amazing sound(best under $5,000)incredible detail,best looking speaker i have seen in awhile,unreal midrange for price,electrostat-like transparency,rock solid,most versitile speaker in class

could use a sub,pricey,less bass than 803

These are in my opinion the best value under 8K. I have listened to so many speakers my ears were ready to fall off. I heard the Nautilus 803's and 804's and i stopped looking.The 803's are great but the 804's are just as good minus some bass. no other speaker in that class can really touch them for accuracy, timbre, warmth and overall soundstage. they sound like a $6,000.00 speaker and anyone who thinks they sound bad is jealous or tone deaf.Stereophile seems to ignore the speakers people really will buy and concentrates on either recommending small overpriced mini-monitors or tinny sounding ceramic driver speakers you need a $5,000 sub to pair with. Even worse they crowd the rest of the articles on $10,000 monsters most people would never buy.So thats that. I get my new n804's in a week in light cherry,can't wait.

Similar Products Used:

vienna accoustic beethoven,monitor audio gold 20,s.faber grand piano,psb status goldi,Josephs,Maggies,Quad 988
Martin logans,Montana,etc.

build quality

price, coherence

This speaker does some individual things right, but just doesn't come together in the end. The drivers are well designed but don't come together well. The tweeter calls attention to itself way too much and doesn't match well with the rather dry midrange presentation. And the bass, while not bad, is way too anemic for a speaker in this price range.

Which brings me to the main point. While this speaker does some things well it simply can't compete with other speakers in this price category. B&W went way overboard on the cost of the cabinet, and the result is that there are a whole bunch of speakers at the $2000 level that just trounce the 804s into the ground. At the $3500 level they just plain get embarrassed. Go listen to the Silverline Sonatina II, Coincident Eclipse, Thiel 2.3 or 1.5, Joseph Audio RM25, Soliloquy 6.3 or 6.2 or 5.3, Gershmann RX20, Triangle Ventis or Celius, and the Audio Physic Virgo or Tempo III and you'll see what I mean immediately. Add to this the fact that they are very picky in terms of what amplification they work well with, and you have a combination of underwhelming performance for the price and high maintenance to boot. I would strongly encourage anyone considering these speakers to try any of the speakers listed above before buying the 804s--you'll get much better overall performance and/or save yourself a bunch of cash. I respect B&W as a company, but the price/performance of these speakers is really lacking when compared to the competition. A lot of people will buy these based on their hi-tech appearance or the B&W name, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't take a good look at what else is out there.

Similar Products Used:

Silverline, Coincident Technology, Thiel, VonSchweikert, Joseph Audio, Soliloquy, Gershman, Triangle, Audio Physic

Great Speakers, Superb Midrange, Outstanding Bass, clean highs and very good looking :)

The price can be a little high but you get for what you paid. Long time breaking in but it improves everytime you listen

I would recommend this speaker to anyone. I have owned these speakers for over a months now. There is still plenty of time for it to break in. The bass is just right but if anyone who wants more bass, I would recommend its higher lines. example N803, N802... etc. I m running these speakers thru my Classe' Preamp and Amp which also need to break in. I m sure that I will get greater sound when my entire system are well broken-in. Great Job B&W :)

Similar Products Used:

Acoustic Research, Bose, AMC, Boston Acoustic, JBL

Follow up from my review of 8/12/01

I just posted probably a 300 word review and forgot to do the ratings. I wish this site would tell you this before it appears to be accepted.

Anyway, ashorter version...cables,cables,cables. I never dreamed that cables would make any difference in a sound system. I was using bi-wired Monsters with my 804s. A guru sales guy sold me on Analysis Plus for my 804s and I was so skeptical I made him put in writing that I could return if I couldn't tell a difference. The bottom line is I spent over $1700 on speaker cables, interconnects and jumpers.

When they arrived 2 weeks later, I was absolutely stunned at the difference in my already awesome 804s.Now I am tired of typing.

Pristine highs, dynamic midrange, awesome detail, slightly forward but not bright, openess,acurracy, beautiful-wife and interior decorator friendly

Imaging can be less than perfect if not set up properly, bass extension helped by a good sub, like a REL

Simply review:
1. Since upgrading to these speakers I have not listened to ANY system at a friends or dealers and thought that it sounded better.
2. My local audio store doesnt even try to get me to upgrade, says I couldnt without spending five digits on speakers, and he doesn't even carry the line.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 301, B&W 602, B&W 604, Energy AE1, Matrix 805

Cabinet aesthetics and build quality. Midrange is awesome

Bass response a little weak

I saw and heard the B&W lineup for the first time a year ago through the 802N, 804N and 805N. The 802s were really incredible but very expensive and too large for my space.I did hear the B&Ws in comparison to expensive Martin Logans which didn't impress me.The 804s were my choice for space reasons and also affordability. To me the 803s don't make sense for the extra $1500. The beauty of the Nautilus line was important to me as I have to look at them everyday. I have the rosewood finish which I think is much more becoming than the black ash.The light cherry would fit nicely in more contemporary settings. I was lucky to find a set through Ebay that were only 3 months old and in perfect condition and saved muself some bucks. The day they arrived I unpacked and connected them before my wife got home from work. Now the real test. I played Eric Clapton Unplugged and the wife was stunned at the voice quality. We have played this disc at least 50 times and she swore she could hear sounds unheard before.I next palyed Van Halen, then Sinatra and so on.The sound quality is just superb. I use a Definitive Technology sub for the extra bass needed...no big deal.If I had the space and the money I would go for the 802s and move the 804s to the rear. I do plan on purchasing soon the 805s for the rear channel. By the way, some of my other equipment is:
B&K 7250 amp
B&K Ref 30 preamp
Pioneer Elite DV-C36 DVD player
Denon DCM340 CD player
Pioneer CLD-1070 laserdisc player
Monster HTS-3500 Power Center
B&W HTM2 Center Channel
I don't claim to be an audiophile...hell I'm half deaf from childhood ear infections anyway.But these speakers look and sound better than anything I have ever experienced.

Similar Products Used:

Have used Boston Acoustics and Polk SDAs, but neither really compare

Clear, fast, accurate midrange & treble
Tuneful articulate bass.
Seamless integration between bass and midrange drivers.
Realistic honest balanced sound (no increase in treble to exaggerate harmonics for “hi-fi” sound)
No significant effect from placement close to rear wall although they sound best when placed far apart.
Looks & build quality

Bass slightly weak especially first octave (improves with higher power amps and with use)
Sound best with amplifiers with 300-400w (4 ohms) due to low impedance
Base unstable (best to rest on screws attached to floor)
Party guests tend to mistake tweeters for karaoke microphones!

The best speakers I’ve heard in this price range. Would prefer the 802’s or the Quad ESL 989 if I had the money.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio 1.3 SE& 1.8 MII, Monitor Audio Studio 50, KEF reference2 II + many others.

Very detailed, great imaging, great soundstage. A great speaker

Less bass than one would expect for a speaker this size and cost.

Hopefully, this will help those looking for speakers in the $3K range. I listened to the 805's (alone and with a REL Strata III sub), the 804's, and the Joseph Audio rm25si's and 22si's. First, IMHO, I preferred the 25si, which I got on the 'net for $2100, 7 mos. old, over the 804's, which I still thought were fantastic speakers -- just not as good as the Joseph Audio's, particularly considering price.

805's: What can be said bad about these fine speakers? They are excellent, nice soundstage, great transparency, very detailed. With my equipment (B&K AVR 202, Sony 7700 and REL Strata III), these speakers were absolutely terrific for $1800. If that was my budget -- hands down couldn't do better, with the REL added. Great bass, great high end, perfect with the right electronics. Great resale value and can be sold at a high price immediately. B&W stands are pricey but I like them.

804's: These beat the 805's w/o the REL sub hands down (although with the REL Strata III, it was almost a tie, with the 805/sub combo providing a much better low end while coming close to the 804 in all other respects). Even better soudstage, clarity, crisp highs. A very open top end due to the fine Nautilus tweeter. Not forgiving of bad source material or electronics. These show flaws in old recordings, which are the bulk of my collection (old jazz, 60's and 70's rock). A beautiful sounding speaker that has immediate resale value, huge demand.

PSB Gold i: Almost half the price of the 804's (over the internet, not list), I thought these were very pleasant speakers to listen to. Nice soundstage and imaging, pleasant rolled off high's, but the bass on these was sloppy and ill-defined, especially for their huge size. Bottom line: Not even close to the same league as either the 804's, 805's with the REL or the Joseph Audio RM25si, but at $1,799 or so, its certainly the least expensive of all of them.

RM25si: I LOVED these speakers. Extremely defined, great, tight bass, much better than the 804's bass response. Wonderfully detailed and crisp highs, with excellent placement of instruments in the soundstage. A real 3-D sound! A very slight roll-off (and I mean SLIGHT) in the mid's and highs makes even dubious source material sound at least listenable (like old Grateful Dead boots, and the like) while truly shining on well-recorded music (unlike the B&W's, which, when fed bad source material, sound rough). Even clinical CD's sound wonderfully engaging. Coupled with my REL subwoofer, just astounding! These are a must listen-to!

Summary: Let's face it. Listening to speakers is subjective, based on room acoustics, electronics, cabling, source material and personal taste. B&W 804's are wonderful speakers. Very analytical. But to my ears, the RM25si's just do everything better, while still remaining accurate without coloring the music. Check them out against the 804's and see for yourself.

Similar Products Used:

Joseph Audio rm25si, B&W Nautilus 805's, PSB Gold i.

I recently auditioned N804's because I am looking for high end sound in a conservative looking box. They are very good looking speakers and at $3500 they peaked my interest. After listening I came to the followinng conclusions:1.) TWEETER,,HELLO (Bright)
2.) Thin in the bass department
3.) Amazing midrange liquidity
Too bad this midrange magic is not utilized in a better overall design. Maybe the N803's fit the bill but they are $5000. Personally I liked the old Matrix series sound better with the only positive in the N804 being the midrange.

I've been waiting for six months to upgrade my B&W DM 604's and have finally been rewarded. The N804 are truly wonderful. The accuracy and clarity of the music is superb. I've listened to several types of music - specifically pop, jazz, and classical - and am hearing details I've never heard before. It's like listening to the recordings for the first time again. I wasn't sure how much of a difference there would be between the 604s and the 804s, but from what I'm hearing, it's quite obvious. The mids and highs are very clean; however, the bass is somewhat lacking (in comparison to the 604s). I'm hoping this will be improved on the N803s. Getting the speakers has been difficult as delivery times kept getting pushed back. My original order for the cherry finish took so long that I decided to accept the black finish for the present (I upgrade yearly). Hopefully B&W will improve their distribution channels.
Before I digress too much, I'd give the N804s a solid 4+ rating based on the sound quality and a 3+ based on the actual order and delivery of the product.