B&W Series 80 Model 802 Speakers

I recently purchased a pair of B&W Series 80 Model 802 Speakers from a junk store, and I have a really quick question.. I checked the Ohms with my multimeter and is it normal for these speakers to each read 1K ohms ? :S Is there a special equalizer that is needed in order to use these ? They work and sound alright, but just thought I would ask... Thanks

Raddek said:

I recently purchased a pair of B&W Series 80 Model 802 Speakers from a junk store, and I have a really quick question.. I checked the Ohms with my multimeter and is it normal for these speakers to each read 1K ohms ? :S Is there a special equalizer that is needed in order to use these ? They work and sound alright, but just thought I would ask... Thanks

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I have a pair of the 802 Series 80 that I've had from new. Definately don't need an equalizer. As far as I can remember they are nominally 8 ohm, but I would have expected the DC resistance to be quite a bit lower, maybe 1 or 2 ohms.

Measuring 1k ohms makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. :screwy:

Anyway, I've just measured mine with a cheap multimeter, and to answer your question, YES apparently it IS normal for them to measure 1k ohm !!!
I have no idea whatsoever how they can read so high - maybe something to do with the self-powered overload protection circuit built into the speakers ??

I've got a short (2 page) brochure for the speakers, when I get time I'll scan it and post it here for you to see what the specifications are.

How these speakers could end up in a junk store is beyond me - they're far far too good for that kind of treatment. I'd be very interested in seeing photos of their condition.

Anyway, a great find and I hope you really enjoy them.

- Richard B.

I hope this high resistance reading isn't bad for receivers. I don't know if it's just a coincidence or what, but these speakers fried one of my receivers. I had them connected to a small 60wpc Philips 7871, and every so often would make it clip (even with equalizer set to flat). Luckily these speakers have protection >.< .... Anyways, one day after my receiver clipped yet again, the left channel went weak and started to crackle. Oops. Luckily the speakers are still OK! The physical condition of the speakers isn't all that great, but what's important is how they function, and they function perfectly fine The cabinets are scratched, but luckily the cloth grills are just fine. The top boxes the midrange's are housed seem to have some slight weather damage, as the wood looks a bit peeled. One of the top pegs is busted off that holds on the top cover. Also, the plastic ring that holds in the tweeter is re-glued on one of them. I unscrewed a woofer from each cabinet, and each one is stamped October 15 1980. I'll include some pictures so you can see The junk store originally wanted $100 for the pair, but I talked them down to $85.

Wow!! $85 - you didn't buy them, you stole them. :thmbsp: Typically, here in the UK, you would be looking at more like $500 on a certain well known auction site.

The high impedance (1k ohm) that we have both measured cannot be the "real" impedance - the specifications state 8 ohms. In any case, high impedance is generally not a problem for solid-state amplifiers. I normally drive my 802's with a 130watt Quad 606 power-amp, but I've also used a 15watt Pioneer SX-450 receiver and a 35watt Pioneer SX-737 receiver, both without any problems.

As promised, I've attached scans of the information I got when I bought mine.





- Richard B.