Home Theater Receiver recommendations for B&W 803S?

Thanks for the heads-up on the heat.  The Salamander racks have perforated doors in front, and vents in the back panel... so I was thinking of putting it on the bottom of one of the cabinets, probably by itself. (I could also leave the back panel off if need be...)

In other news: The seller of the Rotel has a B&W Nautilus HTM1 center speaker he's offered me.  I'm looking to upgrade my Nautilus HTM2... but was planning on seeking out the HTM3S instead (since it's supposed to be the match for the 803S).

So my next question is - what's the difference between the HTM1 and HTM3S? Is it significant?

The HTM1 is the older version.  The HTM3S "S" series are the latest version aluminum dome tweeter before B&W went to a diamond tweeter.  With the "S" series, they were able to increase the resonance/breakup frequency of the aluminum dome tweeter to something like 28khz (if I remember right).  This reduces the amount of breakup/distortion and brightness/harshness of the tweeter. 

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There are a few HTM3S speakers on ebay ranging from $1800 to $2500.  The $2500 has the nicer wood finish and also a stand.  There's one HTM1 for $1150, so it is going to be cheaper.  It all depends on what you want to spend, but I would hold out for an HTM3S for the tweeter that is less harsh.

Oh, and on the Salamander, I would leave off the back panel on the amp section, since the amp is so big that it would block your view of anything behind it anyways! lol

Thanks, aux.

For the Salamander - ha! But yep, I’m thinking I’ll either skip the front doors and sides (leaving the back panels in place), or will include the doors & sides, and then can leave the back panel off and in that case, you’re right, I won’t even see the difference. The nice thing is that they’re modular, so I can adjust as needed. This primarily comes down to an aesthetic question, so I’ll likely have to defer to the husband. ;)

I’ve got my eye on those various HTM3S’s on eBay, but the current ones are local pickup only, or they’re the wrong color (there’s one that I can’t really tell if it’s cherry or rosenut - and the seller has answered my question...I emailed him through Sweetwater and no response either. AND, I emailed B&W and they said they don’t have a record of an HTM3S with that serial number. So that’s two red flags. Moving on...).

Either way, I’m not in a huge hurry, BUT - my new best friend (the Rotel Seller) is offering me a good price on the HTM1 that he has (and it’s the right color...the veneer on that one is actually particularly beautiful!).

Since I haven’t listened to either of them it’s tough to determine how much of a sonic difference that’ll make (if I even hear the difference at all!). So I suppose the real question is -- is there a ~$1200 difference/improvement between the HTM1 and HTM3S?  (I know for you, the answer is "yes"...)  :)

Well, you already have the "older brighter" tweeter in your current HTM2 center.  However, the Rotel amp you just bought is going to be a higher resolution and higher current amp than your Denon receiver (something that is important to make these B&W speakers "sing"!).  I would almost say to wait until you had the Rotel playing in your system before making a decision.  That extra resolution and current could actually increase the response and harshness of your center tweeter and that would tell you whether or not you could live with the cheaper HTM1.

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That being said, when comparing to your current HTM2:

- HTM1 will have clearer midrange because of the B&W separate midrange driver.  It will also have deeper bass authority, which will give better tonal definition to male voices in movies.  I recommend setting the center to "FULL" or "LARGE" in your Denon so that it plays full range and does not send anything to the sub.

- HTM3S will have the same clearer midrange and deeper bass, but it will also have less harsh highs.

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So yeah, ultimately, the HTM3S would be better and I would definitely buy that instead, but it is dependent on where your "point of diminishing returns" is and what your willing to spend.
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TIP: Both the HTM1 and HTM3S are rear vented.  This means that you should space it away from the front wall just a little bit (like 12").  And make sure you do not have any sound absorption material against that front wall that could "absorb the bass coming from the vents".