Nautilus 805 setup question


Just got a pair of 805's and while fiddling around with placement, etc. I noticed that removing the grilles seems to improve clarity a little bit, but at the same time the speakers tend to reveal their position much easier; the soundstage is thus "distorted" left (speaker), right (speaker) and center become somehow "source points" instead of an evenly distributed soundstage in front of the listener. To make a long story short, the speakers don't "dissapear" so well anymore.
So is it grilles on or off? Similar experiences? any advice on tweaking/setup is also welcome.
Thanks
aboldor
"I tighten down the woofer screws about every six mounts (sic)" - Sounds vaguely like some sort of unatural sex act, don't it? ;^)
Albodor
Not sure what stands you have on the way and if can reverse them back but call Bob Warzalla atSound Anchor and have him explain what went inot their design.He told me that he top mass loaded them as opposed more prettily and way more expensively B&W did when they bottom mass loaded them.All I know is that Bob knows more about some speakers than their actual manufacturer and B&W has been his bread and butter for years so he put's a huge amount of time and money into their design.While their are a number of good stand manufacturers out there like Target and Arcicci B&W and Sound Anchors well there is no other match.I even had a dealer THROW IN FOR FREE a pair of used ones for a pair of 802 Matrix III's after we had agreed on the speaker price (very good deal to begin with) as he told me he had forgotten to mention it and that he wouldn't want to have people hear my speakers and then they had come from his shop without the stands as that they dont' realize anwhere near there potential without them.Go to Sound Anchors web site and get numbe and talk to Bob if you have any questions but they are worth every penny and then some.
I also removed the tweeter grills.
Sounds nice.
I LISTEN TOTALLY GRILLE-LESS, AND i MUCH PREFER IT THAT WAY
I have found that these speakers sound best(not sure why)
in a roughly 6.5 foot equilateral triangle.
I listen nearfield from the sweet spot, and then at about 15 feet away while in bed.

Also, what do the 805 siggys cost, does anyone know?

OH, and is anyone aware of a screwdriver that measures torque?

I bet that there is a certain "tightness" that sounds best re: woofer screws.
I seem to remember Merlin doing something about this.

Anyway, best of luck with the 805s

Joe
had a pair before all the hype. sweet midrange. beautiful to look at. could not get them to dissapear either. i tried for 6 months. bought the best stands i could find. helped focus but still would not dissapear. tried room treatments still to no avail. in short i tried everything. sold them bought ref 3a's. problem solved. not as pretty but the best speaker i have ever owned. period. the array of speakers i have owned are: 805n's, infinity rs2a's. ml cls2's, infinity preludes, theil 6's, mani 2's, proac 2,ml request,maggies 1.6, apogee duetta's, carver al3's and i know im forgetting some. anyway this is my experience.
I love the sound of my Nautilus 805s, but they just don't image as well as I like. However, I hate making blanket statements about a single component like that without listing my setup. I'm sure there are other factors - it's called a sound system for a reason:

(4) B&W Nautilus 805s
(1) B&W HTM-2
Rotel RSP-1066
Rotel RMB-1095
Rotel RQ-970BX
Music Hall MMF-5
Denon DVD-2500
Home Depot speaker cables

I listened to some Vandersteens and fell in love. I'll always keep my 805s, but I'm already plotting my next system (with a 2-channel focus). The Vandersteens are in my site.