801 Versus Nautilus 801

I have 801 series 3 (1996 vintage). The biggest differences I heard included: 801s3 had deeper but more bloated bass and had more rolled off top end. On the plus side, the 801s3 has a better sit up sit down pink noise dispersion results than the 801 N. The 801s3 are about 90%+ of the 801N but the 801 is a more sonically accurate speaker but may not be to everyone's person taste. For example, before I purchased my 801s I thought the Thiel 3.6 and Dunlevy IV were more accurate also. But to me I could get into the music better over a long listening session. But they are all great speakers and all have their weaknesses.

I own the 801s3 also but I haven't really listened to the 801N's very much. I would have expected the 801N's to have a better frequency resonse top and bottm than the 801s3's. Did you compare the 2 speakers in the same room with the same electronics? If not, some of your observations may be due to those variables.

PS: Yes to Magic's question. By the way, Audio and Sterephile both reported, also, the better sit up sit down response of the Matrix 801 Series 3 over the N801.

I have both the Nautilus 801 and the Matrix 801 Series 3. To me, there is really no comparison. The N801 is a far superior speaker to the M801S3 in virtually every way -- accuracy, imaging, soundstage, better top-end and low-end responses, etc. That is not to say that the Matrix 801 is a bad speaker. It is a terrific speaker, except that the N801 is in a different league. I currently have the N801s as my front L/R speakers in a home theater setup, Nautilus HTM-1 as my center, and N805 as my side L/R speakers, and M801S3 as my rear L/R surrounds. I use a Krell FPB600 to drive my N801s and a Krell KAV-1500 to drive my other speakers. I use the Lexicon MC-1 as my preamp/processor. Net, as you can see, I am a lover of B&W speakers. The M801S3 sounds absolutely terrific, with a lot of warmth and sweetness. However, the N801 really is something else. I strongly urge you to A/B test them yourselves if you don't believe it.....