The evolution of the Nautilus line?

[hdvidguy]

Originally Posted by 70sMac

HD Vid Guy.....

...and speaking of signatures, do you like the HTM1 that you got to match up with your N802 speakers?

This is quite an interesting question! Sometimes I need to walk up and listen to the HTM1N to see if the sound is coming through it or the 802N's or both. It blends in that good, minus the lower end Bass. I cut off the Bass to the HTM1 around 45 or 50Hz to avoid over driving the bass drivers.

[Rick721]

A friend of mine has heard all the latest Vivid Audio speakers but he still has his B&W Nautilus Flagship speakers !

They sound amazing with his Rotel Michi preamp and Michi amps !

Here's a video of someone using Rotel Michi gear with these speakers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6zif_UGftc

This might be my end-game system some day !

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by hdvidguy

This is quite an interesting question! Sometimes I need to walk up and listen to the HTM1N to see if the sound is coming through it or the 802N's or both. It blends in that good, minus the lower end Bass. I cut off the Bass to the HTM1 around 45 or 50Hz to avoid over driving the bass drivers.

HD Vid Guy..... I agree. We presently have our new B&W 800 HTM3S hooked up to the right channel of our Mac MC300 in our stereo setup. No, it doesn't have all of the fine characteristics of the N802 on the left channel, but it certainly isn't standing out as "weak link," either. Like yourself, I believe that it's blending in quite well.

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by obiwankenobi

What's the main difference between 802D3 and 800D3? I thought the latter is supposed to be an "upgrade"?

Obi Wan..... In general, the 800 D3s are "bigger' than the 802 D3s. As the Race Car Driver pointed out, the woofers are 2" larger in diameter than the pair found in the 802 D3s, which, according to B&W, delivers a 2 Hz advantage on the low end of the [useable] frequency spectrum. There's only an 8 pound difference in mass between the two models, but there's about a 27% increase in price between the two models, as well ($30K for the 800 D3s -vs- $22K for the 802 D3s).

And when I say bigger, here's what I mean [specifically]:

B&W 800 D3

Mass = 212 pounds
Height = 1212 mm (47.7 inches)
Width = 413 mm (16.26 inches)
Depth = 611 mm (24 inches)

B&W 802 D3

Mass = 208 pounds
Height = 1212 mm (47.7 inches)
Width = 390 mm (15.4 inches)
Depth = 583 mm (23 inches)

Putting the price difference aside... In the end, it has a lot to do with your room. We don't have an "auditorium" size listening area, so the smaller overall size of our 802s works very nicely.

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by Rick721

A friend of mine has heard all the latest Vivid Audio speakers but he still has his B&W Nautilus Flagship speakers !

They sound amazing with his Rotel Michi preamp and Michi amps !

Here's a video of someone using Rotel Michi gear with these speakers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6zif_UGftc

This might be my end-game system some day !

Yes, even through the weak speakers I have in my office, I could clearly hear why those Nautilus speakers were created. Man, what a pair of loud speakers!

[SomeGeoffGuy]

I heard the 800D3's set up at Axpona in 2019 and both me and my wife thought it was the best sounding setup at the entire show. It sounded absolutely amazing. Yea, they had a subwoofer going, but that wasn't what made it so good. What was amazing is how they filled up a carpeted hotel meeting room with sound and completely disappeared. It was incredible. Running off all McIntosh gear (except for the streamer I think) including a C2600 and a pair of MC611's. DM me your email and I can send you some pictures if you want, I either don't have pic posting privileges or just haven't figured out how yet...

They are on the bucket list for me. Still working on the wife though...

-Geoff

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by SomeGeoffGuy

I heard the 800D3's set up at Axpona in 2019 and both me and my wife thought it was the best sounding setup at the entire show. It sounded absolutely amazing. Yea, they had a subwoofer going, but that wasn't what made it so good. What was amazing is how they filled up a carpeted hotel meeting room with sound and completely disappeared. It was incredible. Running off all McIntosh gear (except for the streamer I think) including a C2600 and a pair of MC611's. DM me your email and I can send you some pictures if you want, I either don't have pic posting privileges or just haven't figured out how yet...

They are on the bucket list for me. Still working on the wife though...

-Geoff

Hi Geoff..... I'm not really a AAF veteran, by any means, but I believe that private messaging comes with a subscription to the forum. I have made several friends here who've helped me quite a bit with our goal to establish our first McIntosh-based A/V room. Other than the B&W 800 D3s you want, I'm not sure whether or not you have certain goals in mind, but, if you do, you will probably find some pretty solid advice here on the AAF.

By the way, I grew up with a Geoff. Where are you from?

[PeterMusic]

Originally Posted by SomeGeoffGuy

I heard the 800D3's set up at Axpona in 2019 and both me and my wife thought it was the best sounding setup at the entire show. It sounded absolutely amazing. Yea, they had a subwoofer going, but that wasn't what made it so good. What was amazing is how they filled up a carpeted hotel meeting room with sound and completely disappeared. It was incredible. Running off all McIntosh gear (except for the streamer I think) including a C2600 and a pair of MC611's. DM me your email and I can send you some pictures if you want, I either don't have pic posting privileges or just haven't figured out how yet...

They are on the bucket list for me. Still working on the wife though...

-Geoff

Agreed! While buying a TV at Best Buy at year ago, I got them to play exactly that setup for me in their listening room. An amazing wall of sound with both intricate detail and real body. It was the closest I've heard any system come to a live show. If only I had a large enough room...or a wife with a different design aesthetic...

[FreddieFerric]

When the word "Nautilus" has been thrown around here I kept thinking it was this one:

[70sMac]

Originally Posted by FreddieFerric

When the word "Nautilus" has been thrown around here I kept thinking it was this one:

Freddie..... Posts 62 and 65 are both indeed related to the great Nautilus speakers depicted in your photo. The original post, on the other hand, was based on the B&W 80XN loud speakers that were manufactured between 1998 and 2004. I realize that they don't have a whole lot in common with the actual "Nautilus" loud speakers, but they had the word printed all over the boxes they came out of the factory in, regardless...and they're still being enjoyed by folks like us.