B&W 804 nautilus OR Revel f30

As with anything else in audio/acoustics, the set up, associated equipment, the room, placement of speakers and acoustical considerations, etc, will ALL IMPACT WHAT YOU HEAR! So, if really, the ONLY WAY to know is to try in your system, with your gear, with your set up(you gotta tinker to do it right...and knowledge doesn't hurt)!
ESPECIALLY for the audio enthusiest/novice, YOU WON'T HAVE A CLUE as to what's the potential by simply going to some "foreign" shop with UNKNOWN FACTORS to you, and think you'll be able to tell WHAT'S WHAT!!!...doesn't work that way. A lot of novices would like to think it's that simple..but there's too much involved.
I've heard some of the best gear in the world set up so poorly, with the worst gear, in bad rooms!!! I've worked in a lot of hi fi shops to know this first hand(5 in all).
Anyway, there's no QUICK TRIP to the top! You gotta just try something! I mean, who you gonna trust?...they all got DIFFERENT GEAR!!!!!!
"patience grass hopper..."

Both offer a different sound. Go read reviews of each speaker and you will find out for yourself. The B&W speakers in general do not sound good with poor equipment. They need high current amps to make them sing, more so with the matrix series. The midrange and high frequencies are the key areas you want to note so once you read the reviews, you will know which one you prefer, if you are not going to bring them home to compare which I think you should do.

Peter

Hey lchapper,

As I said before, my preferences are just that, my preferences. The speakers may sound better or worse to the next guy in the next room and that is usually the case. Also, as I said before, you should try and listen to the speakers in your system and hear for yourself which you prefer. Again, good luck and happy hunting......John

I narrowed my choice down to these two earlier this year and ultimately decided on the F30's, as they offer better bass extension and seem just as good (or better) as the N804's in other areas. So far, I've been very happy with the F30's. Good luck and happy listening.

I have read the earlier responses. I own the 804's you will need a large room, I have ARC LS8mkII & Classe CA-151 804's are bi-wired I find this to be a very good combination. Keep in mind that unlessyour room is as big & tall as the dealer's which ever speaker sounds like the right amount of base & soundstage at the dealer's will be TOO MUCH @ home! both speakers will serve you well