New B&W Nautilus 800 series

[box]

the whole line is being redone and should be out within a month or so. they say the new 802's will sound better than the current 800 signitures

[grahluk]

Yes that great bit of news got me a new pair of 805's for $1500. Will the new ones be better? Probably, but the current ones certainly don't suck ass.

[Darius van H]

The main development seems to be the new diamond tweeter, which i'm very interested to hear...........yup, the old suck-assy range seems to have lost a bit of second-hand value, which coulds be good news for some of us!

[Brad Blackwood]

I'm not selling my Nautilus's yet. Gonna have to hear these new ones andmake sure they are indeed better (to my ear) and not just different.

If they are better, I can see getting some new 802s in the future.

[box]

brad was it you who said studios can buy B&W at dealer costs?

[Darius van H]

If you're a pro studio you may be able to buy direct (for a hefty discount) from the distributer in your country, depending which country that is.

[grahluk]

Originally posted by Darius van H
The main development seems to be the new diamond tweeter, which i'm very interested to hear...........yup, the old suck-assy range seems to have lost a bit of second-hand value, which coulds be good news for some of us!

Suck-assy? You exaggerate? They may nibble some ear lobes, leave a hickey, or a little navel tonguing at best, but I'm certain they don't stoop so low to pucker up and suck ass.

I compared the old 805's vs the new ones. Uh? Not much of a difference really. They did move the tweeter forward a little bit to be in line with the front edge of the cabinet. The mounting holes for the screen everyone discards are spaced a little different so you can't put new screens on old speakers. I'm told they changed the internal crossovers a bit. You can now get a fancy birdseye veneer too. In listening they're a touch different. Maybe better to the spectrum anylizer. It wasn't a difference I would have ponied up extra cash for. Then again this is just the lowly 805's. Maybe the larger of the range have more substantial differences. If mine are suck-assy maybe I'm just kinky and like it.

[Silver Sonya]

I am curious what amplifiers people here use to drive their b&w speakers. I have a large Genelec system at work (which I have never fully loved, but I feel that I understand very well) but have been doing more home recording and sound design (with Reaktor) and have been thinking about getting a pair of b&w's for home audio work and... y'know... also for recreational listening pleasure!

Please describe your b&w amp/preamp set-ups for a curious neophyte.

Thanks!

--- Chad

[Brad Blackwood]

Hi Chad, my monitoring chain consists of a custom mastering console driving a Pass Labs X250 amplifier, which drives the Nautilus 802s full range. Also have two Velodyne DD-12 subs to augment the LFs...

Sounds pretty good.

[Darius van H]

Originally posted by grahluk
I compared the old 805's vs the new ones. Uh? Not much of a difference really. They did move the tweeter forward a little bit to be in line with the front edge of the cabinet. The mounting holes for the screen everyone discards are spaced a little different so you can't put new screens on old speakers. I'm told they changed the internal crossovers a bit. You can now get a fancy birdseye veneer too. In listening they're a touch different. Maybe better to the spectrum anylizer. It wasn't a difference I would have ponied up extra cash for. Then again this is just the lowly 805's. Maybe the larger of the range have more substantial differences. If mine are suck-assy maybe I'm just kinky and like it.

The new 805's don't have the diamond tweeter........that's where the big improvement will be i expect.....the diamond tweeter........

[box]

if i only had a budget of $2000 for an amp to drive a pair of 802's what would be some good options? or is it not worth buying 802's unless you have a really nice amp like the Pass Labs?

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by box
if i only had a budget of $2000 for an amp to drive a pair of 802's what would be some good options? or is it not worth buying 802's unless you have a really nice amp like the Pass Labs?

Under $2K look for a used Classe,Krell or Gamut amplifier.

All of these sound pretty good with the B&W's.

[grahluk]

Originally posted by Darius van H
The new 805's don't have the diamond tweeter........that's where the big improvement will be i expect.....the diamond tweeter........

That makes sense. I was given the run down on the new vs old 805's and there was no mention of a tweeter change. The minor sound difference didn't amount to new drivers just as you inform.

[De chromium cob]

Originally posted by Darius van H
The new 805's don't have the diamond tweeter........that's where the big improvement will be i expect.....the diamond tweeter........

It will go perfectly with the moonrock needle in my record player! (anyone else remember that old Steve Martin bit?)

[Jeroleen]

I thought B&Ws were hi fi speakers not monitors. Are you using them as monitors caus that raises an question I have been wondering about. Can you use very high end "Hi Fi" not necessarily montior speakers, speakers that have grill cloths and such, for monitorinig?

[De chromium cob]

Originally posted by Jeroleen
I thought B&Ws were hi fi speakers not monitors. Are you using them as monitors caus that raises an question I have been wondering about. Can you use very high end "Hi Fi" not necessarily montior speakers, speakers that have grill cloths and such, for monitorinig?

Hell yeah.... I use ProAc Studio 100s-
Also, Yamaha NS-10s weren't studio monitors until studios started to use them to monitor.

[Darius van H]

Originally posted by Jeroleen
I thought B&Ws were hi fi speakers not monitors. Are you using them as monitors caus that raises an question I have been wondering about. Can you use very high end "Hi Fi" not necessarily montior speakers, speakers that have grill cloths and such, for monitorinig?

You can use anything you like!.........speakers are speakers...the main differences between "hifi" and "studio" speakers are: marketing, finish, and the fact that many studio speakers are active (not a good thing at the low price end IMO)......even when you want studio "bigs", there's choices like the Nautilus 801/0 which can put out at incredible volume (with low distortion), though not quite the retina-detaching level required for some hiphop mix session!

[Jeroleen]

This is an eye opener for this reason. I have seen quite a few posts in various "recording" type forums where the poster has recommended against using hi fi speakers because they are not "studio monitors".

In fact, I have seen the concept taken a bit futher wherein the poster expalined that "hi fi" ( I use hi fi for lack of a better phrase however it is meant to designate speakers that would also be used in a pure listening environment) speakers are designed to enhance the listening experience whereas "studio monitors" are used for analytical listening and should provide, therefore, a flatter response and less "coloration" to the sound. No bass boosts, no artificial boosts or cuts throughout the spectrum so that you get a truer representation of what you are mixing.

They have also said that having speakers that enhance the sound make it hard to mix music that will utlimately be played on such playback systems as "Boom Boxes" and car stereos to name but a few of the lower end listening devices most people use on a daily basis.

To me, this theory never made sense. It was as if they were saying that you must mix on crappy speakers so that the music will sound good on crappy speakers. The fact is, the music will never sound good on a crappy system or, rather, a crappy system will never sound like a great high end system and the source material is not generlly the main reason.

So, the point is this. I think there are alot of people posting on these web sights that like to sound authoritative and knoweldgable about the various subjects who are actually not qualified to do so.

We need a new latin phrases like caveat emptor but for those seeking advice on gear on the web. Something like "Surfer Beware" or "Reader Beware" or some general warning that the information contained in these posts may not be accurate and you take the advice at your own risk. Then its always back to "Buyer Beware".

[Silver Sonya]

advice in general --- web-based or otherwise --- is no susbstitute for empirical experience!

and i'm out,
chad

[epicenter800]

Just bumping the thread to see if there has been any new comparisons or opinions on the new Diamond series. Thanks

[tomdarude]

I finally heard a set of nautilus 801´s during the dangerous session in cologne... and must say I´m in love with these....

I was wondering what kind of amps people use with them, as I know nothing about hifi-stuff... and finally what $$$ will be a stereo pair of 801´s and amps (any reasons not to buy used ??)
what´s the difference 800er / nautilus 800er??
what would you get 800,801,802,803....??

excuse me ignorance, but I thought I´ll never think again of monitors (luv the K/H O300D)

cheers tom

[box]

I was wondering what kind of amps people use with them, as I know nothing about hifi-stuff... and finally what $$$ will be a stereo pair of 801´s and amps (any reasons not to buy used ??)
what´s the difference 800er / nautilus 800er??
what would you get 800,801,802,803....??


i use a classe CA-2200 with my 802's but i know a few people around here like PASS Labs amps with 802's

i would sugest 802's over 801's. i bought my 802's used and you can get them pretty cheap now days as the new 802D's are out. try AUDIOGON.com

i have listened to the 802D's but it was in a show room and hard to tell. i think my nautilus 802's sound better in my room then the 802D's in that show room e.

[kevinc]

Have any of you guys heard the regular flagship Nautilus ?

I couldn`t help notice it`s $60,000 or so and it`s the craziest looking thing I`ve ever seen in my life.

Looks like it belongs in a Alien flick instead of in your mix room or living room and it`s hard to imagine getting such amazing sound out of such a weird shape.

Does it really sound $50,000 better than the 802`s or something similar ?

I just can`t imagine spending that much on a speaker unless I was filthy rich but I`d love to hear a set.

[box]

Does it really sound $50,000 better than the 802`s or something similar ?

I just can`t imagine spending that much on a speaker unless I was filthy rich but I`d love to hear a set.

i have not heard it but talking to the dealer he says that it just has a different sound then the 800, not necessarily better

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by tomdarude

what would you get 800,801,802,803....??

cheers tom

If i had the choice,money and space i would get the nautilus 800's.

[C/G]

There is a shop that has a pair of these here in my small city. I am a huge B&W fan so I went and checked them out. Listened to Dark Side of the Moon on vinyl through them. All I thought was holy shit! I might do something really stupid for a pair of these. Then I snapped out of it as soon as I saw the price tag. I still enjoy my CDM's.

[StudioTinPanAll]

i have old but huge b&w 808's
(it is basicly 2 x matrix801 in one box)
they need a LOT of power
i tried quite a few amps (onkyo 5550's, old luxman & pioneer amps, then got to PA amps)
i biamp them now with a stereo Meyersound ms-1000A amplifier (each)
http://www.meyersound.com/pdf/produc...y/ms-1000a.pdf
(gives over 600 watts/ channel)
any volume is now revealing, especially very quiet,
still hear EVERYTHING
ventilators inside amps are a bit of a problem to keep quiet
my amps are not in the same room
also use 2 REL Q200 subs for LFE channel

more modern could be a bryston 14BSST (biamping each frontspeaker)
or a combo 2x 7BSST + 1x 4BSST

passlabs, spectral, perreaux, accuphase, ... and other highend stuff should do fine.

[StudioTinPanAll]

they are big but i didn't mean to make'm even bigger
next time i'll resize, promise
DONE