I came home today and found a fellow in town listing a bunch of audio gear on Craigslist. Seemed like the sort of stuff I could replace my second/backup system with. Just got home with the goods. This age gear and these brands aren't ones I'm deeply familiar with, so I'm hoping some of the crew here can fill me in on the basics/what I should expect/problems/etc.

B&W Matrix 804 speakers, black cabinets and grills. Average wear overall. Tweeter housings are both loose, one tweeter is pushed in and without its little grill. All drivers work.

Rotel RB-990BX power amp. 200x2. Very good shape, passed basic sound test

Rotel RB-960BX power amp. 60x2. As above, condition-wise.

Rotel RTC-950AX tuner/preamp. Dusty but basic functions work.

Another RTC-950AX. Preamp works but tuner section doesn't show any life.

This is all certainly a step up from most of the gear I've been using as backups. Figured it was a good deal for $350. I'm hoping I can get some spare parts to restore the B&Ws.

Pics to follow

I used to have the B&W 804s, nice speakers if you can get them restored. Very smooth, but somewhat full-sounding in the mid-bass, which can make setup challenging. Try them on 6-8" stands if you can. No experience with those particular Rotel units, but I've owned some Rotel stuff over the years and been impressed by it - I still use a Rotel processor in my HT setup. Sounds like you got a good deal.

I have a pair of 804 Matrix speakers. Excellent performance. Do a google search for several reviews.

Originally sold for $2400. Usually go for $800 to $1100 on that auction site if in excellent condition.

Speaker housing problems are common. Pretty cheesy design for an expensive speaker.

Ron

Contact B&W here:

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=1427

You might be pleasantly surprised at how reasonably priced replacement parts (like the tweeter housings and grilles) are.

Mike

You just got a 990BX too? Kewl! I just scored my fourth a few hours ago. I guess that's saying something about the amp. Very good piece of gear I think. Have to agree with what the dealer told me who sold me my 981. Your getting 90% of the Krell at 10% the cost.

And that was a screaming deal at $350.

Well, my batteries died as soon as I started with the photos. Here are the speakers. They're in better shape than I thought. Very little cabinet or grill damage. Just the tweeter business.

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/IMG_0274.jpg
http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/IMG_0272.jpg
http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/IMG_0276.jpg

Recharged. Here's the underside of the tweeter housing. Both of them are missing some kind of mounting tab that's broken off. There's nothing holding them to the base at the moment. They also might be missing a bit of felt--I'm not sure.

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/IMG_0278.jpg


Rotel in the house:
http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/IMG_0280.jpg

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/IMG_0281.jpg

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon:
http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/IMG_0282.jpg

Wow, that was a good deal. Those Matrix speakers are nice, and worth plenty more than you paid for the whole pile. As Mike said, contact B&W for replacement parts. What are your mains, that those will be your backup speaks?

What are your mains, that those will be your backup speaks?

Bigger.

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/polkup-sm.jpg

I would KILL to get Matrix 804s for $350, let alone a whole setup! Since I noticed you are a Polk guy, and I am in Albany, NY, I would trade you my Polk SDA II for the 804s in a HEART BEAT!

Bigger.

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/qq141/20487/audio/polkup-sm.jpg

:yikes::yikes::jawdrop::drool::drool::drool:

Nice score!.... I've always liked B&W speakers. I thought my DM602 S3's were great for their size and price range. I'd love to hear the 804's. Good luck with the restore. I've dealt with B&W customer service once and they were very helpful.

John in MA

My tweeter housings have the same problem. There’s supposed to be a small plastic tab in front of the screw that holds the tweeter. This tab is meant to engage the slot in the lower housing. Unfortunately the tab is only about a mm thick. Any pressure on the tweeter housing & it breaks. Think I’ll email B&W and see what replacements cost.

I got my 804’s in a package deal as well. $100 for the speakers with a Nakamichi CD player, and a complete set of Adcom electronics. A 545 II amp, a GTP-500 II preamp/tuner, and a power conditioner. Not a bad deal…..

Ron

Is that a Phase Linear I spy? Try the Rotel. It's a very smooth amp. With scary grunt too.

That's a great photo of those SDA's...

Is that a Phase Linear I spy? Try the Rotel. It's a very smooth amp. With scary grunt too.

Good eye. It's an early PL 400. I actually stopped using it shortly after that photo was taken last year. A big Adcom GFA-5800 was supposed to replace it, but the cooling system isn't working correctly so right now I'm using a Bryston 3B.

I'll try out the Rotel and see how she sounds.

Bigger.Ah, yes -- now I remember seeing those. :D

B&W's been contacted. It'll be interesting to see what parts support is like.

how close are your nearest neighbors ? sweet deal you got !

The 3B. I've heard very good things about those but never actually heard one.

nice haul there.

Just heard back:

ZG00116 MATRIX 801-5 TWEETER GRILLE BLACK $15.82 EA.
CC10435 803/4/5 TWEETER HOUSING BLACK $18.75 EA.
ZC08532 803/4/5 TWEETER RECONE $77.03 EA.

Plus a $75 charge for installing the tweeter cone if I want them to do it. I'll have to see what that actually entails.

Hmm.... Looks like it's time for some Yankee ingenuity. At least with my budget that would be my approach. Wonder who OEM'ed the tweeter. Or find something nicer. The fact they sit on top makes it a little easier.

I'm going to try to keep these as original as possible. They're good enough speakers I don't want to hack something to save a buck or two. Considering what I paid I figure there's some leeway.

No doubt it would be nice to have them restored.

But, if it's a flakey design on the tweeter mount to begin with, I might be tempted to try a few dabs of well-placed black silicone/RTV to hold them in place. Strong enough to hold, but easy enough to break the bond if you'd ever need to.

Nice pick up for the $$. I am a Rotel owner and B&W owner and the two brands mate very well. I agree with 95% of Krell sound for 10% of the cost. There are many Rotel bashers around (saying mid-fi at best) but I lesten to my ears more than I listen to 'philes who think you need to spend 10K on amp/pre to get a decent front tend.

The tweeter dome you can fix yourself by getting one of those Glad 'vacuum back suckers' that suck the air out of the bags. It will pull that tweeter dome back to where it belongs. I also agree with using RTV sealant to hold the housing.

Is there supposed to be anything between the tweeter housing and the base it came off of? Felt, foam, etc?

Is there supposed to be anything between the tweeter housing and the base it came off of? Felt, foam, etc?

Yes, there is a high density foam sheet cut out to fit the footprint.

Did you call them or are you doing all your communications with them via email?

Call them. Talk to the nice lady in service (damn, I can't remember her name...Sara, Mary????) and explain what you need. She will get you all setup with all the parts you need. Ask her the best way to replace the tweeter housing (it takes a smack) and anything else about the design. She is VERY helpful and they are your neighbors. :D

Just heard back:

ZG00116 MATRIX 801-5 TWEETER GRILLE BLACK $15.82 EA.
CC10435 803/4/5 TWEETER HOUSING BLACK $18.75 EA.
ZC08532 803/4/5 TWEETER RECONE $77.03 EA.

Plus a $75 charge for installing the tweeter cone if I want them to do it. I'll have to see what that actually entails.

I replaced the diaphragm in a Vifa tweeter, it was pretty easy.

Dunno how comparable it would be to what you have.

Thats a nice haul of gear you got.

As a B&W/Rotel user myself I hafta say welcome to the club. They indeed work well together. I agree also about keeping those Matrix up to date. There's a pretty big following for them. The British sound is pretty unique and I knew the day that I heard it I would be running B&W until the day I die...

I started with a RB-981 then jumped on a deal for a second one which replaced a Yamaha M-45 I was running with the first 981. Big improvement. (stacked HPM-100s) Tried a 2kw pro amp and decided I needed more power but with finesse. I now own also four RB-990BXs. Two are in use, one is waiting for reassembly (seller neglected to inform me of the house fire) and #4 is hopefully en-route to me as I type this. I love the 990 over the 981, less clinical but more air, oodles better bass, smoother presentation and ferociously powerful. I'm the mofo who's snipped half the year's supply from that auction site.:D