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B&W Nautilus 800 vs 802D

I have noticed that the 802D's have started to come down in price and it's not unusual to find a pair of 800's at the same asking price here in Audiogon. I am shopping around and would like to know what other Audiogoners think about these two speakers? I have listend to the 802D's and liked them but not the 800's. I like the looks of the 800 but than again the weight of the 800's might be an issue. I will be loooking to match them up with McIntosh equipment. Specifically a MC-402 and C46.
Side Note: B&W is interesting because so many people have opinions on the speakers. I have owned the 805's, 803's, and 802's. I agree that these speaker's aren't perfect but for the price and sound, I think there really good. I personally have only heard one speaker that blows the 802D's out of the water and that was the Wilson's Maxx, but people forget that speaker's like Wilson and JM Focal Utopia costs thousands more.
I also think B&W works universally well with most audio products on the market. Some speakers you have to be careful what equipment you match them up with. Just my thoughts of B&W.
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horseface's avatar
horseface
222 posts
 
All I can say is ... I heard the 800's and I started a savings account. The smaller B&W series just didn’t fit my style so I had given up on B&W to go with something else. Then I heard the 800's. It was all I could do to not sell my truck ... It might take a couple of years BUT I have no doubts - that speaker is in a league of its own. I have NOT heard the 802D series BUT I have read the reviews and details on B&W's site. I'm going with what I know ... I could go on and on but for me the bottom line; for 10-12 grand it has the exact sound I'm looking for.

PS - The combo that sounded so good:

Levinson Power (334)
Levinson Pre (380)
Sony SACD (777 ES)
Audioquest "mid-range" cables

I have seen the B&W/Mac combo praised many times so I think it would make sweet sounds as well.
leonx
101 posts
 
When I bought the 802N I had the change to buy for a very small price the 335 ML poweramp of the distributer. I just had the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300 power. But the Nu-Vista was much more musical, had more depth information ans also more resolution. The new Levinson is better than the older Levinson. But I never heard the involvement I like. I changed the transformers of the Nu-Vista with E-tansfomers. The sound is really improved, and the control in the bass is awesome.

My system: Nautilus 800N, Meridian 800 DAX v4 ( latest model), modified NU-Vista 300, Nordost Valhalla Bi-amp cable, Acapella cinch with WBT nextgen, 2 Valhalla powercabels and Valhalla between PSU and Power of the Nu-vista, Newest Purist Audio Aqueous powercable, KE Powersource ( conditioner )

Result; a very musical system which plays extremely three-demensional and has a lot of power in the low freq. and a resolution to die for.
aristomenis's avatar
aristomenis
1 posts
 
ITS NOT THE SAME

  Another advance is the redesign of the crossover network, made possible by moving it into the S800's large cast aluminum base. While the other Nautilus speakers use film as well as film-bypassed electrolytic capacitors, and air-cored as well as iron-dust-cored inductors, the S800 uses film capacitors and air-core coils exclusively, even for the low-frequency bass filter. As someone who has spent time designing and tweaking crossovers, I can vouch for this seeming extravagance as a major contributor to excellent performance. In addition, S800's heavy base electrically isolates the crossover from the drivers, acts as a heatsink for the crossover, and, in concert with the downward-firing bass port, serves to precisely load the low-frequency enclosure.
Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/600/index.html#jfsJGmfWWCZ7HAIF.99
erik_squires
16,052 posts
 
If you like the 802s.....

Listen to Golden Ear, Triangle and Thiels.

Also check out the new Sony speakers, They will be along, but not exactly, like what you seem to like.

You may also like to listen to modern Monitor Audio, which are definitely going to be more mellow in the treble, but I suggest it to get out of your comfort zone a little.

Best,


Erik
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