Mid-range, what a mid-range. Lovely treble and bass too.

Soundstage that is excellent horizontally, but slightly constricted on back-front.

You have gotta love these speakers. I have them in my system for the past five months, and its easily the most pleasurable speakers I plopped in. The midrange is superb, but the treble and bass aren't slouches either. My only complaint is that for orchestral pieces the horizontal placement seems to overwhelm the front-back, especially for string instruments. But that is a minor complaint overall, believe me.

I have to mention that the bass on these speakers is as close to optimal as I have heard. Its not the thumping bass of previous models, and while it admittedly lacks the lower frequency extension of the Dynaudios, it more than makes up on overall neutrality and dynamics.

I don't know of any other speakers at this price range that do as much, hence my value and overall ratings are consistent.

(Not five stars due to the front-back issue mentioned above).

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio Contour 3.0, Thiel CS3.6

great soundstaging, seamless integration of drivers, smooth

could use more a little more bass, but that i guess that is why the 801s exist

Given the generally excellent posts on this board, I will try to avoid repeating information others have provided.

I have been (critically) listening to speakers for an upcoming purchase, and I can hardly wait to get my 803s home. Also, I thought that the 804s would suffice, as I was trying to save the $1500 price difference. I tried to like the 804s, but compared to the 803s I just couldn't do it. Why? Two reasons: bass and graininess.

It could be that the 804s were not as well broken in as the 803s, but especially on strings the 804s sounded like buzzing insects and the 803s let me feel the bow drawing across. A remarkable difference, (due to the cabinet? break-in? other?) and worth the price of admission. To my ears (subjective as they are) the jump from 804 to 803 was much more telling than the jump between 803 and 801.

My favorable bias for the 804s (initally) was in spite of the Stereophile rankings giving the 803s an "A" rating - restricted Low Frequency and the 805s a "B" rating, also with restricted LF. Guess I thought I could split the difference.

3 stars for value = fair deal

Similar Products Used:

thiel, canton, b&w 801n, b&w 804n

I've had the 803's for 6 months now and true to the B&W brand they are just now "coming to age". The break in period seems to go on forever as did my pair of 804's. The truth of the matter is I KNEW that the 803's should provide a fuller sound with a definite increase on the low end but when I got them home I had to keep telling myself "they need TIME". Well, I've held off on this review for 6 months just for that reason and I can honestly say that they DO fill my home with MORE music. The high end is INDENTICAL to the 804's. I dont see any difference but the larger Nautilis cabinet (probably about 1/3 more volume) than the 804's seem to provide better musicality out of the mid-range. Voices seem clearer (Diana Krall and Patricia Barbers voices sound incredible)The bottom end (although not FULL range is perfect for my "bright" listening room (wood floors, 9' ceiling and lots of "door walls" facing the lake)Thank goodness for all of the wall angles, some throw rugs and other goodies to break up the wall slap. I believe I read somewhere that "these speakers dont Rock". Well I'm here to say that I DO rock them and they can shake the house. In fact the whole neighborhood can comment when I'm listening to AC/DC, The Eagles or Peter Frampton. Moby's Play CD shows unbelievable low end capability. Hey even the neighbors come over to dance when I put the disco on...HAHA!

The price is a little steep. I traded up from the 804's at my dealer in IL so the cash outlay was only that...an upgrade. I did spend an entire day in the trade up process with my friend who owns 802's and I just couldnt justify the $4,000 upgrade to the 802's but could ( and afford it too) the $1,500 required to step up to the 803's. Not any other weaknesses to report here. Speakers arrived in the box as pristine as you can get.

Very pleased with the money I spent for these high quality superb sounding speakers. Listened to Theil, Martin Logan, B&W 802's. In the $5,000 price range I dont think they can be beat!!! My review is for 4 and 4 Stars as I ALWAYS think there is SOMETHING better! Maybe 4.5 Stars both ways is MORE like it.

Enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

Nautilas 804's
NAD Silver Series 100,200,300,500
MIT CVT Terminator Speaker Cables
Sony DVD

Accurate sound, great mids and highs,neutral,presize,lifely

Could have a little more bass

I am using my B&W Nautilus 803's with following equipment:
B&W Nautilus HTM-1 (a must) center
B&W Nautilus SCM-1 (perfect match,almost like the N805)rear
EAD TheaterMaster Ovation
EAD PowerMaster 2000
Piega SUB P1 (B&W ASW4000 great too)
This system is one of the best I have heared up to date!
The only improvment I'd see right now is to get the B&WN802
for front and put the N803 to the back, SCM-1 on the side.
With this set-up you'll have great sound for HT and even better sound when listing to music.
You'll need SACD or DVD-Audio to get the full potential of this speakers!

After more than 2 years, I still would get the same set-up.

Similar Products Used:

Ariel 10T,Piega LDRP8 Limited,Tannoy Dimension TD10,JBL Ti 10K

I had a good listen to the Nautilus 803 and compared it to the Matrix 803 that was left at the store. They were hooked up to the same receiver, the Denon 5600DTS.
All in all, I loved them both, of course. I must say the Nautilus 803 sounded noticeably different and it seemed fuller than the Matrix 803. The Matrix was a big performer but not quite the Nautilus level.

I do not think there are too many other things to say. I still think the Nautilus line looks funny, but sounds great. However, the price of $5,500 is higher than you'll need to go. You can talk them down or trade up. The sales guy said if I trade in the Matrix, all I need to pay is $2,000. I still may not because the looks are weird and it does not sound THAT much better!

I traded my 802 matrix ser 3 for the 803N. I ws really bonded to the mtrix, and I made this trade with some reservtions ,for altho the side by side comparison at the dealers favored the 803N , would my home site do the same. Well it did beyond my expectations. The bass is a tad more prominent, but the middle and highs are truly more revealing. I just hate to use superlatives , but all in all the 803N are superlative.
The 802N 's and are even better. A class in themselves, but --- where most people consider them beautiful, I truly hate that bowling ball sticking up out of the main cabinet. On the other hand, the 803N's are really gorgeous.

More $5000 listening. I have listened to Ariel 7b with Bryston 3B-ST amp, Theils with ARC amps, and 803N with McIntosh equip.
For $5000, the 803N fell squarely between the Ariel and Thiels. The Thiels were too bright. The 803 had upper midrange clarity that blew the other two away. The bass was taught but lacked that last octave of oomph. (Try track 12 of Firebird by Stravinsky on DG 4D Audio.) Celine Dion never sounded so good. On the other hand, the cellos and violas were not presented as well as the Ariels. IMHO, the Theils just cant compete. I would say I loved the clarity and focus and soundstage of the 803N. However, at $5000, they look damn ugly in black. In comparison, the Ariels have a fit and finish that the 803N couldnt touch. The Ariels just played music. Not better in upper midrange clarity. Not better in soundstage or focus. But music, that the Ariels did well. Out of these three systems, only the Ariels made music out of Handels Water Musik (HMundi).

So, my conclusion on these babies??
4 for sound (at $5000, dont you expect great snap and slam on the bass?)
3 for looks (black. Ughh)
4 for value.

I am dying to listen Dunlavy SCIV, Von Schweikert VR 4.5s for comparison.

(For those of you who question why I like the the Ariels so much, see the Stereophile review on the Bryston website (3B-ST). There, they compare a Belles 150A Mk III to the Bryston. The Bryston plays music, the Belles have all the audiophile qualities, but doesnt make music as well.) Give me music, not audiophile qualities.

I would like to amend my previous posting. Since that post, I have heard directly from B&W and I must say that they have gone out of their way to work with me and accelerate the delivery of my 803N in natural cherry. While I still do not have these speakers, I have a loaner pair of 803N in another finish. These are truly great sounding speakers. I've been spending my time reacquainting myself with my record and CD collections as these speakers reveal much more music on those recordings that I was previously privy to. While I can't say that I'm entirely satisfied with the logistics involved in getting the speakers, I do give B&W high marks for customer service and true concern about my plight. Furthermore, as the previous author noted, these are certainly worth the wait. Five stars for sound marked down by one for logistics in getting them.

The B&W Nautilus 803's are speakers that allow for definitively true and tight sound reproduction. The bass is very rich and closely approximates reality. There is no notable boominess or chuffing that many people mistakenly presume is "real bass" or "bottom end" found in some other speakers. The midrange and high end is sweetly rich sounding even at low listening levels. Very much like planar speakers in that the sound seems to just exist around you. However, while auditioning the 803's, I found them to have strengths in the extreme upper and lower registers that comparably priced Martin Logans and Magnepans seemed to lack. The engineering that has gone into the cabinet and drivers, which effectively eliminates diffraction and resonance's, is nothing short of remarkable. The result is a speaker that does not add unwanted coloration. Simply put, they make playing everything from rock to orchestral music sound truly stunning. The only minor drawback is that they require a long break in period to achieve their potential.

i heard these the other day at a local dealer along with the 805' & 804's. these were the best sounding of the bunch. they sounded quite good actually, better than even the 801's for most domestic applications. if i had $5500 burning a hole in my pocked i would seriously consider getting these. nice tight bass, good imaging, and good detail. they are *very* forward in their presentation, but that does not really bother me. i will take that over a laid back sounding speaker any day. to me they actually sound very similar to the monitor audio silver 5's i have at home, but not quite as fast as the silver 5's, and quite a bit more forward. (the silver 5's use the same ceramic/metal drivers that the original $30,000 nautilus used - B&W bought the drivers from Monitor Audio) but the 803's (with larger drivers) definitely have better bass - guess there's no getting around the laws of physics. all in all a good speaker, if a little bit over priced in my opinion. make sure to pair them with warm sounding equipment with lots of clean watts. plinius would be a match made in heaven.