Opinions on old B&W's

I had a pair of B&W Matrix 3's Series 2 for about 10years. I liked them a great deal, but regreted not spending the extra money for the 802's which has a better midramge driver and tweeter. The series 3 of this model line was supposedly the best. $500 seems pretty low for a used pair of 802, make sure they at least a 7 on the GON's rating system and also work!!! As far as the models you have listed, I am not that familiar with them( but have read much about each one) accept Vandersteens which I have never liked Many of those models represent advances in speaker technology and each has their strong points. Nevertheless, if you carefully system match the B&W's 802, I think you will get close in performance to the best speakers on that list. Receivers, integrated amps and mid-fi separates will be inadequate to bring a speaker like the 802 up to its threshold of performance. So reevaluate your electronics and cabling, unless you already have hi-end pieces. If you have to upgrade amp and pre, you can probably find some nice values on the GON for $2000-2200. And, if you are getting the speaker for $500 which would be a steal, then you have not wasted your investment in new electronics. Good luck, Jimbo