac Joined: Jun 2008 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 269	It's series 3 here too - with the stripped down crossover... All the drivers are still available from B&W btw in case you want some spares - they will carry them for another 3 years. These are my first full range/three way monitors and really feel for the first time i'm properly hearing things after years on active 2 way nearfields. If your bass seems a bit lean have you tried or have you got the Sound Anchor stands? they are still available and not too expensive from Sound Anchors when in the USA: B&W 802MATRIX STAND they really help the bass tremendously. They bolt solid to the speakers with the threaded spike sockets on the metal underside. No doubt a subwoofer is essential for full low end extension though - it's on the shopping list...