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How sensitive is the B&W Nautilus Midrange?

Hi there, I have a pair of B&W Nautilus 803S's in the house (For disclosure I am selling them). I love their sound especially when paired with the ASW-855 crossed over at 40HZ with a Levinson 332.

Anyway I really like these and would like to eventually wind up with another pair of 803's or 802's. My tech told me a story of his friend destroying the midrange on a pair of 800's and I have been scared to play them all that loud seeing as how it is ALOT of money to replace those mids.

When he did this it was playing a MP3 at extreme levels, my understanding is, MP3's play with no peaks and just straight full blown signal

What I am mostly wondering is will I have to worry about beating on a pair of 802's or 803's?
128x128systembuilder
lrsky
1,118 posts
 
WHAT???

Good listening,

Larry
acheung
21 posts
 
I had a pair of nautilus 802 which I replaced with the 802 diamonds and I played both very loud (ie I can't hear what the person beside me is saying). I think the 802's don't sound their best unless they are played at higher volume. Hi-fi+ had a review of the 802 diamond which said the design team assessed the 802 at very high sound levels. That being said my cousin has a 800n speaker, which he blew the midrange driver. In his case ,he had by passed the cross over and powered the 800n with 3 amps and an active cross over.
chayro
3,002 posts
 
You should look into some high-end sound reinforcement speakers like JBL Pro or EAW. They are specifically designed for concert-level playback. I think a lot of so-called audiphiles would be better served by such a system, but they can't admit it to themselves for some reason.
eniac26
97 posts
 
Well a cheap fix when you have a need for high SPL is to put your rig in smaller room. To add to that increase cubic inches and amp power. Rinse and repeat until you reach the SPL level you desire or your ears pop and or the cops kick in your front door.

Any speaker can fall victim to damage if you under power them and use a ham fist on the volume knob. If you blow up the midrange as a result of too much input then you know you haven't learned the difference between distortion and proper sound reproduction in which case you aren't ready to move on to more expensive equipment for your wallets sake.

In any event I wouldn't let fables keep you away from enjoying your music at the volume level you want.
systembuilder's avatar
systembuilder OP
111 posts
 
I havent played them to anywhere near excruciatingly loud levels, I want to but was nt sure of at what point they would give up.

Thanks I feel confident they can handle what I can throw at them, I dont play to levels of excessively loud but pretty loud while always being too scared of blowing up my speakers

Thanks
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