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REVIEW: B&W Nautilus 803 Speakers

65.110.134.154

Posted on December 23, 2003 at 12:37:48
LowPhreak
Audiophile

Posts: 391
Location: Schenectady, NY
Joined: November 19, 2001
Model: Nautilus 803
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $5000
Description: Floor standing speaker
Manufacturer URL: B&W
Manufacturer URL: B&W

Review by LowPhreak (A) on December 23, 2003 at 12:37:48
IP Address: 65.110.134.154
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for the Nautilus 803


A reasonably powerful amp is required to drive the N803's. You don't need a large, "arc-welder" solid-state design, such as those from Rowland, Bryston, Levinson, Krell, YBA, Classe', etc. But, if you choose tubes (as I do), get an amp with some power (say, at least 60-100 w.p.c.); and a tube amp that is as neutral as possible and doesn't add euphonic "sweetness" to the sound. I doubt very much that single-ended triodes will work well with the N803's at all. I'm using a Mesa Baron amp with the N803's, and at 55/85/120/150 watts per side (depending on either triode or pentode configuration), it drives the N803's admirably and without fuss.

Bi-wiring is also called for with these speakers to allow them to perform to their full potential. Some good choices, (again, depending on listening tastes, amp, cost, etc.) would be Audioquest Granite or Gibralter, Synergistic Research Signature 2 and/or 3, Cardas Neutral Reference, Coincident Technology, Nordost SPM Ref., and Goertz Alpha-Core, to name just a few. However, I wouldn't recommend a "laid-back" or "forgiving" type cable, unless you have edgy or bright solid-state components to start with. The N803's will tell you whatever you give them to reproduce.

*Set-up:

I have my N803's positioned in a 20' x 13.5' room, on the long side of the room with a large bay window behind them. 28" from the back of the speaker to the rear wall, 4' from outside of the cabinets to the side walls, about 9' 8" apart from the center of each speaker baffle, and about 11' from each speaker to the listening position. Toed-in so that their axes cross behind the listening spot.

My N803's are set upon a pair of Sound Anchor stands, specifically designed for them. The stands significantly improve the focus and coherancy of the overall sound, probably due to the slight (approximately 5ยบ) tilt-back that I use - which helps to time align the speakers. As well,the Sound Anchors clean-up and "tighten" the low frequency response, insofar as they raise the speakers a few inches off the floor and decouple them from the floor. This helps to tame the mid-to-upper bass boom, if you have that kind of room anomaly. Another benefit is that much less floor-borne vibration is transmitted from the speakers to the other components in the system. For those of you that own or are considering owning the N803, I would definitely recommend the Sound Anchor stands. At only $200./pair, they're a steal and almost mandatory.

Finally, don't even THINK about getting these babies to sound right until they've had AT LEAST 200 hours of play time on them. Actually, more like 300+ hours of break-in is required before they begin to really settle in and sound like they're worth their $5k retail price. Be patient, and you will be rewarded.

*The Sound:

The integration of the sound from top to bottom is very coherent and seamless, similar to an electrostat. But, you have the punch and dynamics present with the N803 that no e-stat can hope to match, without the narrow sweet-spot that you're forced into with e-stat's.

And speaking of dispersion, that and the delicacy of the Nautilus tweeter is a revelation. B&W has done quite a commendable job on this unit and the Nautilus housing that it resides in. Ditto the midrange unit - harmonics come through as smooth and rich as you could ask for, without harshness or "brightness". They also define separate instruments very well in a broad yet focused soundstage. You want imaging? I can find each and every one of Billy Cobham's Octoban drums, cymbals, hi-hat's and the rest of his kit, and all of the other instruments placed on the soundscape on his "Spectrum" album. And this from a self-recorded cassette from a CD source!

And what's more - you can REALLY hear what the N803's can do when fired-up with a good turntable rig. (Not to offend you 'digiphiles' out there, but you owe it to your musical enjoyment to get yourself into a good analog rig. I've owned some of the top CD rigs in our galaxy, and they simply cannot do justice to the music the way an analog set-up can.)

The bass response of the N803 is excellent down to around 30Hz, with none of the "boxiness" or boom and chuffing noises that many ported designs have that pass for "bass", and without the "chestiness" and thickness on male vocals, etc.

I don't feel the need for an external subwoofer with these speakers, although I'm sure that an old Entec or some of the better REL offerings would just increase the enjoyment of what's already there, and would give you that final lowest half octave of subterrainian rumble. The lows are dynamic, extended, solid and taut, very informative as to the timbre and character of the particular bass instrument being played, and exhibits good transient speed along with fullness (two almost mutually exclusive qualities in many so-called "high-end" loudspeakers). In other words - these guys BOOGIE!

Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that the Nautilus-series are best only on classical or jazz-type music, either. These speakers will get down and rock if you want them to! Just don't expect them to sound like the distorted, boomy "rock" speakers that you may have heard before. Try a well-recorded album from Dire Straits, Yes, Santana, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Lynerd Skynyrd, etc., some good blues material, or vocal-based stuff like Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Diana Krall, Natalie Merchant, et al - and you'll see that these are a great choice in speakers for many musical types and styles. The N803's do well on movie soundtracks too, because the clarity of the spoken dialog is so easy to pick out of the background sounds. Clarity in abundance is yet another descriptor for these speakers.

One more thing: for the quality of their sound, they're a reasonable size. Proving once again that you don't need a refrigerator-sized speaker to get excellent, full-range reproduction!

I chose to purchase the B&W Nautilus 803 after much in-home listening and demo-ing of many of their competitor's products in the same price range, and some models that were more AND less expensive than N803's. I even chose them over B&W's own N804 and N805 models after extended listening sessions, which are fine units in their own rite. I'm very satisfied with my decision, and you may feel the same after you give them a proper audition.


Product Weakness: *Some think they sound "bright". Maybe they need better components upstream.
*None really, except a fairly high phase angle-to-impedance ratio between about 80 Hz (-39.4 phase/3.6*), up through about 98 Hz (-20.7 phase/3.1*); which may in that range be a bit difficult for some lesser amps to drive. In other words, don't complain about the sound of these speakers if driven with inferior amplifiers/receivers.
Product Strengths: *Cabinet finish is absolutely exquisite in Natural Cherry, but the Red Cherry is fine also.
*Dynamic and fairly efficient. Does not compress or get 'nasty' at high loudness levels.
*"Tells the truth" about upsteam components better than any other dynamic cone/dome-type speaker I've heard (but of course, I haven't heard them all!). i.e., almost as transparent as a good electrostatic.
*Beautiful overall industrial design - these are great looking speakers, and are something better than the traditional 'box' speaker. Is solid as a rock internally due to the "Matrix" bracing.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Mesa Baron
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Audible Illusions Mod. 3 (not 3A)
Sources (CDP/Turntable): VPI, C.E.C./Pass D1 DAC, Yamaha CT-7000 tuner, Sony ES cassette
Speakers: N803
Cables/Interconnects: Nordost SPM Reference bi-wire, XLO Sig. 1.1, AQ Anaconda
Music Used (Genre/Selections): most everything buy rap & country
Room Size (LxWxH): 20 x 13.5 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments: non-audiophile living room
Time Period/Length of Audition: 2+ years
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner


 

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B&W Nautilus 803 Speakers, posted on December 23, 2003 at 14:28:22
ts


 
It's a pleasure to read a truly positive review of one of the B&W Nautilus speakers in view of all the B&W bashing recently evident in this forum. I agree with you that the smaller Nautilus series speakers (805, 804, 803) do not need mega-watt amps to sound great. In fact I'm driving my N804s with the 60 wpc Ayre AX-7 with absolutely fantastic results in my room (about the same size as yours). With the right choice of electronics and cabling (and room positioning), you can indeed get gorgeous sounds from the B&W Nautilus series, with clear, smooth, detailed highs and excellent bass, contrary to the impression you often seem to get from the anti-B&W crowd.

 

B&W Nautilus 803 Speakers, posted on December 23, 2003 at 17:02:53
audio39
Audiophile

Posts: 669
Joined: July 15, 2003
Very nicely done...and honestly as well. I recently considered these very loudspeakers, I went another direction but not because I didn't enjoy these guys.

Enjoyable read!!

 

Thanks, '39!, posted on December 23, 2003 at 18:55:23
LowPhreak
Audiophile

Posts: 391
Location: Schenectady, NY
Joined: November 19, 2001
Which did you ultimately decide on? Why?

-LP

 

Agreed! I don't know what all of the B&W hatred is either..., posted on December 23, 2003 at 19:39:02
LowPhreak
Audiophile

Posts: 391
Location: Schenectady, NY
Joined: November 19, 2001
...and I think most of it is rather misplaced. Instead, perhaps some of these malcontents should be harping upon the less-than-acceptable components located upstream from a pair of Nautili.(?)

I still insist that: "The N803's (or other Naut's) will tell you whatever you give them to reproduce." ie: DON"T blame the speakers. One may think he has the latest & greatest flavor-of-the-month-Stereopile-approved-whatever, but with transducers as good as the Naut's, one may be forced to re-evaluate. Along with room placement as you said, well, it's the same ol' mistakes being made it seems to me.

Do you have any stands or spikes you're using with your N804's yet, ts? If not, or if you want to try an improvement, I highly recommend the Sound Anchors specifically for N804's. They're utilitarian looking and heavy, but on the N803's they made a positive difference that was easy to hear.

The N803's didn't IMO need the 2 1/2" height increase of the SA's, but the tilt and decoupling was a tremendous benefit. Your N804's though could probably use the 4 1/2" rise because of their lower height. Check 'em out!

(Disclaimer!: I'm not affilliated with SA in any way. But I know something good when I see (hear?) it.)

-LP

 

Re: Agreed! I don't know what all of the B&W hatred is either..., posted on December 24, 2003 at 05:17:31
ts


 
I have thought about the SA stands for the N804 & although I agree they may improve stability and perhaps some aspects of the speaker's sound, I'm afraid they may raise the speaker too high relative to my listening position which places my ear about at about level with the tweeter. I like the height of the soundstage as it is now & would rather keep things as they are, even perhaps at the expense of some possible improvements in other areas. Anyway, I do appreciate your thoughtful suggestions!

 

SET with B&W Nautilus, posted on December 24, 2003 at 06:08:50
GliderGuider
Audiophile

Posts: 7895
Location: Ottawa
Joined: May 16, 2003
I was pleasantly surprised this summer when I tried a SET amp with my 804's. I'd been using a Sugden Au51P (125 wpc, lots of class A bias) with a SimAudio P-5 preamp, but I fell in love with a KR18 BSI - an 18 wpc SET integrated based on the KR 300BXLS tube. My dealer assured me it would run the 804's, so I gave it a try. To my amazement it was much better than the SS combo I'd been using. It was significantly more musical and expressive, with a richer tonal palette and it even provided deeper, fuller and better-articulated bass.

That said, I think this result is definitely dependent on that particular amp - it has a lot of current drive for a SET. The 804 might not work as well with a more traditional, lower-powered SET with less current capability.

Now, my local B&W dealer is of the "lotsa wattsa" school, so there's no way he'd want to hear about this little discovery. But others here may be in a similar position of having B&Ws but loving the SET sound. My advice would by to try the combo and see. Conventional wisdom is often outflanked by unconventional experience!
Paul Chefurka

 

Finally someone agrees with my dealer!, posted on December 24, 2003 at 06:22:16
A.J.
Audiophile

Posts: 1382
Location: Madrid
Joined: June 2, 2002
I had been told several times by my experienced dealer that the myth of the B&W speakers being watts suckers is wrong. He had nice experiences driving them with mid powered tube amps and also some higher than flea powered SET amps. The problem with B&W's is that they are tending to bright, if you use bright amps, no matter how much powerful they are, the sound will be unbearable. But smooth and good quality amps, not necessarily high power, can make the B&W's sound pleasent. I didn't belive very much his words.

Your comment agrees with that principle, and probably "good power" is more necessary with B&W's than "much power".

Thanks for your post, my trust on my dealer has increased.

Best regards,

Antonio

 

B&W Nautilus 803 Speakers, posted on December 24, 2003 at 09:09:37
Bruce from DC
Bored Member

Posts: 19027
Location: U.S. Capital
Joined: October 13, 1999
Contributor
  Since:
March 1, 1999
This is a "model" review, LowPhreak. Tells me a lot and doesn't try to mimic the style of the reviews in the "slicks."

thanksabunch!

 

Well done! (NT), posted on December 24, 2003 at 12:19:37
Pete H
Audiophile

Posts: 191
Joined: August 10, 2001
.

 

Each to their own! (nm), posted on December 24, 2003 at 13:21:03
LowPhreak
Audiophile

Posts: 391
Location: Schenectady, NY
Joined: November 19, 2001
~

-LP

 

Cary likes B&W as well., posted on December 25, 2003 at 08:00:55
claud
Audiophile

Posts: 958
Location: North Carolina
Joined: February 13, 2001
I'm sure some of you may remember the introduction of the Rocket 88 amp powering N801s at a CES. For some time Dennis Had has been using B&W to voice his equipment. That is comming to an end as of the next CES where Cary will be announcing a new speaker line.
I used a Rocket to power my N804s, but moved to V12 for better dynamics.The N803 is more efficient than 804.

 

I don't hate B&W speakers..., posted on December 25, 2003 at 11:43:51
LarryB
Reviewer

Posts: 551
Location: NYC
Joined: December 4, 2002
I simply don't care for their sound.

My main objections are (1) lack of driver integration, and (2) tweeter stridency. Curiously, these are areas in which LowPhreak felt the 803s excelled. Different strokes for different folks. (Call me an oddball, but I do not feel the need to convince others that my opinion is the "correct" one.)

I am glad that that there are so many products available, thus allowing each of us to choose that which we find most satisfying.

Regards,

Larry

 

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