Fantastic Build Quality. Open, airy, without the boxy sound.

One would think that WBT could come up with a better way to have someone remove the little red and black caps to use banana plugs (THEIR BANANAS no less). Mike from Audio Emporium warned me about them saying that was his only complaint as well. I cursed and yelled quite a bit trying to remove them.

I must say that I am somewhat stumped at all the bashing that this speaker is getting for "lack" of bass. I think that the people who say this have either a problem with their hearing, or bad equipment, or are just plain WRONG. I have all Rotel seperates and have Kimber speaker/interconnet cables. I bi-wire the speakers with 4TC/8TC wire and have all the bass I want. Is it concert level bass? NO. Can I rattle the windows of the house? Yes if I turn it up loud enough and have the right CD in. So whats the beef??? Here is what I noticed when I upgraded to thes speakers from B&W 603's. 1. These are some of the most beautiful speakers I have ever seen. They are truely furniture grade speakers. Everyone that I have shown them to (they are in a dedicated listening room) has said "WOW" at the looks. 2. The accuracy of the speakers is incredible. Piano notes are unreal. I should know, my daughter routinely plays piano in the next room. 3. The "quiet" passages in my CD's are not nearly as quiet. ??? What I mean is, the CD had more information of the song fading away than I was hearing on my old speakers. 4. The "decay" of the symbols and the "resonance" of a guitar are quite good. My brother in law plays guitar and even he said that this was almost too good to be true. 5. Much more ACCURATE bass. I had my "litmus" test cd (Bella Fleck, Flight of the Cosmic Hippo) and the speakers held up well. Most others simply fall apart on this. Also, the bass response was very tight and fast, not even the slightest bit muddy. I have tried Revel and Thiel along with the B&W's. I was extreemly dissapointed in the Revel due to the appearance and the fit and finish of the speakers. They simply cannot compare to the B&W's. The Thiel were nice, but I went with 804's because I thought they were more open and airy. I am going with only a 4 on value due to the fact these are very expensive and only that reason. 5 overall though, because they ARE better than I imagined. One final note to the IDIOT from Milwaukee: I have known the fine people from Audio Emporium for years. They are an OUTSTANDING dealer, and not "fruity" IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. I have a question for you....are you the DYNAUDIO dealer in town that has an axe to grind??

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Thiel, Revel mainly along with, Dynaudio.

Excellent resolution and wide/deep soundsatege.

Constricted dynamics/congestion in low-mids. Sounded too small in my room, but might be perfect for a small living room.

As much as I liked the Nautilus 804's (for 1 month), they just didn't quite satisfy me, and I traded up to the N803's. The dealer tried to tell me that the only difference was 5Hz of bass extension, but don't you believe it. When I bought the 804's, I never even listened to the 803s because I couln't understand where the extra $1500 was going. I had set my price range to $3k. The 804's sounded great in the showroom, but when I got them home and broken in, the overall presentation felt weak. I could 'hear' the music, but I didn't 'feel' the music. The low end extension was fine, but there was little visceral impact. My room is about 18x28 with vaulted ceiling, and I think it's just too much space for the 804's to fill with sound. I could not expect the dealer to refund all my money, so I really had no choice but to trade-up to the 803's. What a HUGE difference. While they share a basic character, the presentation from the 803's is much bigger, & the midrange is more open, relaxed, and dynamic. My theory on this is that the Nautilus midrange driver was obviously designed in conjunction with the big teardrop enclosure on the N801 & 802. The air volume in the 804 is not nearly that big. The enclosure behind the mid on the 803 however, is much closer in size to that of the 801/802. It is this quality of the mids that I think makes the 803 worth the extra $1500. I will not claim that the 803 is the best $5K speaker around, as I have not heard everything. I just know that I am very happy with them. I may have been very satisifed with the 804's in a smaller room. I have owned original 802s, 801's and still have 801 series 2's in my home studio, and use the N803's in my living room. While the resolution of the new N803's is superb, the low-end and musicality of my 801 series2's is still king! My System Includes: Sony SACD-C333ES Adcom GFP-750 preamp Bryston 4B-ST amp (also a Nakamichi PA-7A) Sota Sapphire/Sumiko BPS/Monolithic PS-1

Similar Products Used:

B&W 802s, 801 series 2's, Martin-Logan SL-3, KRK 7000B.

Beautiful design. Unique design. Beauties. They should avertise them in Playboy magazine at the centerfold (well, I am getting too enthousiastic…) Very high WAF… (It's something, believe me!) except for the price… Superb sound image, clarity, natural sound. Unbelievably good. I can forget about Hi-Fi now and listen only to music.

Too hign to be totaly stable. I don't like people appraoching them too much. But, is this a weakness?

I love music. I hate Hi-Fi technical quests… I love Classical, Jazz, World,… I like natural sound and I wanted to get the best possible product (within my budget) and forget about Hi-Fi. I reached that point with the Nautilus 804. Now, let's make two or three observations here. 1/ Most reviewers who own the 804 for less than 3 months complain about break in and some are really disapointed. Yes the 804 needs a break in time… This is so true that the reason I bought mines at 3000 is because the highly specialized dealer wanted to get rid of them: "too bad! No medium! Absolute desapointment!". I bought them, paid for them and then I told him that He had to give the 804 a break in time. I told him why and how, etc. I think He understood… I really think B&W should address this issue. They need to do something about it. Better communication to start with… Most of the dealers I met told me that B&W was not good in the high end… They all want to sell a "best of the world and unknown brand that makes miracles". I tested many spekars before the 804. To me, they are the best in this price range. Most dealers do not understand. They are not informed. They do not take the time to break in the 804. 2/ Reviewers who say "give them a break in time" are right. They are also right to say that they get 10 to 15 times better! Personnaly, I leave mines screaming (not too much) the FM radio anytime I leave my house… They get better faster! 3/ People who own the 804 for more than 3 months are all enthousiasts. There are virtually no weaknesses. This confirms what we said about break in. Now, go and read the others speakers reviews and you will observe that they all have weaknesses, even for the best. It is always a mix of strenghts and weaknesses. But, the 804 constantly receive an enthousiastic consistent top appreciation. This is interesting, isn't it ?. 4/ I had DM2/II since 1970 and I have been very satisfied. I really think B&W does a great objective scientific job. But they also have a great understandig of our subjective perception. 5/ Yestarday night I went to a concert. At 2:00 AM I fall asleep. When I wake up, the hall was empty. I was the only one there. I turned my amplifier of and went to sleep. With many stars in my head… I am 54. I hope I will exceed the 10 years waranty that I got from B&W… To listen my Nautilus for another 20 years…

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM2/II, B&W 604S3 (need break in too, though) for home theater. I tested many other "miraculous" products and big names.

It is good in playing classical, jazz, and pop.

It is not a speaker for people who like rock music

It is a great speaker with clear bass, well balanced mid-range and excellence high range. I use my Yamaha A1 AV amp. to drive the speakers, it sound great both in playing movies and music. Buying this speaker is the first step to up-grade my system, so I just connect it with my current Yamaha A1 AV amp., but I just can''t believe that the sould is so good.

Similar Products Used:

B & W Matrix 803

Depth of soundstage, bass (in my room anyway), midrange clarity.

At $2100 there are no conceivable weaknesses. Had I paid full price I may have a gripe, but I can''''t think of any at this time.

I think my system is finally done, for now. I''''ve had been for a while, slightly disappointed with my former DM604 S2''''s but had not been willing to really admit it, or take any steps towards buying anything better. But when a chance to get a pair of these for $2100 presented itself, it seemed like the opportunity I needed and not the kind of thing to pass up. I went back the next day and bought them. Now, don''''t get me wrong, the 604s are still a great speaker for the price, but working at a dealer that sells the Vienna and Sonus Faber lines had me constantly aware that no matter what I used to run the 604s, that they would never cross the boundaries into the high-end realm. When I got the 804s home the differences weren''''t as immediate as I had hoped for them to be. I guess it was me being too eager to HEAR a difference instantly... I was trying too hard. Then as I spun a few more tracks, subtle nuances began to obviate themselves in a way the 604s never had. I noticed for the first time, a prolonged decay on crash cymbals, strings sounded more true to life, and piano recordings rang through with an eerie realism. THIS is what I had been longing for all along. The bass response is also quite formidable for a relatively small speaker. They have a strong presence down to around 35Hz in my room. Tympani and concert bass ring through with power and clarity. My "vintage" Velodyne ULD-15 takes care of the rest. All in all I''''m very happy with them. And I will no longer say my equipment is outclassing mt speakers (the older 604s) My system: Preamp: Anthem AVM-2 Amplifier: Rotel RMB-1095 CD: Rotel RCD-991 DVD: Pioneer Elite DV47A Cables: Straightwire Encore II, Chorus, Monster M1000i, Kimber 8tc Surge protector: Monster HTS5000 Subwoofer: Velodyne ULD-15 Center: LCR-6 S2 Surrounds: DM-601 S2

Similar Products Used:

DM604S2, Vienna Motzart, Beethoven; Sonus Faber Grande Piano

Clarity of sound Easy on the eyes

For me, none

Well after giving it a lot of thought I splashed out and bought myself a pair of B&W N804 speakers to replace my current CDM7’s (I guess like all my other equipment, my son will also benefit from this purchase, since he will no doubt get CDM’s). I have to admit, after reading some of the reviews here I was a little concerned about the ability of my system to sound good with the N804’s and the hours of break in that might be required. To all of you people out there who do not have 250+ watt amplifiers or $2000+ CD players you can still consider N804’s. My system is relatively moderate: Parasound AVC2500u pre/pro Parasound HCA1205A 5 Channel Amp (nominally 140W into 8ohms however it does have a huge torroidal transformer as a power source) Various digital sources (CD, DVD, Computer, HDTV/DSS receiver) – none of them high end Various interconnects Straightwire Octave internally bi-wired speaker cable. Velodyne HGS15 subwoofer (more about this later) Out of the box they sounded wonderful! The CDM7’s are not bad speakers, but the N804’s are in a different class. Everything just sounded much clearer I could isolate instruments even heard some, which I was previously not aware of. I didn’t hear any of the graininess that people have commented on. My taste in music ranges from heavy metal and rock (I am a product of the 60’s!!!) through acoustic to jazz and some classical and in six hours last night, I listened to the full range and could not find one piece of music which did not sound better. Let’s talk about bass. If you are a bass freak and you do not want to supplement this speaker with a subwoofer, then it is probably not for you. However, if you want fast accurate bass which lets you here the bass plucking skills of people like Chris Squire, Geddy Lee or Jack Bruce and supplement it by a good subwoofer and a pre/pro or receiver which has good bass management, then the bass should not be an issue. Maybe the bass will become more extended with break in, but even if it doesn’t it is not a problem. These speakers are expensive at $3500 MRP, but tell me what isn’t in the audio / HT arena anymore. Even the Paradigm Studio range (which is probably the best value for money at this time, but still not in the N804 league for sound and clarity) is going to double their prices. I managed to get them cheaper ($2620) because Sound Advice is loosing its B&W dealer

Similar Products Used:

CDM7''s

Accurate sound like no other

Slightly weak bass with substandard cabling

Regarding the previous review by Mr. Vixner, he is a lovely storyteller. In fact, I like to camp and I would love hearing this guy talk aroud a campfire. But a serious reviewer of music equipment...he is not, whether he was serious or just trying to be funny. I own 804Ns and the sound is incredible esp. after a break in time of a ccouple hundred hours. Also, cabling is most important. Want improved bass...then try Analysis Plus Oval 9s. Regardless, B&Ws are superb in clarity of sound, extreme highs, accurate midrange and a tight bass which is not boomy or artificial. Not a knock on you Richard, but paly your CDs on a Boss Wave radio.

To the reviewer who posted right before me: I think you misinterpreted the previous review. It seems to me that it was not intended to be taken literally. When you read it carefully, it''s like a made-up story that puts the reviewer in the shoes of a hippie whose taste is more like Cerwin Vega bass galore. To me, what it meant was that the Nautilus 804, or B&W speaker in general, are fine speakers that can only be appreciated by people who prioritizes on the finer aspects of audio reproduction rather than sheer SPL ("vibrations") and boom-and-tink specials. Who do you think the ex-mother-in-law represents anyway?!?! How about the "strange noise coming out of my music that I never heard before"? If you were a hippie Joe who happens to NOT care about fine audio equipment, would you waste your time writing a review of a fine equipment like the N804? No way, right? At first glance, I also thought this guy was serious. But after reading his entire post, I realized it was in fact an excellent, unique way to deliver a message, in some sort of sarcastic way. And so I just laughed. So, don''t get mad at the reviewer. And, btw, I want to make it perfectly clear that it wasn''t me!!! :)

Nice wood

Everything, no volume or bass these stink

I finally blew my relistic Mach One speakers, all the ferrofluid must have leaked out. Had them hooked up to a soundcraftsman amp with all the red, blue, and yellow power led meters. Well I needed speakers and I just got my income tax check in the mail and went shopping for new speakers and went to a stereo salon, and the guy said these were the best out there, boy was he wrong, my old Realistics Mach One''s blew these things away, got no bass, and no loud volume, so I take back to the guy and siad he would only give me half what I paid for them so though I mad I take money anyway and went to best buy and tried out some speakers called Cerwin-Vega''s with 15" woofer like my old Mach Ones now these speakers rock the neighborhood!! Now much more happy!!!

Similar Products Used:

soundcraftsman, realistic Mach One''s now cerwin vegas

I bought a pair of these speakers based on my ex-mother in law’s recommendation. They replaced my 15-year-old Cerwin Vega speakers. I don’t know the model number, but they have a 14” bass driver. My cables are standard Monster Cable that I bought 15 years ago. All of my electronics are made by Technics. The bass and treble are turned up to about 75% on my receiver. My DVD player plays MP3 files, so all of my music is in that format now. MP3 allows me to listen to 5 hours of music on one CD! I mainly listen to hip-hop and dance club music. I like to feel the vibrations of the music. The vibrations make stand up on a chair and dance like a porn star. With an Old Milwaukee in one hand and my package in the other, I thrust my hips forward and back. Faster then slower and occasionally side to side. But I digress. The B&W speakers really disappointed me. It sounded like they didn’t even have a bass driver. They produced sounds, but no vibrations at all. Plus I heard strange noise coming out of my music that I never heard before. Even after I put on my bathrobe and sunglasses, I couldn’t get into the grove with these speakers. Overall, my old speakers blew these speakers away in every category. I ended up returning them. I’m looking for something better than I already have. I wished I had back the hours that I spent reviewing these speakers. Lessons learned . . . never take your ex-mother in law’s advice.