baradifi said:
Thanks for the reply, Nibhaz.
I'm buying piece by piece as the spouse allows. I already have an old (1997) JBL 5.1 speaker set on the way (Sat2's? it was too cheap not to buy) so that will have to do until I can upgrade. What do you recommend for a front or what qualities must it have?
Also worried about my amp choice (Entry-level Yamaha RX-V659) because I hear the 805 Matrix's will lay bare all of its flaws. What is the benefit of these speakers as fronts?
First off, the RX-V659 is a great starting point and I wouldn’t lose any sleep over that piece of equipment. That fact that it offers pre-outs for all 7.1 channels, means that if you discover that you need more power you can add outboard amplifiers when your budget allows. This however, will all depend on the volume of your listening area, the distance of your listening position from your speakers, and the avg. SPL you prefer to listen.
When they say the 805 will reveal flaws, what they are really saying is that they are accurate / transparent. Crap in = crap out. Now a day this refers more to your source material rather than your gear. The RX-V659 should be transparent and thus not a major concern in this regard.
Now as far as using the 805 for mains… Well they are older, which means there are newer speakers that perform better, however at the price you are quoting it would be really hard to beat the 805s which means they represent a good ROI. However, in HT and multichannel listening it is important for your speakers to be timber matched, most important is the front three channels, at least in HT applications, which is why I asked what center you plan on using. If you plan on using the 805s as your mains then you really need to look for a timber match speaker from B&W to use as your center. An HTM center such as AD_LIB is using or another 805 would be perfect. Also, since B&W claims that the 805's -3dB-down point is 42Hz, the lowest note of the four-string double bass, they should work would well without a sub for a lot of music, but not all and this definitely is not enough bass extension for HT, so they really should be paired with a good sub.
In short, at the price you are quoting, I would snatch them up and find a use for them, one way or another.
