Revel,salon vs B&W Nautilus

Heard the Revel Salons at a seminar at Overture in Wilmington, DE. WOW! They are absolutely fantastic. I did not hear them do ANYTHING wrong. And I was sitting somewhat off-axis too. Revel's website says they try to maximize off-axis performance of their drivers in the Revel line. I think it's working! Setup included Theta Digital DaVid, and Casablanca (they played some new DVD Audio tracks at 24/96), and the huge Classe monoblocks. I can't remember the cabling. I do remember hearing microdetails like a small triangle being played quietly at the back of the stage while a symphony plays triple forte in front. Astonishing!! Never heard the B&W Nautilus, but have not been overly impressed with the Nautilus 802 at the local dealer compared to the Revels. I'm trying to figure out how I can afford to get a set of the Revel Studios for my rig!

NOT EVEN CLOSE,THE REVEL SMOKES THEM. A BUDDY AND I LITENED TO THEM BOTH THE OTHER DAY AND THEN LAUGHED OUR BUTTS OFF WHEN WE SAW THAT STEREOPHILE HAD B&W 801'S TIED W/ THE REVEL'S AS SPEAKER OF THE YEAR? IF YOU WANT A BLOATED BASS AND YOU LISTEN TO RAPP THEN BUY THE B&W. IF YOU WANT A SPEAKER THAT SOUNDS "REAL" THEN GET THE REVEL. I ALSO LISTENED TO THE REVELS AT OVERTURE AND THEY ARE GREAT!

Both speakers are very, very good systems. Flip a coin. At this level of performance system matching is more important than any intrinsic quality of the speakers. The coin flip will probably give you a better shot at selecting the "right" speaker than anyone's advice on the internet could.

I was also recently was in the market for under $20k speakers. The Revels were my second choice and I personally didn't care for the BW. They were awesome on hard rock played really loud. Large scale classical is my primary listening music with rock second. I bought Dunlavy SC V because I thought that the Dunlavy's were more realistic and engaging but I would have been happy with the Revels. BUT Onhwy61 is right, at this price level system and room matching is crucial. How even a weel warmed up a rig sounds psychacoustically after five hours of fairly loud music is quite different than what it will sound like to you at your first five minutes of listening.

Not even close... B&W Nautilus - Big and heavy looking and heavy sounding.. Muddy bass and you need a crane to bring them in the house. I found them to be terrible. I would rather listen to the stereo in my car. If you are married don't even think about it. Revel Salons - Beautiful sounding - warm and effortless to listen to. Very contemporary look - aesthetically pleasing as well. Madrigal at their best. The more power the better. I still like the Watt/Puppys over both and for one reason... RESALE!