The evolution of the Nautilus line?

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by Audio 1

No it is not my speaker .... just an image of the finish you wanted to see

Okay, thank you, sir.

[meltemi]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

Buddy..... If it is, please forgive my ignorance...but is that the base that the speaker came with?

https://www.bowerswilkins.com/net/product-archive

Go to the above URL and choose Prestige:
Amongst others you will find the info sheet (with pic) and the manual of the Prestige Signature 800.
Then choose Series 800:
Amongst others you will find the info sheets ( with pics) and the manuals of 800 Series 800 D (D1) and 800 Series 800 Diamond (D2).

The base is an integral part of all three speaker models mentioned above and is permanently fixed to them. The bass reflex port is firing down to the upper surface of the base. The base contains the frequency dividing network.
Castors or pins are mounted at the bottom of the base.

Martin

P.S. I love my black 800 D3.

[RaceCarDriver]

Fun fact. Signature 800 was avail in Red Birdseye finish and Nautilus 800 are identical internally.

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by meltemi

https://www.bowerswilkins.com/net/product-archive

Go to the above URL and choose Prestige:
Amongst others you will find the info sheet (with pic) and the manual of the Prestige Signature 800.
Then choose Series 800:
Amongst others you will find the info sheets ( with pics) and the manuals of 800 Series 800 D (D1) and 800 Series 800 Diamond (D2).

The base is an integral part of all three speaker models mentioned above and is permanently fixed to them. The bass reflex port is firing down to the upper surface of the base. The base contains the frequency dividing network.
Castors or pins are mounted at the bottom of the base.

Martin

P.S. I love my black 800 D3.

Thanks for participating in the B&W Evolution thread again, Martin.

I used the B&W link you provided and was quite happy to see that our new 800 HTM3S center was listed there.

By the way, my wife -- who loves our N80Xs as much as I do -- and I recently had a pair of piano black 800 D3s auditioned for use, courtesy of a pair of Mac MC1.2KW mono blocks. Although some AAF folks have written that B&W wants to keep things fairly consistent across the entire 800-series, I think that I'd beg to differ with them a bit when it comes to the 800 D3s we listened to. In fact, the word that came to mind after hearing the 800 D3s was "different," as in different than what we're used to. Don't get me wrong, they sounded great, especially at the higher frequencies, but they sounded different than our N802s, nevertheless.

Thanks again and have a great day

[meltemi]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

Although some AAF folks have written that B&W wants to keep things fairly consistent across the entire 800-series, I think that I'd beg to differ with them a bit when it comes to the 800 D3s we listened to.

B&W tries to make them fairly consistent in sound character within a single generation. But they definitely do sound different (IMHO better) from one generation to the next.
Design goals from generation to generation are less distortion, less resonances, less diffraction, less colouration, better impulse response, more naturalness (more music).

The result is, that with each generation it gets more difficult to find sources, amplification and cables, which truly match the the sonic potential of the speakers.
There are a lot of good components out there on the market, but unfortunately components that are good enough for the 800 D3 are extremely rare indeed (and very expensive).
IMHO combining 800 D3 with an Accuphase reference chain with Audioquest WEL Signature cabling will truly unleash the potential of the 800 D3.
And room correction is a must.

Originally Posted by 70sMac

In fact, the word that came to mind after hearing the 800 D3s was "different," as in different than what we're used to. Don't get me wrong, they sounded great, especially at the higher frequencies, but they sounded different than our N802s, nevertheless.

It's your personal taste that counts and that's absolutely ok.

Martin

P.S. I'm in doubt that a number of well known brands often used in combination with 800 D3 are really an optimal match.

[audioguy3107]

BAck in the late 90’s, I would’ve killed for a pair of Signature 30s....I still think it’s one of the best looking loudspeakers they’ve ever developed. Beautiful finish either here or in the red.

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by meltemi

B&W tries to make them fairly consistent in sound character within a single generation. But they definitely do sound different (IMHO better) from one generation to the next. Design goals from generation to generation are less distortion, less resonances, less diffraction, less colouration, better impulse response, more naturalness (more music).

The result is, that with each generation it gets more difficult to find sources, amplification and cables, which truly match the the sonic potential of the speakers.
There are a lot of good components out there on the market, but unfortunately components that are good enough for the 800 D3 are extremely rare indeed (and very expensive). IMHO combining 800 D3 with an Accuphase reference chain with Audioquest WEL Signature cabling will truly unleash the potential of the 800 D3. And room correction is a must.

It's your personal taste that counts and that's absolutely ok.

P.S. I'm in doubt that a number of well known brands often used in combination with 800 D3 are really an optimal match.

There are no more subjective terms in our beautiful language than "better," "best" or any of their derivatives, Martin. As you may recall, I mentioned that the B&W 800 D3s we listened to sounded...yep, another one of those derivatives: "great."

I've got zero complaints about the D3s, but our old ears are accustomed to our old N800-series B&Ws, which we still love and enjoy. I'm not sure if they're the "best" we've ever heard, but I'll leave that to the younger folks to argue about.

Thanks for the post.

[hdvidguy]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

I've got zero complaints about the D3s, but our old ears are accustomed to our old N800-series B&Ws, which we still love and enjoy. I'm not sure if they're the "best" we've ever heard, but I'll leave that to the younger folks to argue about.

Thanks for the post.

I have the 802N also. I heard the 800 D3's on a very similar front end, but lesser DAC. I wish I didn't! I came back home and played the same tracks. Once you hear the D3's on a great system, for me it's really hard to play anything at my home 802N's anymore. Argh!

[bart]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

There are no more subjective terms in our beautiful language than "better," "best" or any of their derivatives, Martin. As you may recall, I mentioned that the B&W 800 D3s we listened to sounded...yep, another one of those derivatives: "great."

I've got zero complaints about the D3s, but our old ears are accustomed to our old N800-series B&Ws, which we still love and enjoy. I'm not sure if they're the "best" we've ever heard, but I'll leave that to the younger folks to argue about.

Thanks for the post.

Bill, I'll have to concur with the other posters here.
I've heard the D series extensively, then also the D2 series, and later the 805 D3, 804 D3, 803 D3, 802 D3, 800 D3. Dozens of hours in total.
Each generation betters the older one, the D3 does this by quite a margin.
Looking forward to the D4 series, and who knows, D3s might appear on the used market for bargain prices...

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by hdvidguy

I have the 802N also. I heard the 800 D3's on a very similar front end, but lesser DAC. I wish I didn't! I came back home and played the same tracks. Once you hear the D3's on a great system, for me it's really hard to play anything at my home 802N's anymore. Argh!

Luckily for us, we didn't suffer with the same experience, HD Vid Guy. The B&W 800 D3s demonstrated for us were (going backwards) being driven by two Mac MC1.2KW mono blocks, which were receiving analog from a Mac C2700, which was connected to a Roon Nucleus streaming from Tidal. I'll leave the judgment up to the reader, but I believe that they were getting a pretty "decent" signal to work with.

In that treated sound room, they sounded highly-detailed with the acoustic guitar music that the salesman chose, which is why I mentioned B&W featuring the higher end of the sonic f range...but when my wife chose her own song to be played, they weren't quite as impressive. In short, if you have to "hear" all of the higher-end details, the D3s are the speakers for you...but, nothing personal, in our untreated room, we'll keep our $30K and stick with our old (paid for) N80Xs.