What are your general thoughts of B&W speakers

On one audition, I remember my head flinching and turning to the side when some high vocal harmonizing sounded shrill. Rightly or wrongly, I attributed it to the speakers.

thanks for all the responses guys. I have been reading lots of speaker threads here and B&W just doesn't get mentioned alot. I guess I can understand why now. My friend has the 804 diamond towers. I think they sound good but, I haven't compared them to anything. My town is too small and doesn't have any so called hi-fi stores. Just big box stores like best buy and H.H. gregg. They don't carry any of the speakers I am interested in. I have checked out the sonus faber cremona M online. They look interesting to me. I might have to find a dealer nearby and listen to those. I wish I could take them home and try them out.

My thoughts are that b&w 800 series are awesome! When I first heard b&w I thought they sounded tinny with no bass. I was a paradigm man. This was around 1999 or so. I was using top of the line yamaha receivers and studio 40's then 80's and finally 100's. I still wasn't happy as I know a lot of us in this hobby are striving for excellence, always wondering what speakers in the magazine sounds like. Well my local stereo shop aquired the b&w line. They had the 805's 804's and the granddaddy the 802 d paired with mcintosh power c46 & mc402. I found after many years of listening to many different speakers, that I was someday going to buy b&w & mcintosh. And boy I did, and couldn't be happier. The pairing of these powerhouses in my opinion has brought joy back to listening to music. The refinement, transparency, low coloration, and soundstaging is beyond my expectations. So andyprice44, I wish you the best in your search for what makes you happy. It could take years, as it did for me, and a process of upgrades. It's been a blast. Cordially,

B&W is definitely a love it or hate it type of speaker. Their gear is found in
many homes of audiophiles, but also in recording studios. Their fit and
finish is very, very good and their resale is phenomenal. Their speakers
have been used as a reference many times. So, for those that don't like
them, that's okay. Just know that for every one person that doesn't like
them, there are many others that do. I don't own them currently, but have
owned them many times in the past. I've always been happy with them in
whatever system I had at the time.

It's been said that the FST midrange driver they build is one of the best
around. Not all high end companies build their own drivers, in fact, most
don't. Sonus Faber uses scan speak. Sure - they "modify" the
drivers, but they are still going to be to similar to the off the shelf version.
Designing a driver from the ground up affords many opportunities not
available to companies who use other manufacturers custom drivers.

I had to respond after seeing all the B&w hate. I really never understood it, maybe a case of envy? After all, Abby Road studios, Skywalker Sound, DG & London/Decca can't all be wrong.
I have owned the matrix series 2 since 1988. Around 2000, when the original 800 2 woofer series was introduced, I inquired about them at a well known local high-end retailer. He asked me if I was satisfied w/ my 801's. I said yes. He told me that he didn't think the increase in cost for the new model justified the minor increase in sound quality for me to upgrade.
Are B&W's ruthlessly revealing? I would say yes, which is as it should be for a studio monitor. So if your listening tastes are mostly popular rock and middle of the road type music, they are not for you, as they will reveal how the majority of current popular music is mastered severely compressed and loud and boosted in the higher frequencies.
I prefer to hear what's on the recording, good or bad. Every upgrade that I have made to my system has improved the sound of the speakers, and I feel that I have yet to reach the limit of my present set up. I'm sure w/ unlimited funds you could get better performance than B&W's, but at the lower price ranges, I would certainly give them a listen, and IMHO, would give most competitor's a run for their $ in terms of aural honesty. I also wouldn't believe what people say about lack of bass. It's there, you just need to mate the B&W w/ the right amp.