Loudspeakers

The first Matrix 805 (£1095) appeared in 1990, with a 10.5-litre enclosure and decoupled metal bullet-shaped tweeter housing, 165mm Kevlar mid/bass unit and 25mm aluminium tweeter. 1998’s 805 Nautilus (£1400) got a new curved cabinet with Matrix reinforcement, the mid/bass unit got a bullet-shaped dispersion modifier and the tweeter came in a Nautilus-shaped tube. The bass port was twice as large – a B&W Flowport design complete with golf ball dimples. The 2001 Signature 805 (£2500) was an uprated Nautilus 805, celebrating B&W’s 30th birthday, and featured copper and aluminium components in its revised magnet system. The 805S (£1600) arrived in 2005, with an even beefier Signature magnet system. 2010’s 805 Diamond (£3750) had the new 25mm Diamond dome tweeter in its own tapered tubular enclosure with the Nautilus tube to the rear. Mundorf Capacitors were fitted in the crossover, and the 165mm Kevlar cone came in a new chassis.