I've listened to these speakers and the 805 version. I have to say that usually the dealer has not broken-in these speakers by the time they demo them. They indeed sound a little harsh at high volumes new out of the box but once they break-in they sound nothing short from incredible. Clarity of voice is very good and if you plan to setup for HT you'll really notice the difference, specially combined with the HTM1 center channel version.
I would give them five for sound reproduction, three and a half to four for price, and one more star to offset the review that says their not clear on vocals (to him, go buy Q-tips with your lunch money).

After spending many hours listening to both the Thiel 2.3s and Sonus Faber Grand Piano, and having made a decision in favor of the Thiels, a local dealer suggested I wait until the 804s were out before purchasing. The fact that a dealer - who had an order in hand - would recommend waiting and delaying his commission, made me willing to do this. At that time, the release of the 804 was anticipated to be a month or so, but in reality it was longer than six.
It was worth it. I think both of the the other speakers I considered are also exceptional, and with the right equipment I would be happy with either. But I voted for the 804s because they seem to deliver the benefits of the other two without spending the rest of my life trying to match components, especially the Thiels. In fact, this website gave me a good heads up about driving the 2.3, since too many reviewers said they became fatiguing over time.

The B&Ws I heard (mine are yet to be delivered) sounded fabulous, driven by some Krell equipment. Given some of the comments about the long break-in necessary, I will reserve ultimate judgement on my decision for some months. Other speakers I listened to during my search were Meadowlark, Gallo, Audio Physic, Joseph, Hales and similar, all at about $2,500-$4,000.

Having read the previous reviews in this section, I must add that I was at times puzzled and other times amused by the venom from some of the reviewers. People can have a difference of opinion. For those of you who get so emotional about someone disagreeing with your choice of speakers, get a life. Also, if when reviewing a product you find fault in it, be realistic in your rating. A one-star rating for a product from a reputable company is silly, isn't it, even if you think there are better choices for the money.

I recommend that anyone looking to spend $3,500 for a full-range speaker listen to all three of these excellent choices and decide for yourself.

Great looks, firm & tight bass

lack of soudstage depth, clarity

After som months of auditioning several speakers in this price bracket I took home a pair of the 804s plus a pair
of Totem Forest. I spent two days doing nothing but listening
to these two pair of speakers.

I had heard the Forest pair in a quite good demo room, and they sounded promising. The B&W dealer had a horrible demo room so I just had to take them home. Both pairs had just barely been broken-in, so things were pretty equal.

Equipment used:
-Sony DVD-S7700
-MSB Link III DAC
-Parasound Pre/post (ca. 140WPC)

Let me just say that I find it strange that most reviews
here are either 5-stars or 1-star reviews. Is the world
really that black&white??? To the previous poster (shouter?)
let me just say that a 5-star $500 speaker is not, usually,
better than a 1-star $3000 speaker, it's all relative, of
course.

I can say straight away that the Totem Forest won this
battle, even though I found myself wanting the B&W 804s
to win. I kept trying different recordings and loudspeaker
placements, everything to get the 804's to sound just as
good or better than the Totems. Unfortunatly, they failed.
See, the Totems are not very good looking, IMO, and the
804's are beatiful.

So, what was lacking in the 804's? Well, the major flaw that
I perceived was that the 804s had like a greasy film over the, upper midrange/treble. The effect was that, while I
could hear all the instrument just fine, there was a
flatness to soundstage that I just couldn't live with.
Also, this dullness to the sound made it impossible to hear
the little nuances to the instrument timbre. For example,
in a clarinet, there is always a little "wind noise", you
can hear the wind traveling through the clarinet, so to say.
This could not be heard in the 804s, while it was quite
apparent in the Totem speakers. The fact that the 804s
behaved like this was quite surprising, since most people
who listen to them think the treble is too prominent...weird.

My theory is that B&W tried to make a 805 with more bass, and as a result, messed up the midrange/treble with
coloration coming from the two new bass drivers.

I liked the bass though. It has great attack, slam, etc but
still very controlled. But the Totems were just as good
there.

If I hadn't taken home the Totems att the same time, I
probably wouldn't have noticed these things in the 804s.
The Totem speakers are known for their airy, 3D sound.
The difference was so great that I was seriously questioning
my ability to recognize the *better* sound, or the most
*realistic* sound. I mean, let's face it, the B&W Nautilus
series has gotten rave reviews. But the 804 hasn't been reviewed yet (at least I havn't found one).

Before I made up my mind, I called the recoring engineer
that recorded three of the CDs I always use (among others,
of course). The company is called Opus 3 (www.opus3records.com) and record all their CDs in authentic
environments. Anyway, having the engineer responsible for
the recording tell me what it should sound like helped
a lot. The Forest did not exagerate the soundstage depth
or microdetails.

Oh well...I gues I'll have to go with the uglier speakers.
Although I contemplating giving Linn's AV 5140 a new try.
If I ever do get seriously in HT, then those might be a
better choice.

Similar Products Used:

Totem Forest

great sound in top-looks

none

This speakers are great and outstanding.
I change my B&W 603 II into NT 804 and what a difference.
The best speaker I ever had. If sound is important for you , consider them in HT and Stereo.

Similar Products Used:

Nautilus 803

Great Sound and looks

None

I changed my 603 II in NT 804 2 month ago. 603 II are very nice speakers with a very good price, but no way to compare with NT 804.
This is really speaker heaven! TRY THEM.

Beautiful, unique look. Great high & mid range clarity & soundstage.

low-end umph, bit expensive

I must admit, as I was choosing a speaker I wanted the complete package- Great sound, aesthetics and value. After listening to many speakers and reading many reviews, I ended up choosing the B&W N804s because in each of these categories they were the most compelling choice.

Aesthetics- Like any other subjective quality, this will ultimately come down to the individual's opinion. I belive the N804s and N803s are the best looking speakers out there (in red cherry). The 802s may sound better but the huge tweeter on top dosen't do it for me lookswise. The build qulaity on these is phenomenal and in red cherry these will make a great addition to any nicely furnished room. I actually replaced my light cherry Salamnder Synergy tv stand and component rack with a black one so I could get these in red cherry. I have parties all the time and people ALWAYS comment on these speakers.

Sound- As I listened to different sizes and brands of speakers, it became clear that each did certain things better than others. I bought the N804s because my listening preference lies in excellent high and midrange clarity. The N804s excel here. These speakers sound AWSOME with detailed recordings... great vocalists (ella, sade, cowboy junkies) as well as jazz (Dave Brubeck quartet- time out) and classical recordings (Pachebel's cannon in D). They also sound great for alternative rock (MOBY, Morcheeba, Dave Mathews) and Electronica (Sahsa, Chemical Brothers, Underworld). The latter kinds of tunes brings me to my one complaint about these speakers- BASS. Don't get me wrong, these speakers have tight and articulate bass but relative to other speakers of this size and price, I think they could have a fuller soundstage. That is, a little more low-end volume and umph!

Value- At $3500 retail I wouldn't say these speaker are cheap but there are certainly WAY more expensive speakers out there. For the size of my room, these speakers fill the room with great sound. If I had a bigger room I would have gone with the 803s. Based on my listening preferences and the type of music I listen to- these speakers are AWSOME! I give these a 4 on value though because at this price they should have better low-end volume.

Finally, I will say that cables make a big difference with these speakers. I'm still in the process of finalizing my speaker cable selection but with the few I have listend to, I have noticed big differences in soundstage, detail and clarity. I'm currently demoing a pair of Tara Labs RSC Prime 1000 biwire and they definitely help out on the low end. I tried MIT and Transparents and have to say that I don't like the network box speaker cables with N804s. They may have a quiter, cleaner sound but I think at the cost of filtering TOO much and thereby limiting the overall soundstage. I'm planning on trying the Analysis+ Oval9s and Goertz MI2s before I make my final decision. I'd apprecitate anyone's suggestions.

p.s: I heard the new Hales Revelation 5 will compare very favorably with the N804/803. The Rev3s didn't quite do it for me.

my system:
RECIEVER: Marantz SR-18
SOURCE: SONY 7700 (use as CD&DVD player)
Speakers: B&W N804s, HTM2 center
TV: Sony 32XBR250
Cables: ??? (still checking it out)

Similar Products Used:

Hales, Thiels, Revel, Kef

sweet midrange, large soundstage, just enough bass for now, beautiful looks

might need a sub later

I have owned these speakers for about 4 months and love them. They bring the music to life and when positioned well cast a wide and deep soundstage. I would like to have auditioned other speakers but alas I might as well be on Mars for the number of high end audio stores in the area. So Sound Advice to the rescue. They were very helpful and could not have been nicer but unfortunately they have a limited selection.

I started out by getting the bookshelf B&W N805 and auditioned them for about a month. They are excellent speakers and really had everything I was looking for except the low end. Since I don't like a lot of boom I thought I could live with them but I gradually realised I needed more. I added the Velodyne HGS 12 sub and thought that would be it. But I couldn't get them to blend together to what I that was music. I tried different crossovers and loudness levels but nothing seemed to work.

So then I traded the lot in and tried the N804s. That was it. Suddenly I was in the front row and getting punchy bass. The music now washes around me with much more presence and slam. I can not say that these are better than other makes because I did not compare but what I can say is that I preferred the 804 to the 805 with the sub.


Easily five stars.



Associated equipment:
Ah! Tjoeb 99 with all upgrades including Amperex tubes
Nordost Blue Heaven IC
Krell Kav 300i Integrated amplifier
Monster Speaker cable 400

Similar Products Used:

B&W N805, B&W N805 with Velodyne HGS 12 sub, Klipsch something or other

brightness,clarity,tight bass,beauty

none

I bought. these speskers only one week ago and I want to say that I was really afraid to buy them after reading so many bad reviews . I do not understand how somebody can give 1 or 2 stars to this product. Everything is excellent, and is getting better every day. I was using before, as main speakers the Nautilus 805 and while lissening the music I was feeling that something was missing in the low end, even if the purity of the sound was so good that I cannot describe.I was using a subwoofer (Jamo 2100)but I could feel the music not omogeneus. Now there is absolutely no need of subwoofer (I use it only for movies) and I can not refrain to lissen my stereo every time I go home.
Moreover with the Nautilus 805 as rear speakers I have a real good system and if I close my eyes I feel in the center of the orchestra .I have connected my Maranz CD player to the Yamaha DSP 1 with Monster optical cable and the result is umbilievable. One word to the people who have given one star to N804 : please go to the doctor, may be you have some big problems in your ears!

Similar Products Used:

nautilus 805

Tight, musical bass. Wonderful transparency. Efficency. Musicality.

Requires high end components and cables. Will ruthlessly reveal limitations of source equipment.

I have had these speakers for a few months now. *My system at the time of purchase was Myryad MC100 CD Player---MIT Interconnect-->Audiolab 8000s integrated amplifer in preamp mode--MIT Interconnect-->Bryston 3bst power amp--transparent audio wave 100 speaker cable-->nautilus 804.

The Nautilus 804s, with the above system, yielded some undesirable qualities. I like to listen with plenty of volume. Turning my system up to my usual listening level brought out a lot of nice, tight bass, but the high end was harsh and not tolerable. Knowing how revealing high end speakers can be, I anticipated this. I then replaced my MIT interconnect, from my preamp to my amp and from my cd player to my preamp, with Transparent Audio Music Link100 and Music Link interconnect respectivly. I also inherited a very nice Transparent power center from my father, who has moved on to a bigger and better power conditioner. Thanks dad!

The result? Adios harshness hello music! Everything now seems more in its proper place. The highend is now even more detailed, but smooth and not forward. Ear fatigue is almost non existant. These upgrades, which all were made around the same time, have lowered the noise floor to such a degree that I would never consider a system without them.

These speakers are not bright, but they will sound bright if not used with the equipment they deserve. This is not to say you need power conditioning or high end cable to enjoy these speakers.You need good stuff. A loudspeaker does not distinguish what is noise and what is music. If the recording or equipment in front of the speaker is noisy, that is what will come out. The filtration or elimination of such noise and hash must be done in the signal chain before the speaker. If you don't believe in high end cable, you better get some good components if you want to live with these speakers. This is not a flaw. It just comes with the territory.

Apart from not going down to the bottem end of the low frequencies, these speakers seem to have no limitations. I will be upgrading components in front of these speakers for years to come before I need a better pair.
Just my opinion!
Feel free to email if you have questions.

Similar Products Used:

B&W N802 (Different system) B&W 602s2 (replaced by these)