I sent the following comments to B&W by way of e-mail and their Web site, I've had no reply. I feel sorry for my local dealer - they are working very hard to do the right thing but B&W just doesn't seem to be able to come up with the product. Too bad. I wish also that they would have had the good manners to respond to my e-mail. My advise to any would-be B&W buyer, if the product isn't there in the store - don't buy it and don't put a deposit down while they order it - B&W isn't performing.

"Your Nautilus 800 series speakers may be an achievement, however, I am one customer that will probably never enjoy them. I wanted to order the 802N, however, I was advised by my local retailer that this would be a very long lead time item - especially in the natural cherry finish I desire. I settled for an order of the 803N in natural cherry, however, after many weeks of waiting and no product in sight, I'm going to cancel my order and buy a comparable speaker from another company that can actually deliver the product.


Regards,"

Clarity, soundstage and natural sound. They also look good.

A slight weakness on the low end but this may be a feature rather than a bug.

I read a lot of reports on this site before purchasing and the information was very useful. I cannot add much to the technical information but let me emphasize a few things:

1. Wait and listen. They really change through the break-in period. If I hadn't believed this I would have been dissapointed. Eventually the low end matures.
2. Sound Anchor stands made a big difference.
3. Other equipment- I upgraded to Meridian products: 557 power amp, 502 pre-amp, 508 CD player. This set of speakers triggered a significant financial investment.
4. Cables- after listening to several I settled on balanced interconnects from MIT and I stayed with my MIT2 speaker cables.
5. My old Denon DP60L performs really well with the 803's and ancilliary equipment.
6. Placement, took a little fiddling to optimise- my room is not a good shape. But overall a modest effect compared to the above.
7. With this system I now enjoy listening to many of my old records/CD's but new or remastered recordings are the best.
8. Higher volume (>65db) is optimal for the full effect (when the wife is out).
9. I really like them and I enjoy listening for many hours at a time.

I did not plan to spend so much money when I went into the store. My Vandersteens were 18 years old at the time and I was using a NAD receiver. Initially I used the 803's with a Marants SR-18 but this was not quite enough. The current system gives me a great natural sound. I particularly like female vocalists (Rebecca Pigeon, Sinead O'Conner, Joni Mitchell, Cecelia Bartoli and Billie Holliday). I also like to listen to classical guitar. I am begining to forget how much I paid and now I can simply appreciate the sound.

Similar Products Used:

Vandersteen 2C

Precision, presence, flexibility to play all kinds of music.

None up to date

My system consists of:

Micromega (CD)I didn't have any problem with that equipment up to date
Naim 72 + Hi-CAP
Maim 140
Transparent cables (passive bi-wiring)

I was looking for a speaker in the $5000.(CDN) category. I am a listener of all kinds of music from Classic to Jazz and Rock.
As a Naim adept I have tried the Credo speakers; very good and impressive sound but I couln't stand the high frequencies.
Jamo Concert 11: excellent speaker specially in Rock but in Classic music the sound was too dry to my ears (it's personnal)
TDL: impressive but that was not the kind of sound I was looking for.
PE Leon MARP: Those speakers are very very impressive; at low level they gave you a full presence and precision specially on Classic and Jazz music. In fact that was my second choice.
B&W 804 Nautilus: very good presicion, but lack of bass and presence.
B&W 803 Nautilus: I have finally bought those ones (a demo pair) after a couple of days. They are fabulous: they are very precise, have a fantastic presence; the bass are not dry but not too smooth; the hights are great with the Nautilus technology and not too agressive. I have tried Classical music, Jazz, Rock and I was surprise by their capacity to adapt to all kinds of music. And my Naim which is not in the very high fidelity area has no problem to drive those speakers. Finally my 18 years old son have tried them with it's "Industrial music" and was very impressed.

Similar Products Used:

For testing purposes:PeLeon MARP,B&W 804N,ProAc 2.5,Jamo Concert 11, TDL (forget number), Credo (Naim)

Scatches very easily use kid gloves

I bought the new CDM 9NT at christmas and found them to be quite good but lacking in full range, mostly bottom end
Then I decided to order the 803N's and compared the two in the store They may have simular drivers but trust me they are not the same There is a reason why the 803's are almost twice as much. I was not the only person in the store listening there was at least ten people The 803 N are not even in the same game,and that was out of the box, Now I have given them time to break in and trust me they are close to being the best speaker I have ever heard next to the 802 Nautilas

Similar Products Used:

CDM 9NT

Imaging is life like, very smooth and transperent mids and
highs, tight bass.

None

My system consist of :Rotel RB 995 Power Amp
Rotel RTC 965 Pre Amp
California Audio Lab: Alpha & Delta
MIT-2 Speaker Cables,
MIT 330 interconnects.
B&W 803 Nautilus Speakers

I have been using these speakers for one month, the sound
is very musical, focused and detailed. Previous speakers that I owned were B&W CDM-9. 803's have much stronger and tighter base, mids and highs are much more transperent.
Not only do they sound great, they look great too.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 804

Smooth, good resolution, large soundstage, very good imaging, reasonably extended bass with good pitch differentiation

Sounds best at higher volumes, doesn't sound equally good on all types of music (IMO)

I am currently looking for a replacement for my B&W 802S3 speakers and have been listening to a number of other manufacture's models, primarily Thiel and Dunlavy so far. Inevitably I had to make the comparison to the new 'N' series, the 803 being the most logical replacement for my 802s in terms of what I am financially comfortable with.

I have had them in my system now for four days and feel that I have a pretty good handle on their sound. One caveat, I don't know what the full break in history of the samples I listened to were. However, they were not bright as some have claimed, they were smooth, had a clear and open midrange, and I thought the bass was very good (driven with Bryston 7B monoblocks). More on the realistic side rather then overdone or out of balance.

Technically the N803s do most things right and are in every way a legitimate and justifiable improvement over my 802s. Drumkit, double bass, large brass sections, strings, etc. are portrayed with uncongested power and high resolution within a large well defined soundstage. Large scale orchestral pieces are handled with ease, jazz is especially captivating with excellent definition and outlining of standup bass, drumkit, and other instruments within the mix.

While the N803 has more punch, and just about more of everything else then the Matrix 802S3, its still laid back sounding. This is where personal taste comes into play. I had to goose the volume to give me the sense of musical drive I was looking for, but this didn't always succeed, especially on softly recorded material. This is my only personal criticism of the N803s, other then that these are very good speakers that deserve to be auditioned.

Similar Products Used:

B&W Matrix 802S3, 805, 804, Thiel CS2.3, MCS1, Dunlavy SC-III, Athena

Pinpoint imaging, open and airy highs, solid lows. Beatiful finish.

Lacks (pick-you-up-and-slap-you-around) bass.

I have owned these speakers for about 8 months now and have no complaints about them at all. I shopped around for 1 1/2 years before finally purchasing these, not because of financial reasons, but because I didn't want to have to buy new speakers again for at least 10 years. I believe I made a GREAT choice.

Compared to other speakers in the same price range ($4,000 to $6,000), the 803's when taken as a whole sounded clearer, cleaner and more realistic than any other. Some other speakers, the Martin Logans spring to mind, have a clearer high end. Some, like the Kef's, are deeper and warmer. But to my ears, none had as overall a pleasing sound as the B&W's. The bass, is not a SLAM bass. It is a more refined and realistic bass, so if you want to be beaten up by your music (and sometimes I do like to feel my chest cave in) then these might not be right for you. Add a sub however, and you may need to pay your neighbors for knocking their walls down.

Here's the bottom line for me, and what gave me that warm feeling of happiness I was looking for in my purchase. After setting these babies up and breaking them in for a couple of weeks, I invited over some friends and my girlfriend. After only 20 minutes of listening my GF turned to me and said, "You know, if I didn't know any better, I wouldn't think those speakers were there at all."

I can think of no greater compliment.

Similar Products Used:

Thiel, Martin Logan, Vienna Accoustic, Kef, others

The Nautilus is a lot better than the Matrix model: more open, larger soundstage, more detailed, and "punchier".My Dunlavy SCIV's are better, however: even more open, and imaging beyond belief. They just sound more natural.
These are very good speakers, but at $5000, they are somewhat over-priced.

Nice detailed sound.

No life sound.

Lots of nice details all over it's range. Tight lows, beautiful mids, highs are a good but a bit flat/sharp to my taste, for instance I don't hear the real copper sound of cymbals (it's tweeters are supposed to be super according to other people, but I only thrust my own ears, just make some life sounds in the same room and listen to the differences).
Compared to the cheaper CDM range the Nautilus speakers sound much cleaner, more controlled, the 803 has more prominent low than the 804, a big difference and much better to my taste.

Despite the tweeter I thought this speaker was perfect, I was going to buy it, I only had some doubts if it was better than the Audio Physic Virgo, after many phonecalls I found a dealer which had both speakers.
I heard the 803's again in a better setup (Classe 151 amp), even better impression, very enjoyable details. Thereafter the Virgo's, a shocking difference, the Virgo makes music, the instruments come to life! You forget to listen to the details and just start enjoying the music. The 803 has all the sounds right in details (better than the Virgo) but the total picture doesn't bring you that realistic life feeling of the Virgo. Although at first I was impressed by the clean sound of the 803, next to the Virgo's they sounded like an acoustic mess. I guess B&W uses a lot of high-tech equipment to get a technically perfect sound at all frequencies, but forgets to compare with life instruments.

I also begin to suspect that most magazines are not neutral, B&W's gets lots good reviews, Stereoplay, a German magazine rates the 803 55pts and the Virgo 48pts, even lower than the CDM9 (52pts), total bullsh*t! Only thrust your ears!

These B&W's are good speakers, but not for their price, compared the much cheaper Virgo's (in Europe) their price should be halved, and then I would still choose the Virgo's, but they have a reasonable trade-in value so 3 stars for value.
Overal rating 3.5

Similar Products Used:

804, CDM-9NT, Dynaudio, SF, Thiel, Vienna Acoustics, Wilson Audio, Avalon, JM Reynaud, Audio Pysic, etc.

WITH AMAZING DETAIL TO SOUND, THESE SPEAKERS HAVE THE ABILITY TO DROP JAWS AND LIFT HAIRS-LITERALLY! BASS IS VERY ACCURATE. MY TERRIBLE RECORDED CDS TURN INTO QUALITY CDS. THESE SPEAKERS HONESTLY MANIPULATE THE SOUND THAT COME OUT OF THEM. JUST AMAZING!

SOMETIMES, I HAVE TO TURN THEM OFF. PEOPLE WANT TO STEAL THEM. THEY DON'T FIT IN MY CAR. SOMETIMES THEY MAKE ME CRY.

FIRST OFF, I WANT TO SAY IT MAY SEEM LIKE MY REVIEW IS A LITTLE FAR FETCHED, BUT IT IS ACTUALLY MORE REALISTIC THAN YOU WILL BELIEVE. THESE SPEAKERS, THE NAUTILUS 803's, ARE THE 3rd BEST SPEAKER I HAVE EVER HEARD. THE ONLY TWO I'VE HEARD THAT BEAT THOSE WERE THE 801's AND THE 802's! AS FAR AS SOUND QUALITY, I HAVE READ OTHER REVIEWS ON THIS PAGE THAT HAVE SAID THAT THE 803's ARE REVEALING TO ALL THE FLAWS ON RECORDED MATERIAL, BECAUSE OF THEIR ACCURACY. THIS IS VERY TRUE. ALTHOUGH, THEY ALSO HAVE THE ABILITY TO TAKE THESE CRAPPY RECORDINGS (I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT THOSE ENGINEERS WERE SMOKING THAT DAY) AND SMOOTHS THE ROUGH EDGES IN SUCH A WAY TO MAKE FOR A TRULY PLEASURABLE LISTENING EXPERIENCE. THERE IS NO SPEAKER OUT THERE THAT WILL INVOLVE YOU IN THE MUSIC AS MUCH AS THESE WILL. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Similar Products Used:

LAMBORGHINI, PORSCHE, ROLLS ROYCE.