I owned the B&W 801 Nautilus speaker system and drove them with a krell 400cx amp (demo'd them with a VT-200 ARC amp as well; which I've also owned); they are clean, pure and controlled!! Now for the bad news....they do not come alive unless you crank them far beyond even live levels!! Dynamic contrasts suffer as well, along with presence!! Another annoying item is the transition region from mid-bass to lower mids...cello region is suppressed by a few db...very annoying and sucks the energy out of this crucial power region!! I asked B&W about the crossover error and they ignored me 3 times...no answer was ever given!! In case you might place the blame on my other components I assure you that my ARC REF2mkII, Levinson 37 Transport & 360s processor are up to the challenge. I used Transparent Ref cables and cords!! My Watt\Puppy 6's were fun and my Dunlavy SC-V's are amazing and much more full of life!!