Most accurate midrange for male and female voice (better than logan, Thiel 7.2, Sonus Faber Amati, Aerial 10T and Revel Studio).
Dynamic, punchy and low distortion.
Excellent imaging due to floating tweeter.

Mid-bass not as clear compare to Thiel 7.2.
Highest frequency (>9KHz) is not as defined as electrostatic martin logan

I bought it used at audiogon.com.
For the price I paid $2600. This is a steal.
I use ML no 333 and ML no 39 to drive it.
Working on plan to upgrade to Nautilus 800.

Comparison was done by bringing the same CD.
overall sound stage presentation can varies depending on room set-up. But, it is clear that this speaker strengths are listed above.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel 7.2, Logan Re-Quest, Revel Studio, Sonus Faber Amati, Aerial 10T.

Just finished breaking in my new pair of 801's and I love them.
It's true that the bass is a little lean but I prefer that to what I consider excess bloat from most other full range speakers in this price range. I was able to directly compare the 801's with Thiel 3.6's and Martin Logans driven by several different amps (Pass, Levinson, Threshold) and the 801's consistently exhibited deeper, tighter bass. I'm driving them with a single Threshold T200 to great effect and I've never heard a sweeter top end.
I'm interested in any input regarding experiences with different amplifiers and crossovers. (Noel - please feel free to email regarding Threshold bi-amping and Golden Flutes)

My Dad got these things about six months ago. The only speakers I have ever heard that have better imaging are my KRK7000 near-field monitors. The bass response of the 801's is as good as any speaker to which I've listened, the kind that makes it very obvious where recorded bass doesn't go down far enough. Pipe organs and techno alike will shake and rattle. The highs are crystal clear and the midrange is extraordinarily even and smooth.
And they've got those cool twisty things on top, too.

I guesss I'll be the only one here to give negative remarks to the 801, but I have to call them "as I hear them".I've long been a fan of the smaller B&W series but this was my first chance to audition the legendary 801. Hype not with-standing I was eager to ear these magnificent beasts after the CD transport door shut.
My first impression of the 801's was a surprise. I've long considered the smaller B&W boxes to by clinical, dry and very reference oriented. By contrast the 801 offered a lush, warm midrange with detail that is characteristic of the kevlar mids. Highs were outstanding; lifelike with presence but not as "affront" as other metal domes. Infact, I'd have to say the 801 tweeter may be the best full range tweeter out there. Soft dome fans will not be insulted since the 801 is indeed a "sweet" sounding speaker that has much improved over the few criticisms of it's ancestors. The reduced baffle configuration that B&W uses (giving reference to the "R2D2" similiarity) gives a sonically accurate soundstage akin to satellites.
So what didn't I like about the 801? The bass.
My impression of the previous reviewers is that they are unaware of what world class bass sounds like. The 801 bass signature was dull, recessed and not worthy of it's upper stage. Sonic masking was evident at the lower crossover point , probably due to lack of sufficient amplifier power. As a note the salesman was unable to obtain their demo Levinson #27 amplifier to run the inefficient 801's. The bi-amp'd 200wpc Adcoms just couldn't cut it.
Final verdict: Dissapointing. Beautifull high end and midrange not complimented by bass module meant to appease bass fearing audiophiles that haven't heard Dunlavy, Wilson, Legacy etc. That latter products from Legacy, particulary the legendary Focus seriously out class the 801 in the bass department and are virtual equal in dynamics to the 801's upper high end. I'm also critical of in-efficient designs like the 801 that require almost a line transformer to run them.
Better is out there, but buy the name if you must.

While the 801's do present a neurtral tonal balance ( they key to their succes among recording studios) they have fallen behind other new speakers in terms of imaging, uniform phase charachteristics, bass extension, and looks (subjective of course).
Much more speaker can be had for the money from companies such as Legacy, Dunlavy, PSB, and NHT. An ok speaker for 1985 but not worth the asking price in 1998

Beauty is in the eye of the be-holder, so it is with the ear of the listener. So many variarbles come into play when one listens to music; the room, your own hearing ability (or lack of), the recording, the play-back equipment, your mood
even has an effect. Having said that, I enjoy the 801's and that is all that
really matters. My system is Bi-amped with good name brands (powerfull and all were A or B rated by Stereophile when introduced). I use good quailty cables, and try to buy decent recordings. I listen to a wide variety of music and the 801's are more than adequate for my music library. Price was a consideration, but I found a good deal and it fit my budget. I would recomend the 801's, but only if you have the opportunity to preview them in you own listening environment.

Like most of you out there, the first reviews of an expensive British speaker were terriffic........
I too own a pair, just bought an old series 80 (Late 80's model) , I tried them first with Krell FPB200's (after inquiring the price) , switched to Sunfire and after living with it for a day went back and got a Krell KAV-250 ( same price range) and still live with them.

My impressions of this dated model are mixed. The high end is among the best I have heard, detailed, liquid and very transparent. The mids are silky soft and laid back.....not too much attack there. The bass is well damped, very accurate and lifelike but it is very weak and uncontrolled.The speakers simply cannot play loud! The cut-off circuit comes into play even when my amp is cranking out only 17 VAC RMS (12dbW) ! sometimes more but that is about it.With the 801's inefficient nature I am getting a lot less than I bargained for.I some how fear inductor saturation in the 200Hz to 400Hz range when played at 97 db levels..... is there some sort of crossover upgrade I should consider?

Having said all this, I still love the sound but would like to have a couple of 801's more to get lifelike spl levels.

I've had my 801's for 5 or so years. They were Series II upgraded to the III. I've been told they should be the same as what is sold now. The price was right $2500 so I went with them. My complaints would be on the low end and playing these real loud. Part of that may be because I have these underpowered with a Naim Amp. I don't usually turn it up too loud so I'm happy 95% of the time. Upgrading my front end (Rotel to a Naim CDS) had a big impact, oh, I've got these bi-wired as well and use them on the stands. It would be great to audition these with some Krell amps.
For the price, I aint complaining. Size is an issue and would love to find something a little smaller with almost the same range and sound stage.

Like most of you out there, the first reviews of an expensive British speaker were terriffic........
I too own a pair, just bought an old series 80 (Late 80's model) , I tried them first with Krell FPB200's (after inquiring the price) , switched to Sunfire and after living with it for a day went back and got a Krell KAV-250 ( same price range) and still live with them.

My impressions of this dated model are mixed. The high end is among the best I have heard, detailed, liquid and very transparent. The mids are silky soft and laid back.....not too much attack there. The bass is well damped, very accurate and lifelike but it is very weak and uncontrolled.The speakers simply cannot play loud! The cut-off circuit comes into play even when my amp is cranking out only 17 VAC RMS (12dbW) ! sometimes more but that is about it.With the 801's inefficient nature I am getting a lot less than I bargained for.I some how fear inductor saturation in the 200Hz to 400Hz range when played at 97 db levels..... is there some sort of crossover upgrade I should consider?

Having said all this, I still love the sound but would like to have a couple of 801's more to get lifelike spl levels.

I've lived with B&W 801s3 for more than 15 months. Now I think I can say something about this speaker...
For a long time I can't quite know why 80% of classical recording companies (EMI. Sony classics,...) use 801s for recording monitor. Not until last night when I attended a live soprano recital (I was sitting at the 3rd row in front of the singer about 12 feet away from me). When I retuned home and immediately played a soprano recital CDs. Suddenly I realized I've got my question answered. It's quite obvious. It's the netural timbre of the speaker! The soprano sound from the 801s is quite resemble to what I just heard from the recital. 801s is a very accurate speaker. Very little coloration in the midrange and trebel. It's very clear and clean. The soundstage is a little laidback than most speakers.
But that is how music sound in a symfony hall. The bass is very good. I'm using Krell FPB600 to drive it and no matter how hard I tried I can never bottom out the woofer! My room and my hardwood floor just shaked like crazy (just listen to Reference Recording's gusty drum sound and you will see what I mean.) However,
801s is not quite as dynamic as Wilson Watt/Puppy 5.1 (an $18.5K speaker which has very dynamic woofers that can sound very loud but necessary deeper than 801s).

801s needs good matching components to sund good. Wimpy amp and hard/bright digital front end or cables shall be avoided. If you like a speaker that can reproduce a live classical performence then you can't go wrong with 801s. There are many speakers sound better than 801s in certain areas (some is more dynamic,
transparant, smoother, or go lower...), but as a whole (with its netural timbre, ultra clean mid and trebel, gusty bass and very good 3-dimensional soundstage which entend 5 to ten feet to rear of the speaker), few speaker can out perform it. To me 801s is a lot of speaker for the money! I just can't wait to audition the the new generation of 801s... Life is good!(w/ my 801s, fpb600, NBS/MIT, EAD DSP 9000 and Sony DVD)