B&W 802 Series 80 w/ Rotel RB-990BX, help with value/hookup?

Just picked up a pair of B&W 802 series 80 speakers at a yard sale, but I'm having trouble finding out how much they're worth. I'm currently powering them with the 990BX from the same sale, I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out how much these items are worth, and the best way to hook them up.

I currently have a Onkyo TX-SR602 receiver, and a Rotel 990BX.

Any ideas, tips or suggestions are appreciated, thanks.

Reply 1 : B&W 802 Series 80 w/ Rotel RB-990BX, help with value/hookup?

Just keep them. What does it matter what they are worth? Just don't flip them. Now you need much better electronics like Classe or McIntosh which both mate well w/ B&W. Better Rotel is a good match too.

Reply 2 : B&W 802 Series 80 w/ Rotel RB-990BX, help with value/hookup?

B&W 802 vary between years. They had both Matrix and Naut models before the current Diamon series. If you can provide more details I can give you an estimate. A lot will also depend on the condition of the tweeter (it is quite exposed and subject to damage, which is common); hopefully the midrange and woofers are still in good shape...

Insofar as the Rotel amp goes my estimate is you are only getting about 20% of the sonic value of th espeakers with that amp. A krell FBP-200 or Mark Levinson 331 like amps would be much better suited if you have the appropriate front end. Still a Classe amp would be an improvement; it just depends upon what sound you are looking for.

Note that placement is crucial with these speakers. Make sure they are at least 1.5m away from the back walls and equal distance from the seating area as they are apart as a starting point...

Reply 3 : B&W 802 Series 80 w/ Rotel RB-990BX, help with value/hookup?

I inquired at B&W, and this is the email I received from Stephen Wheatley-
(If you'd like, I'd be happy to email you the brochure he attached, it includes much more information)

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Hi Justin,
Many thanks for your email enquiry regarding your recently purchased Series 80 Model 802 loudspeakers.
The Series 80 Model 802 was manufactured between 1980 - 1983 at a suggested retail pricing of 695.00 a pair, which was a lot of money back then.
Please find attached a Pdf of the original sales literature of the day, which I trust you will find of interest.
It's nice to know they are still sounding fantastic!
With kind regards
Stephen Wheatley
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As per my inspection, the speakers are in excellent shape aside from a few markings on the cabinets that appear to be purely cosmetic. The tweeter, midrange and woofers appear to be in perfect shape. I actually picked them up through a yard sale (at $25 a piece, the people selling the house and running the sale were from a real estate firm and not the original owners), as far as I know I was the first person to move them since they were installed.

I really appreciate your reply, I'm just starting to get into higher end audio and after coming across these I feel that I really should have them set up perfectly (or as well as a college student's budget will allow).

Thanks again,
Justin

Reply 4 : B&W 802 Series 80 w/ Rotel RB-990BX, help with value/hookup?

The amp is worth about $200 if it does not hum, etc. Be careful with wiring, real "hifi" does not have protection circuits so one short and its dead.

The Speakers or worth around $500 to $1000 if you are lucky. Not the best in the series, but better than what you have if you don't have B&W's or something like it.

I had the BX powering my Naut 804's and so they are capable and likely better than what you had. You will not get full capability from the speaker with that depending on your CD player and Pre-Amp...

If you can find old Classe gear you can afford, get it.

Reply 5 : B&W 802 Series 80 w/ Rotel RB-990BX, help with value/hookup?

The amp sounds great too, but good to know about the wiring, I would've thought that hifi stuff would have more protection, but I guess anything that comes between the signal and the speaker can degrade quality.

As for a pre-amp, I don't have one at the moment. Right now I have an audio out from my macbook to a Onkyo TX SR602 av receiver (another yard sale, $35) to the Rotel amp to the B&Ws.

Now, I've heard that more often than overpowering them, under powering a speaker is more likely to cause damage, is this true? Because if so, I need to find something with a pre amp, right?

By the way, the 804s are beautiful, and I will keep an eye out for any of the Classes stuff

Reply 6 : B&W 802 Series 80 w/ Rotel RB-990BX, help with value/hookup?

Could you send me the pdf you are talking about
I want to sell my pair of speakers