I've just upgraded to a pair of 805s from the B&W CDM1SEs, and it is an amazing experience. The CDMs were great speakers, but the 805 sound like the CDMs with the cotton wool taken out of your ears. I finally understood what terms like 'soundstage' meant - I could no longer discern the separate left and right speakers. For those of you with CDM1s - this is a worthwile upgrade - I felt silly at first paying almost double for what 'looked' like the same speaker, but it was definitely worthwhile.
I bought the matching FS-N805 stands which do a great job

Highly recommended

Reproducing music in a difficult environment.

Don't know yet...It has to be the very long breaking-in period!!

After my move to a new house and thus new environment I had to change my loved VM's because they could not perform the way they did in my "old" environment. Therefore they had to be replaced for...?

After brief auditioning at a nearby shop (RAF-Fokko Dijkstra Emmeloord)I chose the N805 including the (too)expensive stands just before christmas 1999. My first listening at home was nearly 4 months later due to ...?

I read in the comments on this site saying they need a long time to break in. I think this is wat really keeps them from making a decent effort to reproduce my sourcematerial.
I know I'm an impatient guy for i picked them up at the shop yesterday...Lets wait and listen.

CD: Van Medevoort CT444 Transport (TEAC based)
DAC: Van Medevoort DA222 Converter
Turntable: Linn LP12/Valhalla
Tonearm: Linn Ittok LVIII
Cartridge: Grado Reference Wood
Preamp: Van Medevoort CA 440
Amp: Van Medevoort CA 330 2x (mono block)
AC filter: Van Medevoort PF220
Cables: Van Medevoort Q-line (silver)

My ratings for these speakers are a bit premature but I am confident that they will crush the 5-star mark after they are broken-in completely. Anyone who loves small speakers and listens to music (not to audio-gear) should give them carefull consideration!

Similar Products Used:

History... Phillips MFB, Acoustic Research 10 PI, Celestion SL 600SI, Celestion SL 700SE, Van Medevoort ED6,5...

Great performance at this price. Every field is achieved excellently while still not the best.

In absolute metre, shading, resolution, cleanness, coherence, continuousness, & musicality are not, but close to the best I have heard from different speakers.

This is a supplemental review for people curious about my N805 & subwoofer setup.
Without counting the extension to the dining room, my room is horribly 15X15. I have only tried TN1220HO with the 150 amp. According to my PS Audio Power plant, that 150 class AB amp has never consumed more than 20W of power at normal listening level- 89dB at 1
meter, 70dB to my listening position. In addition, TN1220HO is a 8 Ohm speaker- not a difficult load. I connect the 150 Amp from the output of my poweramp & set the low pass to be just below 40Hz. , However, if you want to watch movies with them, 2 TN1220HO to form a stereo sub is better for gun shooting scenes.
Recently, I found the shading of N805 is better when I used a Forte 4A to drive them. How good? very close to the best I have ever heard. Obviously, it's a compatibility problem of SET at 4Ohm tap-
brighter , less rich sound. My SET is optimized for 8Ohm speakers. If there were a 8Ohm N805,...

Similar Products Used:

Duntech Sovereign, Swan, Eminent tech LFT-11, Stax Lambda Signature, Apogee minor Centaus, Reference 3A MM De Capo, B&W Nautilus 804, Infinity IRS V, Infinity Prelude MTS, TDL The Studio Monitor, Verity Parisfal Encore, ProAc Studio 100, JMlabs, Wilson CUB, Wilson CUB 2, Martin Logan, Alon Lotus Signature.

Soundstage/Imaging, Tonality after break-in.

Long break-in period.

Since there are numerous reviews on this speaker I'll keep it brief. First, you will find out how good your electronics are with this one. Second, please believe that this speaker, after 200 hours of break-in, is not the same speaker you pulled out of the box. At first the Nautilus tweeter is somewhat hard, cold and glassy. After break-in it is well balanced. This change over time is tremendous. It keeps getting better. My brother has 2 month old 803's and his tweeters are still harsh. Mine have settled in quite nicely.
Third, although I listen to only a little hard rock, they will do it in a smaller room with subwoofers. I cross mine over in my smallish room at around 50 Hz. which keeps the bass nice and tight. As expected of small monitors, these things image and soundstage like crazy. A very fine speaker.

Associated Equipment:

Audio Research LS-7
Krell KSA-100S
Rega Planar 25/Benz Glider
Lehmann Black Cube
Denon DVD-1500(as transport)
MSB Link DAC (Modified)
Velodyne Subwoofer (2)
Kimber and Cardas cables and interconnects
Cones, Spikes, Sand boxes and other snake oil.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio, Magnaplanar

Treble Extension and Clarity
Neutral Wide Open Midrange
Punchy Dynamic Bass
World Class Imaging
Gorgeous Looks especially with Nautilus silver stands
High Caliber Fit and Finish
Extensive B&W dealership base means parts and service is readily available should anything go wrong

Haven't found any

System Context: Bryston 4B-ST
Sonic Frontiers SFL-1
Linn LP12
Marantz CD63SE
Kimber 8TC spkr cable and PBJ interconnect
Paradigm Servo 15 Subwoofer

I've tried a lot of the other B&W speakers and each had their strength. The 801's had incredible bass weight and depth. The Nautilus 804's had brilliant midrange. The CDM1's were very sweet and forgiving. The Matrix 804's were extremely clear and neutral. But none had the overall combination of strengths across the board as does the Nautilus 805's.
These speakers will not give you the bass extension and weight of 801's. This is not a weakness, these speakers are just not physically capable because of their size. What they do give you is an ultra clean upper register. Treble extension and clarity is first rate. Listen to anything from Neil Peart's (Rush) explosive cymbals to Patricia Barber's buttoned down cymbals and you'll hear just the right amount of sheen.
Midrange is probably their greatest strength. Listen to Diana Krall or Nat King Cole with the lights out and you'll swear they're right there performing a personal concert for you. There is no coloration whatsoever so when the recording is done with care you'll get the realism and vividness of vocals male or female. Piano is also reproduced with a natural lifelike quality. Again because of the absence of coloration.
Bass is tight and punchy with the N805's. They don't go to the deepest reaches on pipe organ (Picutres at an Exhibition comes to mind) but they do reproduce cleanly down to about 50 hertz or so. That's where the Servo 15 picks up the slack. They handle pretty good volumes as well without the dynamics becoming compressed.
This is all the subjective stuff. You'll have to audition them in your system or at least in a dealer's system with recordings you're familiar with. But the associated equipment is very important. Give them a bright source or amp and they'll sound bright. Give them warm electronics and they'll sound warm. They simply reproduce what's fed to them. This is the sign of a great speaker.
The more objective stuff are things like cabinet quality and finish. These are first rate. Even the speaker terminals are constructed with great care. The speakers look and feel like high caliber monitors. Throw in the recommended Nautilus stands (go for Silver, black stands have been done to death) and you've got a speaker that you'll want to take pictures of so you can carry them in your wallet.
But don't take one reviewer's word for it. Go listen to and see them for yourself. For the money there is nothing out there that will give you the sound quality, looks, construction quality, and company backing like the Nautilus 805's.

uncolored sound, clean high end,and smooth mids

never want to turn the darn things off

this is really a review of two speaker systems, the b&w
805's and the velodyne hgs-15.i bought both units about
3 months ago, so they are fairly broken in.
to make this review as succinct as possible let me state
it doesn't get any better than this for both music and movies!
the fabulous mid's and high's from the n-805's combined
with the tight undistorted bass from the hgs-15, present
a soundstage to die for.
if you are in the market for speakers in the $4500-$5000
price range you can do no better than this package. it
sounds better than any full-range speaker i've ever heard
and that includes the $8,000 n-802's.
associated equipment includes:
mac c-15 preamp
mac c-162 amp
mac mvp-841 dvd-cd player(awesome)
monster 950-i interconnects all around(good bang for the
buck)
monster bi-wire speaker cable

p.s. make sure you purchase the dedicated stands for the
n-805's. they are a little pricey but most good things
are.

Similar Products Used:

def tech 2002

Great sound stage and imaging. Dark red finish is beautiful.

Too technical, tinny highs, lacking bass.

The Nautilus 805's have many nice attributes but I'd have to say that they don't have the "Full Sound" that I'd expect. The highs seem a bit too tinny or bright and the bass is generally lacking. Bass qualities do greatly improve with increased volume but it takes more volume than what I would consider casual listening levels. Maybe in an ideal room, with ideal positioning, special stands and ideal components the 805 would respond better but I ended up with Canton Ergo 32's. 805's are a good overall product but too expensive for what you get.

Clear, Natural, very Musical

None

I bought the 805's plus the HTM for the center channel about 1 year ago. (I went cheap and got 601's for the rear). The system is driven by a Denon and a Pioneer Elite DV-05. I put it in a relatively small room 17X10 and the system sounds fantastic as a Home Theater. But it really shines as a pure music system. I have found myself listening more and more to music in this room (as opposed to my Vandersteen system). The vocals are crystal. And the range and clarity is extremley nice. I would encourage you to go to your local B&W retailer and listen to Al Dimeola (The Grande Passion) or if you prefer Reggae try Midnite's Ras Mek Peace. Happy listening

Similar Products Used:

Vandersteen 1B, PSB 1000

huge soundstage and great imaging, great highs and mid, good bass for the size

the matching stands! need good equipment to run them. they cost too much! but are needed

Let's get something straight first of all...these are great speakers. People who have reviewed them and say that they are lacking bass are not taking into consideration what type of speaker this is...This is a bookshelf and have a sound much different to a floorstanding speaker. It wasn't made for heavy hitting bass. And most of what i've been testing are good or great speakers. Speakers are only great if your ear enjoys the sound that it produces, so just don't go out and buy any speaker that gets a 5 rating. Test for yourself always and use similar equipment to that you own. I eventually purchased these and are using cheap stands right now. You need to BI-WIRE these speakers (use the best cables you can afford, makes a difference) and if you can afford it get the matching stands (fill them with either lead shot or sand). Make sure to give them a good burn in time, i would say at least 60 hours. Space them 3-4 feet away from the wall and angle to main listening area. If you do this you will have great speakers. HOWEVER, even though you have great speakers, you need to have great equipment to really make them sing. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that doesn't have some equipment that can handle them. I had the B&K AVR 202 running them. After I had it for about 2 weeks i decided to change to the seperates...B&K REFERENCE 20 and AV 7250. now its sounds better than ever. You need a powerful and clean amplifier, i recommend the B&K because they match musically with the B&W's and they are fully upgradeable. I haven't completed my HT setup yet, however my two channel stereo is great. Nothing in my system shows any weaknesses, although some audiophiles might say so. Pair these speakers with a sub and you have the best stereo sound for the money(in my opinion, remember there is no limit to best). I agree with the other reviewer who said that these speakers with a sub sound better than the 801, 802. Expensive but its worth it to my ears which is the most important. These sound like much more expensive speakers. And they have a sound that will never tire your ears. Unlike the monitor audio silver 9's...Great imaging but way too harsh...anyway enough on the monitors... Don't believe everything you read, but believe in everything that you experience.

Equipment used:
B&K REF 20
B&K AV 7250 (AMP)
SONY DVD-7700
MIT TERMINATOR 4
TRIBUTARIES for all other cables.

I have purchased this system looking for the best for the money. And to me this is what i feel meets my demands the best for now...I will eventually add a sub and the Nautilus CC, and rears...And it will be complete...

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio Silver 9, B&W CDM1, Infinity Overture 3 and about every other pair in the $1 - $2.5 K range

Great soundstage and imaging (when properly positioned), accurate and detailed but very musical, sweet and smooth sound.

Bass lacks weight; needs a good sub to complete the musical texture

Finally got tired of the occasional glare and tizziness of my Totems on some recordings, but liked its finger-snapping quickness and dynamics. Needed a speaker with the above attributes but more balanced tonally and smoother overall. Found these on the 805's. My music sounds so much more engaging on these speakers, and they really have brought me much closer emotionally to my music.

Rest of my system:
Rega Planar 25 with RB600 arm and Rega Super Elys cartridge
Theta Miles CD Player
Bryston BP-25 P Pre-Amp
Bryston 7B-ST Monoblocks (2) Power Amps
AudioTruth Sterling cables, Kimber Kable KCAG interconnects Tice Solo HC, Monster HTS3500,Q-Dampers, Lovans.

Similar Products Used:

Totem Acoustics Forest speakers