I,purchased these speakers for surrounds in my Nautilus system and have been using them as mains to break them in I wont be able to break them nearly as long as it sounds like I should but in the couple of weeks I have been using them I have been very impressed with the performance.I am going to mount them for surround and hope they handle full range movies like Desparado or any other bass happy movie.

My God man, can't anybody tell a bad speaker from a non broken in speaker. When I first bought my 805's I was going to return them but realized they needed break in. I am thrilled that I decided to keep them. They have proven to be musical, detailed, transparent and any other audiophile adjective you can throw at them. I have been in the A/V business for 25 years, and I know a great speaker when i hear one. Check these out, you'll be glad you did unless you hear a new pair at the dealer. Ask if they are broken in!!!

Bought the 805's about 2 months ago. They're just NOW beginning to really sing. Break-in is a must with these speakers. Bi-wiring is also essential to wringing out the best sound. I upgraded from my ancient ADS CM7 minimonitors that sounded very similar. The ADS's excelled at imaging, soundstaging, and having a really big bump in the lower treble that really got tiresome on some music.
The 805's are wonderful. Soundstaging and imaging, while not quite as spectacular as my old CM7s is plenty good. Where do I hear the biggest difference? Truth of timbre, image specificity, clarity, ability to really play loud clearly. Yes, they are a little forward, but I like a detailed sound. And yes, they don't do low bass, but with a good sub like my Velodyne, it's rich, detailed, gorgeous sound that never fatigues.

If you audition, make sure the sample pair is properly broken-in, and biwiring adds another dimension of realism, dynamics and clarity to the sound.

I listened to these speakers for the second time and this time they were broken in. They sounded average driven by Copland gear and better driven by the Celeste Moon I-5 (source was Linn Karik). Build quality is great, good detail, fairly open but overall do not represent a very good value (they cost $3900 Canadian with their stands). They do not sound like $3900 speakers. Over all they are above average but not worth 5 stars. Average for the price point.

listened to these the other day at one of the local dealers, along with the nautilus 804 & 803's hooked up to meridian & proceed equipment. the 805's were the least impressive of the lot. i find it hard to believe that b&w can charge $2000 for these guys! they sound like a much cheaper speaker (like maybe $600). the 804 & 803's sounded much better, probably because they had some bass to balance the very forward nature of this speaker line's sound. (forward sound does not necessarily bother me - i own nht 2.5i's & monitor audio silver 5's - but nautilus speakers are excessively bright). if you are looking for a bookshelf speaker, the dynaudio's sound much better (all of them except the audience 40). if you are impressed by the tapered shape b&w uses for control of the back wave, check out www.norh.com. they have "very" nicely built speakers using the same technology for a "lot" less. these are 3 star speakers (average), but considering the price i have to deduct a star for very poor value.

I have had the Naut 805's for about a month and a half and I strongly agree with Walter from Boston that these speaker in particular shouldn't even be allowed to be demoed until they have been broken in (50 hours plus continuous). At first I had the same impression, for the money, they sounded great but not $2Ks worth. Well, my Nauts now have well over 500+ hours (movies and music), and I am one satisfied customer. My retailer even gave me a 30 day return policy if I wasn't completely satisfied no questions asked. But he GUARANTEED that I will not be back to return the speakers and it's true. Yes, these speakers aren't for EVERYONE, just like any other piece of consumer electronics. B&W makes superb equipment, the sound staging, imaging, dynamics and depth are so pronounced. Marrying the Nauts with my Velodyne makes my family room sing. Not to mention they are some awesome looking speakers (quite an converstion piece). All I can say is trust in your ears and give any speaker the chance to communicate with you and you will choose wisely. Whether you pick a Mercedes, Jag, BMW or Rolls, it all depends on part of the car really turns YOU on!!!!

I listened to the 805 with YBA amps and CD player. The speakers sounded great--good midrange, imaging, and tight bass. However, the sound is on the forward side, and the treble can be a little bit too revealing. I much prefer the more musical ProAc Response 1SC, which is what I ended up buying.

This is a followup to a review I submitted back in mid-June.
I recently upgraded the dual runs of cable to each speaker. I'm now running the latest version of AQ Midnight +. The speakers have also had an additional 200 hours or so time to further break-in.

The sound quality has changed substantially. What I initially perceived as a slightly forward character now has become a very smooth and refined sound. Bass has even improved, although it's not critical since I use a Velodyne sub. Imaging is even better, and the soundstage has opened up considerably. I'm literally startled by music that now has dimensionality and layers that I've never heard in my system before now. I'd have to rate imaging and truth-of-timbre as this speaker's strongest assets.

I agree with others that these speakers need to have high-end electronics to really make them strut. If you're going to drive them with mediocre electronics, forget it. But if you have quality gear, and you're willing to let these speakers properly break-in, I think you'll be very happy. I'm continually surprised at how good these speakers now sound. They now get the full-boat 5-star rating, up from my initial 4.

Just remember, biwiring and break-in with these puppies!

The 805N is a top class bookshelf no doubt about it. There won't be many competitors in this class of speakers save for a few so the price will not be on the cheap. Imaging and soundstage is NOT a problem and neither is it too warm or too bright. It is highly highly sensitive to the equipment you feed it. If the amp is colored - the sound is colored, if the soundstage is flat - its probably due to a problem upstream. Just read the reviews (eg. great soundstage/no soundstage, warm, bright, neutral,colored etc.... ) it can't be all of these things - its the same speaker but the equipment in the reviews were all different.
The biggest downside to these speakers? Equipment which really makes these speakers sing are in a higher price bracket!!!

I chose the 805s over NHTs and Martin Logan's Aerius(sp?). I don't have a large selection of speakers to audition in my area. The 805s were the most "accurate" speakers of the three. After reading some of the reviews of the 800 series I agree with a few comments. They need good amps and they are not forgiving to bad recordings. However, it was the detail of some of my old music that won me over. (I listen to 99% classical). Also, I like the looks (nice wood finish and sturdy construction). I will probably get the 802s to match within the next year. Of course there is an inverse relationship to the price of the speaker and the overall rating. Since I got mine at such a good price I have to give it a good rating.