B&W 802 Diamond Speaker System HT Labs Measures

HT Labs Measures

L/R Sensitivity: 90 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Center Sensitivity: 90 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

Surround Sensitivity: 88.5 dB from 500 Hz to 2 kHz

This graph shows the quasi-anechoic (employing close-miking of all woofers) frequency response of the 802 Diamond L/R (purple trace), HTM2 Diamond center channel (green trace), 804 Diamond surround (red trace), and DB1 subwoofer (blue trace). All passive loudspeakers were measured with grilles at a distance of 1 meter with a 2.83-volt input and scaled for display purposes.

The 802 Diamond’s listening-window response (a five-point average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal and vertical responses) measures +2.82/–2.79 decibels from 200 hertz to 10 kilohertz. The –3-dB point is at 31 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 27 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 3.67 ohms at 98 Hz and a phase angle of –54.11 degrees at 49 Hz.

The HTM2 Diamond’s listening-window response measures +3.92/–3.53 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. An average of axial and +/–15-degree horizontal responses measures +4.08/–3.58 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3-dB point is at 47 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 41 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 3.77 ohms at 99 Hz and a phase angle of –54.01 degrees at 5.8 kHz.

The 804 Diamond’s listening-window response measures +4.54/–4.82 dB from 200 Hz to 10 kHz. The –3-dB point is at 39 Hz, and the –6-dB point is at 29 Hz. Impedance reaches a minimum of 3.78 ohms at 99 Hz and a phase angle of –54.41 degrees at 4.7 kHz.

The DB1’s close-miked response, normalized to the level at 80 Hz, indicates that the lower –3-dB point is at 15 Hz and the –6-dB point is at 13 Hz. The upper –3-dB point is at 133 Hz with the Low-Pass control set to None.—MJP

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COMMENTS
michaelalanlittrell@yahoo.com's picture

Thanks for the article. I owned a pair of Matrix 805 speakers that were really lovely speakers. They opened my ears to high end sound. The low bass was lacking, which ultimately led to their sale as I wanted a speaker that excelled not only at classical and jazz, but to rock and home theater. I fondly remember those speakers.

I have heard the former iteration of these speakers before the diamond tweeter was put into production. This article reminds me of the many pages of Stereophile I read through in my 20's dreaming of equipment I might be lucky enough to own one day.

flash11's picture

This is really a nice and informative, containing all information and also has a great impact on the new technology. Thanks for sharing it,
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kent harrison's picture

I love your review,you can't get know better than this,just cannot afford them right now.

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