bought the 803s having auditioned them in the shop for more than two hours, not knowing too much about b&w speakers before hand. i have a rega saturn cd player to which i had bought from the same shop 11 months before and the cd player was never magical to which it was in the shop and i'd auditioned plenty cd players before opting for the rega saturn and deciding within budget this was the cd player for me, after a while of listening at home i decided the probability my cd sounded good but not outstanding could be my tandy/radioshack memorex 505 twenty year old 1990 speakers, 3 way design with 15" woofers, i thought everythingelse is quite new but the technology of the cheapish older speakers could be out of date, so i made a trip back to the same shop! the same elderly chap served me again which was good as he knew his stuff, i explained to him about the cd player he sold me never shining quite like it did when i auditioned it in the shop and explained to him my concerns about my speakers, we went upstairs to the speaker and hifi auditioning rooms to which he started playing me music through various speakers, each time moving up a level, but none came close to the frequency response of my old memorex 505's with their collosal woofer and they were all the largely newer type of tall thin floorstanders which was a worry as i didn't think the bass might not be on offer and having been used to full bodied sound for 20 years i did not know if i could go back to something without muscle, anyway the guy kept offering me an improved speaker over the last until he wired up the 803 nautilus, immediately we were in the same ball park as my old speakers, i listened to them for about 2 hours and after realising they sounded beautiful decided i would take them. i have since bought the yamaha as2000 amplifier, and i have the sony std-777es dab/fm tuner and afore mentioned rega saturn cd player, i have all the system that i've got now for a year now and to cut to the chase the sound quality is absolutely outstanding, the detail retreival is breathtaking as is how natural the midrange of the speakers is, human voices are earilie real youd think the singer was in the room/speaker box and a saxaphone or piano or guitar especially accoustic sessions just as brilliantly projected and real, turn these speakers up to get the most out of them and watch them shine, stereo imaging is as good as i've heard the depth of these speakers and three dimentionality can be outstanding depending on what comes on the radio or what cd your listening to, as i said excellent detail retrival its often like band, group, singer or dance act is in your livingroom they offer such good sound staging and depth and the overall frequency response and sound the tweeters good too, is very high. my over all star score is definately 5 stars, my cd player sounds outstanding now as you can imagine my old speakers weren't up to scratch right enough.

I upgraded to a set of B&W 703’s about a year ago because I could not find any 803’s in my price range. An upgrade to 803’s was inevitable so in preparation I purchased a set of Rotel 1091 500watt monoblocks. Although I preferred Bryson’s their pre-owned price was prohibitive. Following Brystons, Rotel 1090 or 1091’s were rated by users as the best choice for B&W’s. The 703/Rotel 1091 combination proved that the reviews were right. The 703’s soundstage expanded and they produced notes that were much better defined. I started to rethink the 803 purchase.

The 803’s Arrive !!!
I set up my pre-owned 803’s in the same positions that the 703’s had occupied. Jazz stretches all sound boundaries so I played Chris Botti’s Live in Boston CD. This band has exceptional musicians backed by an orchestra featuring male and female vocalists and a solo by YoYo Ma. Although I had listened to this CD many times the 803’s produced sound that was so clear and accurate that I was completely blown away. It was as if a veil had been lifted. As good as the 703’s were they were no comparison to the 803’s. Notes that I had never heard before appeared, subtle nuances became were displayed. There were passages that sent chills down my spine. The clarity was well beyond my expectations. I selected Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon CD as it also would test the reproduction of everything from silence to heart beats. The opening of Money presents the sound of change rattling around. The 803’s presentation is so accurate that you could actually pick out the difference between the coins, gone was the overall clash as every other speaker system I’ve ever heard.

Do Amps Really Make A Difference ?
I found that by upgrading to Rotel amps my 703’s became less tolerant of poorly recorded music. This attribute is also demonstrated with the 803’s. I do not believe that this is a fault of the speakers or amplification. You improve your equipment to provide as accurate a rendition of recordings as possible. If a bad recording is played it will be delivered as such. This is more evident in analog to digital CD’s. Remastered CD’s do not exhibit the same characteristics.

My System
A Denon 4308ci powers my HT speakers and acts as a pre amp for the Rotel’s, 2-Rotel 1091 monoblocks, Marantz CD 5003, B&W 803 main speakers, B&W DS6 surround speakers, B&W 805 Rear Speakers, B&W ASW1000 Subwoofer. Most interconnects are Monster Cable, Canare CS11 front and center Speaker cables, 14ga non-oxygen copper side and rear speaker cables. All interconnects are one meter long to negate any signal degradation.

Positives
My wife does not have the best ears for sound ,she did not hear the difference between CDM-9nt’s and 703’s, but was amazed at the difference between B&W 703’s and the 803’s. B&W 803’s are phenomenal speakers. They produce CLEAR and ACCURATE sound. Even on the used market they are not inexpensive but they are well worth the investment.

Negatives
In order to make the 803’s sing you must provide adequate power. My Denon 4308ci with 140wpc x2 per speakers was not adequate. Although the speakers are rated at 250watts they sing with the Rotel 1091 500 watt monoblocks.

Transparency and detail

Sufficient bass for the average sized room

Need high end equipment.

Don't consider if your amp is below 80-90 Watts

These speakers are the older version of the B&W803s and I must say that this review is on the nasis that I havent heard the newer models.

The first thing that struck me when I installed these speakers was the transparency of the treble and the positioning of all the instruments. The bass I feared would be too much for my medium sized listening room, (7.5m x 4.5m) but that wasn;t the case. I must say that with well recorded music, the speakers really shine - they vanish totally leaving a well spaced and wide listening arena.

They do require some grunt from your power amp, however, as I am using a Naim NAP300 at 90 Watts and suspect this is a minimum.

I would expect the performance of the Nautilus 803 to improve further as the source and pre-amp improve. I'm using the Naim CDS3, but expect the more senior models to further raise the 803 performance.

Similar Products Used:

B&W805s

B&W804s

MY EQUIPMENT:

CDS3+XPS
NAC282+Supercap
NAP300

Many listed above, sensitivity, delicate details and smooth ambiance, clean accurate tone, state of the art drivers. The hand crafted appearance and scent of red stained cherry wood. Rated at 250 watts but can easily take more than rated clean watts.

A tiny bit forward in the MF's, the FST drivers in the new 800 series have a small magnet driver perhaps to fix this. They all needs a very good power amp with 200 watts or more to sing well since it does stay in the 3.25 ohms range for most of its frequencies but very high ohms in the midrange. Resolution is slightly lost in the mids, when compared to the discontinued Nautilus 802. Break-in time very long 250+ hours. The new 800 series line does have improvements yet too similar to the Nautilus line. I expected more of a performance improvement from their R&D. Bass lacks the punch / push of 8 or 10 inch drivers but does go down to 20hz somewhat clear.

Thoroughly enjoyed using these speakers. As my equipment improved, my speakers kept up. They will eventually be replaced for better but I'm in no rush. They do have very deep bass, smooth mids and liquid like treble. Just a bit of harshness in the highs when using lesser quality wires was corrected. I did listen for hours to other pairs at the local shop and compared it with others. The N802 were a bit sweeter in the mids and deeper in the bass but a little over done IMO. The N804 seemed thinner, lighter in the bass or more compressed soundstage but more controlled in small rooms.

I had upgraded from a pair of Matrix 802s3 and improvements were many. The N803 were definitely more delicate, fuller textured reproduction, improved ambiance, transparency, resolution, a wider soundstage and focus was also better but lost a little in the deep bass. All improvements were fully appreciated after many hours of breakin.

These red stained speakers can still play bass heavy tracks surprisingly well. Try "Poems of Thunder" CD and stand back. The room will really shake. Bass can snap so tight, rumble low and deep and the treble will be smooth or piercing depending on the quality of source/electronic you wish to use or play. String instruments take on a slight wood sound illusion. The best part IMO is the MF FST driver. The HF driver would be the next with some tweaking to keep it smooth.

These beautiful hand crafted speakers fit nicely in our mid-sized room with our hardwood. I still enjoy the red cherry wood finish and they never seem to grow old.

Customer Service

Local dealer was excellent.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 802 & 804, B&W Matrix 802s3, 803s2, 804, 604, 603, Infinity, Energy, Paradigm, etc.

The cabinetry, a la stradivarius; combined with consummate musicality that compares to slowly imbibing a cognac by a crackling fire in an Old English Castle.

None, if you do everything religiously correct in concert with the gospel of high end, as I did.

My cohorts apprised me that the substantial jump to the B&W Nautilus 803's from what I had would be "magic." Having said this, I can't stress how significant the associated equipment--the best one can afford, proper setup, listening environment and, moreover, one's audiological expectations and actual recordings are. My Equipment: Bryston 3BSST Power Amplifier; Bryston BP26P Preamplifier; Classe CDP-10 Compact Disc Player (HDCD 24 bit), with RCA/XLR Caps; Oracle Delphi Mark IV Turntable (with all the Mark V non-machined upgrades, including Turbo Power Supply); Rega RB700 Tonearm (not rewired); Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood Pickup; Cardas Golden Reference XLR Interconnects (2 pair)/Power Cords (4)/Speaker Cable--with Shakti On-Lines Performance Optimizers. My Setup: The speakers (using Cardas Jumper Cables) stand 1 inch off the floor on Puresonic C-40B Cone Stands/Pucks, reducing bass resonance. Because the tweeters are housed outside and on top of the enclosures dispersion was not an issue. They also open up with the grilles removed. My speakers are positioned inward at a 22 degree angle and 9 inches away from the rear wall; about 2-3 feet away from the side walls; 44 inches apart (from the outside of the speaker boxes); and 7 feet, from the centre of the speakers, to my optimum listening vantage point. My Listening Environment: The acoustical area is about 100 square feet, moderately furnished, with hardwood flooring and small rug--so damping might be a consideration. My Audiological Expectations and Recordings: I expected to be transported to acoustic nirvana, not always conceivable because any accurate transducer will be revealing regarding poor source material. So for instance, if a record sounds thin, bright and hard, a fine speaker should reproduce it as such. Therefore, for objective test purposes, I chose records which were beyond reproach. For transparency or detail, I noticed the subtleties on "Marrakesh Express" from the recent Crosby Stills & Nash "Greatest Hits" CD (Rhino/Atlantic), which is HDCD. The vocals, guitars and keyboards are all liquid, crisp and delineated with that perfect amount of warmth and sweetness. I have a remastered in high definition 24 bit EP CD by the Byrds, entitled "Les Byrds" (CBS/Magic Records), where every nuance of the 1960's song, "I Knew I'd Want You," emanates with gorgeous realism from the 803's. As for speed or dynamics, I savoured the live version of "So You Want To Be A Rock'n'Roll Star" by the Byrds, on their "Untitled" CD (Sony/CBS Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Ultradisc II 24-karat gold version). It had a polite, exact, but exuberant zing. As well, Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries" performed by Erich Leinsdorf conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic, on vinyl (Sheffield Lab Classics), presented a very controlled fulmination of sound on the B&W (who, you might know, stock most of the classical [don't know about rock] music recording studios of the world). For focus or soundstage and imaging, I listened to "SoMA" by Steve Roach & Robert Rich from the Absolute Sound's "Hearts of Space" compilation of various artists CD (Hearts of Space Records) where the 803's really float an object in space. On the "Escapes" compilation of various artists CD (WEA), B-Tribe's "You Won't See Me Cry," the superb, open airiness of all the vocals, guitar, winds and percussion are highlighted by these speakers, too. Examining linearity or smoothness, I sampled "Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant" from the inimitable choral recording, "Cantate Domino," by Motettenchor der Oscarkirche, Stockholm, directed by Torsten Nilsson, on vinyl (Proprius Atr Mastercut Recording). The 803's had--in their entire range, an unctuous, round, rich character to them. I never believed these B&W's were harsh in the upper registers or midrange after hearing the title cut from the jazzy, Red Norvo Quintet's "The Forward Look" LP (Reference Recordings) where the reeds sound razor sharp, but never blaring; mixed in with vibes, guitar, bass and drums that are scrumptiously bereft of grain. I wasn't incredulous concerning the 803's bass extension, becuase I noticed how they exemplified not only depth, but incredible texture and shape, that, heretofore, was often heard only in quality subwoofers. Check out "Tandoori" from James Newton Howard's "James Newton Howard & Friends" LP (Sheffield Lab) to verify my assertion. This rock instrumental with synthesizer record features solid, rock hard bangs, smacked out without boominess, on my 803's. Of course, if you want the woofers to whomp eruptions in the walls, there's always "Speak To Me" from Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" CD (Capitol). The B&W Nautilus 803 speakers might outperform anything in its respective market, including Martin Logan. Some, who espouse the latter, even say my next upgrade would be the B&W 803D's--with the diamond tweeters, at $11,000 (Canadian)/pair but...that's another review.

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM7NT speakers.

Detail and imaging. Great for acoustic, some classical and some jazz in my opinion.

Loud midrange to show detail leading to harshness.

Excellent imaging and detail but unfortunately in my opinion there is a harshness that prevails. Exposing weaknesses in non perfect recordings is a weakness in my mind. That takes out over half the music available. Even with excellent recording the harsh is still there in my opinion. I believe a speaker that shows flaws as many reviewers seem to think is a good thing simply means they are not reference quality able to master the sonics I'm looking for.

World class loudspeaker from a company with great backup.Top build,looks,and of course,sound.

None I can think of.

I have owned these speakers for over two years now,and have enjoyed most music played through them,although bad recordings and early 80's cd's can sound truly awful (not a fault of the speaker,just showing how truthful they are in passing on the message) Placement of speakers and listening seat is crucial,and I cannot stress this enough,even now after two years I am still experimenting.The seat started off towards the back of the room,where extended bass was great,but midbass and sound stage was not so good,gradually moving the seat nearer the speakers,so that now I sit in an equilateral triangle with the 803's.In my room this placement is about as good as it will get,nice soundstage and imaging,nice tight deep bass. They need top notch source equipment,interconnects,a powerful amp,and good speaker cables,get these right and you are rewarded with great non fatiguing sound,so you can listen for hours,sometimes you dont realise just how loud they are playing until someone comes in the room and tries to talk to you! but its not just volume,you can also listen quietly and not miss much. There maybe other speakers out there that image or time better.But for reproducing a believable musical event,and in the process entertaining you,the 803's are fabulous.

Similar Products Used:

N804,cdm7nt,a great match with my Chord amplification.

Warm sound, look wonderful, I am very happy with them.

Sounds picky, but the grill cloth directional fabric is far from perfect. SCRATCH VERY EASILY, make sure they are away from trouble!

I upgraded from B&W 7nt's to the 803's, well worth the price. A great speaker, sounded even better after cable upgrades and an power conditioner. Audio alone or home theater, this speaker is WOW! You should look at bi wiring them!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 7NT's Energy

The 803's are a great pair of speakers. Better than most any floorstander in the 5k range easily. The imaging and soundstaging are terrific, and the resolution on this speaker is just incredible. I highly recommend this speaker to anyone. Just remember to give this speaker the juice it deserves.

Similar Products Used:

N805 HTM1

Wide and tall soundstage, fantastic, tight mid-bass and very clear midrange that makes vocals soar and sound life-like. Speaker easily fills a room with sound and never sounds strained even at high volumes. Highs are very extended and detailed without being bright. A very pleasing, sophisticated sound.

Mid-bass can sound tubby and slow. Low bass (40Hz below) is not very good, dynamics and imaging is good but not up there with the very best, driver speed is average. Forward nature of the tweeter can sometimes over-emphasize percusion, drum instruments (cymbals, hi-hats, bells,etc). However, all of the above can be SIGNIFICANTLY improved with the right speaker wire and components.

Before I give you my final thoughts on this speaker let me give you my observations based on the trained ears of a true audiophile who also knows what live music sounds like. To honestly review a speaker one must first "learn how to listen". This takes time and comes from listening to lots of speakers (individual and group sessions, sharing your thoughts and exchanging ideas and observations from others. Finally, you have to be honest with your self (even if it hurts)and don't let the mfg's reputation (or cost of the speaker) influence your evaluation. Anyway, here we go: This speaker is deficient in low bass (40Hz and below) however the mid-bass (60Hz-120 Hz) is fantastic. The fullness, weight and slam of the mid-bass is so good that its very, very easy to overlook the fact that you don't hear the lowest frequencies. Trust me, most people listening to 2 channel music will never feel "slighted" in the bass area. On the other hand, the mid-bass can sound slow and bloated compared to other speakers. To achieve the best performance cables and electronics are extremely important. I found Kimber 8TC (bi-wired, of course) made a huge difference in performance, especially in the mid-bass and lower bass. It tightened the mid-bass and brings out the lowest bass frequencies that this speaker is capable of producing. it was night and day. Regarding elcttronics, I'm using a Denon 5803 receiver (170W per channel) and the combination sounds fantastic...really, really good. I'm sure a Bryston or Plinius could maybe get me 5-10% improvement...but you don't have to have high end electronics to make this speaker sing. This makes sense as the sensitivity rating is fairly high which means these are not a tough load to drive. The mid-range is big, open and very clear. Vocals are very pleasing and fill the room immensely. As a matter of fact, one of the best things I like about this speaker is how well it fills a room (even a large room) with sound. Nothing thin sounding about this baby! The highs are smooth, detailed and EXTENDED (push way back into the room). Its the nautilus tweeter that gives this speaker such an enormous sound stage (both width and height). Images are tall. Depth of the soundstage is very good but not great. The tweeter crossover on the 803 (B&W hired an outside guy to design the 803 crossover but I forgot ghis name) but any reputable B&W dealer can verify this fact. It is a different desingn than the 802, 804 or 805's. The highs are very smooth and not brittle. They are slightly forward, meaning the highs hit your ears before any of the otehr frequencies. In that respect, the 803 is not a truly "balanced" speaker where no one frequency stands out over the other. I would say the tweeter is always the most notable sound you hear, followed by the mid-range and the bass. It is not a coherent and time aligned speaker (like the Thiels)although it is in proper phase. Imaging is good but not as good as my Vienna Acoustic Beethovens. However, Imaging can be greatly improved by proper cables. The same holds true with dynamics. Sounds like the guitar strings, drum rim shots and vibraphones litterally "explode" from my Beethoven's. Leading edge and overall transients on the B&W do not match the VA's in this category. Finally, this is not a "fast" speaker. The mid-range and bass drivers are rather large compared to some of the JM Lab's (926's) and my Beethoven's. Therefore, music doesn't "start and stop" as fast as these speakers do. The speed (lack of) of the drivers also has an impact on the imaging and dynamics. Furthermore, the pace and rhythm is affected. Some of the fast paced jazz music I listened to just sounds "faster" with more pace on the JM Labs and VA's. This added pace doesn't necessarily make them sound better, just faster. Also, these speakers need very little toe-in. Off-axis response is very good and the sweet spot is large enough. 8-10ft apart and a least 3 feet from the back walls result in the best sound for me. Now, having said all of the above one would think I like the JM Labs and VA's better. The answer is NO! A speaker, while it can be analyzed for its individual parts and characteristics, ultimately has to be judged and enjoyed as a sum of all its parts. Taken in that context this speaker sounds wonderful! Especially on Jazz, Blues and large orchestral pieces that (or even sophisticated R&B). It never sounds strained even at the loudest volumes and never losses it's sophistication. Although I would rate the Beethoven's overall a superior speaker (low bass, imaging and dynamics superior to the 803) I will never sell my 803's because for my favorite type of music I simply love them! They also look great!

Similar Products Used:

Vienna Acoustic Beethoven's, JM Lab 926's, CDM1NT's, Monitor Audio Silver 8-i, Vandersteen, etc.