to much money for this thing,you need to quad wire amps aswell thats 4 lots of krell or plinius lol

everyone here is talking about transmittion line tec, in this speaker,yes maby a good way of avoiding colloration and abviously reflex port disstortions,no port used,but it is very expensive method.The bass driver has to be able to drive down to 20 hz at a reasonable db,hence a expensive powerfull 10 kg bass driver,wich is one big driver and not a couple small ones like most companies use.the reason why small bass drivers are used by ae etc,is obviously becuase it is easier to controll the light wieght diaphragm.
This speaker is very good yes,but no one has 60 grand for a set of speakers.The ae 5 use a reflexion system yes,but this doesnt mean there bass is over extended or even that the port is used for low hz effect,a port can also be used only to release air ,and who says sound comes out with it?
The ae 5 cost only a fraction of the price and will compete with these speakers in my opinion.Dont blab on about me comparing two totaly diff speakers just listen to the ae 5s and tell me if theres logik in spending 0000 more.

Similar Products Used:

acoustic energy ae 5,although not similar in price

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1st off, the Nautilus is NOT loaded with the primative and coloration laden "transmission type loading". The snail is actually a large tapered tube coiled to save space, hence the snail shell shape. The reason that B&W used this taper loading is to reduce most of the rear energy that propagates (amplifies) down a tube (especially in transmission lines) and rebounds back the driver. The tapered shape wears and reduces propagation, and with damping from materials, the rear energy is absorbed at the end of the snail.

2nd: The B&W used active crossovers because the snail coil causes the bass to be overdamped - a negative improvement since humans prefere a more fuller bass. So the active cross over only functions to lift the lower regions of bass to even up with the rest of the frequencies. That's why there is no active crossover in the N801 model, since they use a matrix supported enclosure.
It is NOTHING like the Bose system, in which they use equalization to manipulate frequences due to their small cube parimetres.


3rd, one reason why Bose is overpriced is that it adds value through complicated production - one step fowards, two steps back. They choose to go the "hard way" in a quest to make their products sound good in a different (and scientificaly wrong) direction. In my experience Bose systems sound like life style mini hi fi's. They do not have any sonic evidence, such as proper bass integration, treble detail, and tonal balance - which Bose seems to ignore to back up their contradictory technology.

Similar Products Used:

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Engineering

Price

Sorry, but I have to clarify some of the "Sydney" review. First, the driver loading technology that B&W uses in the Nautilus is not really new - in fact it has been around for a while. It's called transmission line loading. I'll admit that I don't know a ton about it (there aren't many people who do) but the theory is similar to that of an infinite baffle, except that a transmission line terminus (port) can be used to augment the output of the driver without the potential tuning problems with a bass reflex enclosure.

These speakers (the B&Ws) are odd looking because they are using "theoretically ideal" lines for each driver. The high-frequency and midrange units are in (I'm assuming) 1/4 wavelength tapered lines. The "1/4" is 1/4 of the resonant frequency of the driver itself (Fs) - this determines the length of the line. The primary purpose of the line is to slow the speed of sound off the back of the driver. The lines are normally stuffed with some amount of acoustic stuffing to help the process. Anyway, I'm getting into territory that I'm not sure about. The low frequency unit is also in a tapered line but it is terminated (has no port).

Now to my point: I agree that the B&W is an amazing technological feat. The cabinet construction is almost ridiculously complex and is responsible, I'm sure, for the bulk of the cost of the beast. The driver units are impressive, too, utilizing another relatively new and seldom used dynamic driver technology - flat surface drivers. The theory similar to a planar/electrostatic in launching a uniform wave front. However, even with the technology included in this speaker I don't feel (as a person who cannot and frankly would not ever spend $60K on a set of speakers) that they are worth it at all. The technology can be found elsewhere - check out Carolina Audio for some great transmission line designs. I would put a review out for them if this web site ever adds them. And Phase Technology, although maybe not up to the standards of some "audiophiles" (notice how I didn't pick that term to describe myself), have some very successful and good sounding "solid piston" drivers made from a very exotic material - polystyrene - as in a coffee cup.

I will defend B&W against Bose, however. I admit to being a Bose-basher, but I simply have never heard any product from them that even sounded very good on its own, let alone compared to other products in their price range. Bose is trying to defy the laws of physics by having a 3" driver produce frequencies of 200-20000Hz. Not with standard, paper-cone dynamic drivers you're not!! Bandpass enclosures are not known for great sound quality - usually just quantity. The "wave cannon" is somewhat of a quasi-transmission line. Actually it is more like a compression-horn transmission line. Wierd concept. Mediocre results. Yes, it is efficient. I heard one on several occasions at college. My opinion of the quality is the same as every Klipsch speaker I have ever heard: bass drum kicks and the like sound all the world like a large granite boulder being dropped on a concrete floor. Music? No.

Finally - there is a VERY big difference in the active crossover unit of the B&W Nautilus and the infamous Bose 901. The B&W unit is actually a crossover - nothing more. It is electronic and may have arguable fidelity depending on who you ask, but it basically divides frequencies to the different drivers. The unit probably is responsible for the terrible efficiency. The 901 unit, however, is not just a crossover. It is an active electronic equalizer. Now let's talk about compensation for poor driver performance and selection! Not to mention the fact that most people spending the amount of money being asked for a pair of 901s should care about the equipment and how it functions...

Sorry for the rant - far from a review except for the semi-technical parts. I would suggest checking out some Carolina Audio designs. If any of you read Bound for Sound and remember the Irving (Bud) Fried article, you remember that he said something like "the best speakers should have transmission line loaded drivers and first order series crossovers." Well, Carolina Audio has got them. Heck, you can even call the owner who would build your speakers. Oh, and he used to work for Fried.

Everything

Need lots of room and a LOT of power

I had the VERY rare chance to hear a pair of these at a recent Hi-Fi show and what can you say about these speakers apart from the fact that they are as close to perfection as you are every likely to get from a loudspeaker.

I heard them in a very large room and could still not help but feel that they fill the room with so much sound that these speakers will need an extreme ammount of room to get the most out of them, and I cant express enough so i am gonna say it again...they need an EXTREME ammount of room.

Personally unless I had a room the size of a concert hall Id rather buy a pair of 801's as they cost a fraction of the price and they can sound good in any reasonabally sized room.

But if you must have what is possibly the best of the best in loudspeakers....then the Original Nautillas is your man.

Everything

Price

I find the review by the "Audio Enthusiast from Sydney, Australia" very amusing. The reviewer actually proceeds
to compare Bose and Nautilus technologies as if they
have something in common using terms such as: "multi-
chamber", "acoustic loading", "research",...etc!

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that the
B&W Nautilus and any Bose speaker represents the very
extremes of audio reproduction, B&W being as close to reality as possible.

I have recently have had the chance to audition the
Nautilus speakers on relatively inferior electronics:
Sony SACD player and YBA signature amps and without any
doubt they sounded far better than any speaker I have
ever heard even with far better equipment ( Krell,
Levinson, etc. ) I really couldn't tell the difference between them an the real thing, live voices and
instruments!

I have also heard Bose speakers, all models, for years
now and it blows me aways when anyone finds them as
having anthing but a glorified clock radio sound. Ever wonder why their reviews are so bad, even on this site?
Why you ( at least me ) NEVER see them featured in ANY
audio review magazines other than in advertisements?

Sure the Nautilus is grossly over-priced and looks
weird but there are actually good reasons for this,
it's called: "real scientific reasearch into sound reprodrduction"! I actually think Bose speakers are
even more overpriced, considering the sound you get
at C$1,500 compared to C$60,000 for the Nautilus!

In the end I think it's an insult to High-End auido
and the Nautlus to compare it to Bose speakers! It's
like comparing the voices of Pavarotti and Roseanne
Barr! A Mercedes and a Yugo!

Maybe Bose is High-End Audio to Trailer Park Trash and
to other people used to 8-track tapes, but not to me or anyone else who has even a mediocre listening ear!

I really enjoyed reading that review and writing this
one!

TMS

Similar Products Used:

Wilson Audio X-1, Watt Puppy, Sonus Faber Amati Homage,...etc.

B&W Nautilus
I listened to the Nautilus utilizing Mark Levison electronics, about $80,000 worth. The midrange was the best that I have heard from B&W speakers but the bass and high end was not exceptional. Imaging was very good. I did not perceive that the performance was on par with the price.

sound stage, sound quality. overall very clear

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I was amazed when I heard Bowers and Wilkin Nautilus speaker. I purchased and I have been happy ever since purchase. If you have this amount of money in the bank, I greatly advise you to buy Bowers and Wilkin Nautilus. It takes a lot of energy to power so powerful equipment must be used. Or else, you will not get best potential sound that are capable of Nautilus speaker. I tested other speakers and nothing even compared to Nautilus. Great buy.

Similar Products Used:

magnepan

I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to experience the B&W Nautilus. It was only for a very brief listining session (a few songs).
I heard the Nautilus at "Listen Up", a very find hi end audio/home theater dealer in Denver Colorado. The salesman was kind enough to let me have a listen in their impressive "end of the hall" listening room which had some crazy card-key access control on the door.

The Nautilus are truly beautiful works of art. The one's I saw we're a deep blue/purple color. They were connected to 4 huge (can't remember what kind) amps, a cd transport, and D/A converter which acted as the pre-amp.

You know how when your listening to a great system and after a while the system becomes tranparent and you forget your listening to a hi-fi system? It was like that instantly with the Nautilus. We listened to Ricky Lee Jones and I swear to you that she was in the room with me, sitting down at her panio which was right in front of me. I closed my eyes and was overcome with the sensation of actually sitting in front of a panio. It was far and away the most realistic listening experience I have ever heard in my life. Now I admit, this was the first $70k system I've ever heard, and maybe there are better $70k setups out there (doubt it), but I was truly floored. I walked out of the room with my jaw dragging on the floor.

My congradulations to B&W for creating a truly transparent sounding pair of speakers! I loved the experience of listening to them and will probably never forget it.

This is one of those rare instances that I got a chance to hear the speakers in the exact same conditions as another reviewer. ACE and I heard the speakers in the same room, same hardware (I presume), etc.
The Nautilus are smaller than you think. The finish is very nice to look at, although the design got a thumbs down from my wife.

I have never heard a better soundstage and imaging as I've heard with the Nautilus. They're very clear, very crisp, and very expressive.

That said, there is a coloration that I'm not used to. It's hard to describe, but if you were to take what makes a brass instrument sound like a brass, that effect is exagerated with this speaker. I don't know that it's bad, just different. It's not present in other high end speakers I've heard (Wilson Grand Slam and B&W Silver Signature 30), so I suspect that it's not supposed to be there.

Incredible accurate sound, ultrafine, extreme clear reproducing of sounds

pricing

Wel, i've listened to the Nautilus in the Sheraton Hotel in Brussels, were a major exposition of high-end audio was held. I had the chance to listen more than a few hours to those speakers (if you can call them so).

My experience is EXTREME positive, what i mean is;

I went in the nauthilus-room, sat down, they started a CD played in Mark Levinson material...

I've heard the most incredible sound that men could ever hear! Crystalclear, ultrasharp, ultrafine, incredible,...

I'm not gonna mention one more word on this issue,

SEE and LISTEN for YOURSELF if you EVER have THE CHANCE!!!

I went out of the room a few hours later, without even knowing it...