Speakers with bass response?

Chas...well, you are the second person to ask if I am runing the speakers "full range", and now I must reveal some inexperience here. As far as I know, I am, I am wired thus: cd to pre, pre to amp, amp to speaker. My sub, is connected to a "reg. out" on the pre-amp. So, maybe you could explain the difference between "full range" and ?
joeb

I don't know if the B&W 804's are full or limited range speakers. But if you're in the market for a subwoofer in the $1k to $5k range, I would recommend the following in no particular order:

1. Aerial Acoustic's SW12 12 inch subwoofer at $4500. Infinite configurations/dials, inputs and outputs. Every review of this sub puts it at the top with the best.

2. Bag End's Infru-sub 18 inch subwoofer at $1600. I've demo'ed this sub for several weeks. It was so tight and musical it was almost too tight if you can believe that. Does not offer much in the way of configurations or inputs and outputs. Cheap construction quality and few ergonomics, but it certainly does the job well.

3. Triad Platinum 18 inch sub at $2k. Probably right between the Aerial SW12 and the Bag End subs. Enough configuration dials, inputs, etc. to work with most systems. Very musical but just not quite as tight as the Bag End. I've enjoyed this sub in my 2-channel system for the last 2 years mated with my Aerial Acoustic 10T's. The 10T's are full range and excellent reproducers in the lower regions. The subwoofer simply is there to pick up the lowest octave.

-John

I also have Nautilus 804. Marantz has good bass weight, I found the Rega Planet to be bass light on ProAc 2.5 / Dynaudio 3.0. Cary CD 303 also good in the bass but the sonic improvements were virtually inaudible to me. Since you know you want to upgrade CDP this will at least give ou the full 40Hz (-2db) that N804 can do. I use single (not Bi-wire) Home Depot 12 ga and found no loss in the bass over DH Labs Q-10 external biwire.
Try puttingthe N804 more in a corner. Against the wall won't help since they are front ported. You will loose bass definition though.

Joeb -- Before rushing out to spend money on new equipment, you ought to try a bit of repositioning first. Depending on your room, many things can play into how much bass you receive in your listening position. The general considerations usually are:

How far are the speakers from the rear wall? The closer to the wall they get, the smaller the soundstage, but the more pronounced the bass.

How far are they from the corners? Generally, moving the speakers to corners will increase the bottom end by reflecting the bas outward.

How are the speakers coupled to the floor? My ProAc's are coupled to the floor using 2 inch spikes, but I've noticed that when placed directly on the floor (carpet over hard wood), I get quite a bit more low mid bass, in my case to the point of making the sound muddy. You'll certainly find different results with the B&W's, but playing with the coupling is worthwhile.

How far apart are the speakers? I can't speak for everyone's setup, but in mine the closer the speakers, the more pronounced the bass. This, I believe, is due entirely the the focal point of the sound and should vary from room to room. However, I've noticed that a foot difference in separation makes a huge difference in both the listening position and in the bottom end I get. Also, when the speakers are placed along the long wall in the room (so I have a shorter listening distance), I get a huge amount of bottom end relative to rotating them 90's.

I've listened to the 804's and while I wouldn't consider them bass heavy, properly driven (as your's seem to be) they always seem to provide more than enough bottom end. Anyway, it doesn't cost much to push the speakers around the room and see if any changes in position solve your problem.

-- Ken