HIGHS, MIDRANGE, SENSE OF SPACE, CLARITY, VOCALS

NONE

SHAME ON THOSE WHO RATED THESE SPEAKERS A "1". IF YOU WENT TO A CONSUMER ELECTRONICS STORE (CIRCUIT CITY, BEST BUY ETC), HOW WOULD YOU RATE THEIR PRODUCTS ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5? ARE THESE SPEAKERS IN THE SAME CLASS AS THE ONES SOLD IN THESE TYPE OF STORES..HARDLY. I COMPARED THESE TO HALES, DEFINITIVE TECHNOLOGY, PARADIGM REFERENCE, AND MANY OTHERS IN THEIR PRICE RANGE AND CHOSE THEM FOR THEIR NEUTRALITY,
SENSE OF SPACE, AND ACCURACY. THEY DO NEED GOOD EQUIPMENT TO DRIVE THEM. THE FIRST TIME I HEARD THEM THEY WERE CONNECTED TO A YAMAHA SURROUND SOUND RECEIVER AND A YAMAHA CD CHANGER. THE RESULTS WERE NOT IMPRESSIVE. A SECOND LISTEN AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION WITH BETTER AMPLIFICATION AND MUSIC SOURCE YEILDED COMPLETELY DIFFERENT RESULTS. GAR MINE ARE NOT EVEN BROKEN IN YET AND THEY STILL SOUND GREAT. THE FACT THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE IS EVEN BETTER!

Beautiful mid-tone, very distinctive soundstage, easy to place (not very sensitive to furniture and back-wall)

Could need a little power in the low freqs!

Bought the babies 6 months ago. Still wake up in the night and must see they´re true! The best investment in my system ever! Only suddenly I´we had the financial capacity to buy equipment in that class, but all my "special speakers", both transmission line, closed cabinet and bass reflex has to decline. There is no comparission! Either I have be not accurate in the the construction phase of the home built speakers (I swear I´we been using lots of sand, cement, even marble and very good wood and dampening materials plus the best filters. But that combined with computer-analyced spectrums is not the way to go, B&W and their crew do it better).
My Equipment so far:
(not very Hi-Tec, but i like it)
NAD 770 for the power
Denon 3300 for the CD´s (and DVD)
Project 6,9 for the turntable (I´ll not give up vinyl)
PU Grado Platinium signature

Similar Products Used:

None! Except from my teenage years with cheap bought equipment i have always built my own speakers by myself according to "make-it-yourself" in Hi-Fi magazines, because of the price of similar products.

Very solid, transparent sound. good overall balance. It could be warmer, but it depends on the source and amp. used. I've listen to it with high performance amplification and also with a modest power valve amp, and it was excellent on both situations.

Estethics, size. Accurate time and phase performance, low distortion, good imaging.

Directionality.

Let´s put it short:
After listening 804´s for over a year now, I cannot find any major area of incompetence... and I´m a critical listener in every respect.

Sure, there are differences in an A-B comparison between, for example, 803´s and 804´s, but you can reach the absolute heaven of music already with the 804´s. Some say that their bass is weak. It may be so, but for me the absence of booming is ten times more important. Personally, I dont´t cry for more bass. My subwoofer (B&W ASW-3000) extends down to 20 Hz but I never keep it on while listening to music (the situation is completely different when using the 804´s as a part of my 5.1 system, though). If you have to complain any untolerable performance in middle to high frequencies, your system is in need for a re-thinking, or your psycho-acoustical memory is unnaturally biased ;)

According to my experience the choice between 804 and 803 is very clear. Choose either 804´s or 802´s, not 803´s.

These speakers need lots of current and therefore a quality power amplifier is essential. The 804´s reveal the shortcomings in your audio system in a very convincing manner. You immediately hear all the second class components you were not aware of. Bad music sounds bad music and good music sounds good music, no ´musicality´ or any other form of distortion is added. My only complaint is that these speakers must be precisely positioned and turned towards the listener.

Burn-in time is 2 weeks minimum.

These beauties really can deliver! I´ve never before had a chance to listen to a pair of loudspeakers that sound so good while, at the same time, being so good looking and small in size.

Some comparisons:
1. Genelec 1030A active near-field monitors sound precise but that sound is not natural. They need to be pushed to produce decent sound. The middle-range have some serious problems, too, and female vocals are too challenging to them.
2. B&W Matrix 3... are you kidding.
3. Dali Grand Coupe: sound is mellow, soft, dark, booming compared to 804´s. Stereo imaging is limited.


My system:
- Primare P30 multichannel processor/preamp (D/A conversion is made here)
- Denon DCD-1550AR (used as a CD transport only)
- Apogee WydeEye 75 ohm digital interconnects with Canare RCA plugs
- Electrocompaniet AW-100DMB 2-ch power amplifier
- B&W ASW-3000 active subwoofer
- Sony DAT-59ES
- Taralabs RSC Prime 1000 speaker cables (Bi-wiring)
- Taralabs, Ixos, Chord, Audioquest, van den Hul, interconnects
- 1000+ good and bad sounding CD´s and DAT´s

Similar Products Used:

B&W Matrix 3, Genelec 1030A, Dali Grand Coupe, Nautilus 805-803-802

Incredible sound stage and clarity

I have to leave them at home when I go to work

After quite some time auditioning speakers I finally decided on the N804s, and cannot be happier. I started out with a fairly low budget for a new HT setup, TV and all, the B&W 600 series were right within that budget and on a whim I tried the CDMs. To me the CDM 1NT sounded better than the 603S2, so I kept going... Well long story short, I ended up listening to the Nautilus 804/803s and fell in love. I wouldnt even listen to the 802s for fear I might fall in love with them. When it came down to it, I chose the 804s because the 803s did not seem to offer $1500 value over the 804s, perhaps for a 2 channel system without a sub, but not when mixed with a sub in a 75% music 25% HT setup. Trying to make sure I was making the right choice I then listened to offerings from Monitor, Sonus Faber, and Vienna Acoustics... They all had their strengths, and there were none that I would not love to own, but to my ears none lived up to the N804s.

The N804s stage excellent, are incredibly clear across their usable range, and a good sub (I chose Velodyne HGS-12) makes up for what the 804s lack... I honestly dont think there is a better speaker for the money. I listen to all kinds of music from classical to industrial, and nothing sounds bad on these speakers unless it was recorded poorly to begin with. Their HT performance is excellent when coupled with the HTM2, and they sound great powered by my Integra receiver... I am sure seperates would be better, and I will eventually get there, but it was not in my budget at this time. I came in at just under twice my original budget, and am not complaining one bit, this setup is worth every penny and more... I am sure I will be enjoying my N804s for years to come.

BTW they do sound a tad bright out of the box, but after break in they really shine, not one complaint. I just wish I had some in every room now:)

Similar Products Used:

B&W Nautilus 803, 805, CDM 9NT,7NT, 603S2 Monitor Audio Silver 9i, Vienna Acoustics Beethoven and Mozart, Sonus Faber Grand Piano.

imaging

bass

I seriously considered getting these speakers (with the HTM2 and a pair of CDMSE1's for surround).

They were great.

Then I heard the Acoustic Energy 520's - amazing. The imaging, the clarity, the lightening fast response. And, the bass. The 520's use 2-4" woofers for the low end in a ported box that produce plenty of bass for 2 channel music reproduction (down to 30-35 hz).

I mention this here b/c I feel these $2700 retail speakers offer what most of you are looking for in the 804's. To me, the midrange performance is the most important, then low end, then high end.

Go check these guys out. They are hard to find, but www.acoustic-energy.co.uk might help.

Happy Listening,
Rob
system: http://www.pobox.com/~migliore

Similar Products Used:

AE 520's

Excellent detail on high and mids.

Not forgiving, needs high end equipment

When I listen to these speakers at the store, they were paired with a Proceed amp and a Meridian CD player. The interconnects were high end (>$300). I listend to all speakers in this configuration, and the B&W came out on top.

However, my system was not being run by a Proceed amp and a Meridian CD player. I took it home and it sounded extremly thin out of the box. In fact, I couldn't listen to them for a long period of time without exhaustion.

Investigation of the problem. I was using an Adcom CD player as a trasport to a B&K AC3 surround sound decoder. I was also using a 120 W/channel Bryston. After they broke in, they sounded much better, but not what I had experienced. Could it be my gear.

I've tried extensive combinations of gear. The underlying theme is the speakers are as good as the equipment up stream. Don't kid yourself. You need a really high quality amp, with tons of power to make the lows come to life. The best I've hear these speaker so far is with a 200 W Classe amp, and a Cary tube CD player. Wow!! I could not believe the depth and width of the sound stage and the wonderful recreation of the highs and voices. As everyone knows, it reproduces instruments very accurately but Bass is always an issue. (1) get an amp that can drive these speakers, and (2) the tube CD player is the most underrated piece of equipment on the market.

These speakers are NOT forgiving. Older/bad recordings reveal all the flaws and sometime too much detail. Placing a tube somewhere in the chain solves some of these issues.

Overall, I can now listen to my B&W with all kinds of music for as long as I want with pure enjoyment.

Similar Products Used:

Vienna Acoustic Mozarts, DynAudio

I'm not an audiophile. I'm a musician. I have a good ear (I used to tune pianos). The people giving these speakers a lousy rating don't have good ears. These "speakers" are really outstanding objects that put the musicians in your room--they aren't even speakers. They get a five.

Clarity and definition. Fit and finish. Appealing styling.

none

I purchased this speaker a couple of weeks ago as a demo for $3000. After listening to Martin Logans and Definitive Technologies speakers in the $3-$6000 price range at Ultimate Electronics, I stopped by the B&W dealer at the urging of the Ultimate Electronics salesperson who was as forthright as they come with his opinions about audio products.m. The recordings that I used for all of my tests were Madonnas' "Frozen" which has great female voice, ethereal mids and highs, and some powerful sustained bass notes, And Tupac Shakurs "Changes" which has slamming lows, piercing highs, and some extremely fast bass rythms, with lots of layering of the sounds.

I first listened to the 802's and was very impressed with their imaging and bass slam. I could not believe how loud they could go without any sign of distortion. I got goosebumps from their soundstage and the way the music just enveloped me.

Next I listened to the 803's and was once again blown away by how crystal clear they were. I was hearing things on these tracks that I did not even know existed in these recordings. Their definition was amazing.

Then I listened to the 804's and once again was super impressed. I did not notice a pronounced difference between the 804's and the 803's, and was amazed at the sweetness of their sound on the Madonna track and how well they put out the Tupac even at very loud levels. They did not have the bass slam of the 802's(not even close actually), but even on a track as demanding as "Changes" the bass was tight and had good punch to it. The cymbals were also so crisp it reminded me of my days as a drummer on my brothers drumset.

Although I could have purchased them on the spot due to temporary insanity at what I was hearing, I decided to audition a pair of PSB Stratus Gold(retail $2700) based on their great reviews. In back to back listening comparisons to the 804's I found that the PSB were a bit more brutish with deeper bass response and pretty good imaging and clarity in the mids and highs. When I switched to the 804's I found that the music sounded more delicate and refined. The 804's were singing to me while the PSB's were yelling at me(actually that is an overstatement but you get the point). I actually liked the PSB's and if all you listen to is heavy rock or rap they would be an awesome speaker. In addition to my Madonna and Tupak, I decided to listen to Frank Sinatra, The Mambo Kings, Enya, and some new age music from a compilation C.D. After listening to the variety I really became enamored of the 804's and their cleaner sound. I did not get the goosebump factor out of the PSB's, but definitely got it out of the B&W's.

I would love to have been able to afford the 802, but actually I don't think my house has the space, and they would probably overpower my 12x20 ft. room.

So I now have a speaker that I can build a pretty great sounding system around. They sound sooooo good with my current setup that I can't imagine what they would sound like in my home with a better amp.

My system: Carver 806x bridged to 380w.p.c.x3-(amazing how good these little speakers can handle extremely loud volume levels)

Rotel RSP 980 pre/proc w/ Marantz AC-3 decoder

Sony 7000 DVD

Rotel RB951 50wx2 for rear channels

Genesis 10'' subwoofer

PSB 400i center and rear speakers

Audiotruth Clear speaker cable(biwired)

Tranparent link 100 & DH Labs BL-1 interconnects

Sony Wega 36'' T.V.

Thanks, now pay some attention to your wife you audiophile geek!

Similar Products Used:

PSB Stratus Gold, Definitive Technology 2000, B&W N 801-802-803.

I am auditioning both the 804 and the 805. I am thinking of getting the 804 or the 805 with ASW 2000 to compensate the low end that I think is lacking in the 805. But after many hours in the demo room and A/B both speaker, I came into conclusion the 804 sounds more revealing than the 805. The quality sound of the 804 is better than 805 but the additional sub for the 805 tilted the balance a little bit. Both speaker pairs are connected to an Adcom system with an MIT cable. Unfortunately, the dealer did'nt have an ASW 2000 but insetead we used the Sunfire sub. I used to own a pair of Bose, Mirage, Tannoy and the CDM 7SE in that order. I read all the reviews here and I am puzzled on the extreme opinions between reviewers. It is possible that all of you are right depending on the situation or parameters of the listening condition. I don't consider myself an Audiophile because it is not an exact science that determines who is or not. It is just a matter of taste, opinion, affordability and of course some bias judging (for or against). To sum it all up, I think the 804 is an excellent speaker with a price tag a little bit high but I think it is worth it. An alternative choice is an 805 with a sub that is well suitable for both audio and video. Happy listening and may the force be with you.