Nautilus803 with ASW 800, or 802 as main speakers?

A close friend of mine owns the 802's with an asw800. The asw-800 made a pretty nice difference. However, I have heard the 804's, and if the 803's are along the same line, there isn't a subwoofer that will make up for the difference. Personally, I would choose the 802's (hand's down). I listen to jazz and older rock and roll. The 802's will also be more well suited to fill a relatively large room. I also believe there is quite a large difference in the aesthetics and sonic qualities of the enclosures.

I would take the Nautilus 802s. The Nautilus 802s sound so much better then the Nautilus 803s. I didn't think the bass and mids blended in right on the 803s. Where on the 802s they sounded just right.

Personally, I would always rather go with a full range speaker than to try to pair up my speakers with a sub-woofer, so if you feel you need a sub-woofer with the N803's, but not with the N802's, for me that factor alone would decide the issue in favor of the N802's. You may still want a sub-woofer for home theatre, but that's another story. To my ears, if the N803's are given proper amplification, they do not need a sub-woofer,
but if you have the budget and the room, the N802's are a significant step up -- and it is your ears that matter, not mine. But, the next problem I see coming down the pike is that I don't believe your CAV 180 amp is going to do justice to either the N803's OR especially the N802's. You are going to need some serious amplification to make those babies sing. If you are going to go with the N802's, which I think is a good idea, I would seriously consider a stereo or monoblock amps for your front two speakers. Use the CAV 180 to power the rest of your home theatre speakers. If you like the Classe sound, you might look at the CAM 350 amplifiers. Those would power your N802's nicely.

Both speakers are outstanding. I originally had the 803s and upgraded to the 802s. They have better base and a much bigger sound. The 802s are worth the extra money.