AudioAficionado.org  

Go Back   AudioAficionado.org > Manufacturers Forums > B&W Speakers

B&W Speakers Bowers & Wilkins Greatest

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 08-10-2020, 12:56 AM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Question The evolution of the Nautilus line?

Now that I've stumbled into the AAF's B&W Speaker Board, and have now read the posts in a thread asking how long people have owned their B&W speakers, I'll admit to having no idea that there was [apparently] more than one advancement/iteration in the Nautilus line.

All I know is that the Mrs. and I visited a high-end audio dealer outside of New Orleans (NOLA) that had several different rooms containing various stereo systems ... but the one that "caught our ear" was the room with the B&W Nautilus loud speakers in it. That was circa 2004 and we, subsequently, purchased a pair of mint dark cherry N802s that we could ... almost afford, and had the factory boxes palletized and air-freighted to the Louis Armstrong International.

Later, we made a road trip to Jackson, MS, and purchased a pair of flawless dark cherry N805s. Luckily for us, all four survived Katrina without a hitch and they have had a special place in our hearts ever since.

Although I think that I'd be a bit reticent to "hear" how the line has advanced -- due to a lack of means necessary to buy a new pair -- I would really love to read about the evolution of these wonderful loud speakers. If anyone who's well-versed in the B&W Nautilus line would care to share their knowledge with us, we would love to read about it. Thank you for your time.
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections

Last edited by 70sMac; 08-10-2020 at 04:14 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 08-10-2020, 02:33 AM
bart's Avatar
bart bart is offline
Life is beautiful
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Belgium
Posts: 19,867
Default

Bill..., if you mean the original 'Nautilus' speaker B&W brought out in the 90s, its most recent development is found in the new speaker company that Laurence Dickie, creator of the Nautilus, started some 15 years ago: Vivid Audio.
Better and more refined sound and much more easy to drive than the old Nautilus, which by the way, still sells surprisingly well after a career of almost 3 decades.

If you mean the diamond series of the B&W 800 series, then we're now at series 3. I've heard series 1, 2 and 3 extensively, and the newest series is the best by quite a margin.

If you plan on hearing the 803D3 or 802D3, you owe it to yourself to demo the comparably priced Vivid Audio Kaya45 and Kaya90. They even give more insight into the music. Ymmv.

Good luck!
__________________
Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux
AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E
Second system (veranda): Halgorythme preamp and monoblocks, Burmester 061, Avalon Avatar, Sharkwire & Wireworld cables
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 08-10-2020, 04:12 PM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Default What does that "N" suffix mean?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bart View Post
Bill..., if you mean the original 'Nautilus' speaker B&W brought out in the 90s, its most recent development is found in the new speaker company that Laurence Dickie, creator of the Nautilus, started some 15 years ago: Vivid Audio.
Better and more refined sound and much more easy to drive than the old Nautilus, which by the way, still sells surprisingly well after a career of almost 3 decades.

If you mean the diamond series of the B&W 800 series, then we're now at series 3. I've heard series 1, 2 and 3 extensively, and the newest series is the best by quite a margin.

If you plan on hearing the 803D3 or 802D3, you owe it to yourself to demo the comparably priced Vivid Audio Kaya45 and Kaya90. They even give more insight into the music. Ymmv.

Good luck!
Quite humbly, Bart, I was serious when I posted that I'm reluctant to hear a pair of the latest B&W Nautilus speakers. If they're that much better than the 802s and the 805s we presently love, I really don't want to [pardon the pun] "hear it." Instead, I'm trying to determine exactly which type of B&W Nautilus line speakers we own. All four of them were manufactured circa 2004, but as the post I just added to the 'Thank You For Becoming a Subscriber!' forum thread explains, we've been well out of the high-end audio world for quite some time...and are presently trying to get our sea legs back under us.

If you're interested in the thread I just referenced, here's a link to it: https://www.audioaficionado.org/show...?t=135&page=18
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections

Last edited by 70sMac; 08-10-2020 at 04:30 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 08-10-2020, 04:25 PM
meltemi meltemi is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 421
Default

B&W production years:

1966 B&W electronics is founded.

1969 - 1975 DM70 Continental ("washing machine", 11 element mid-high frequency electrostatic drivers, dynamic low frequency driver) followed by DM70 improved (new electrostatic drivers).

1976 DM6 ("pregnant kangoroo", Kevlar midrange, phase alignement).

1977 DM7 (separate high frequecy enclosure on top of the low-mid frequency enclosure).

* 1st generation series 800 (pre Nautilus):

1979 -1986 original 801 (with battery powered overload protection), followed by 801F (reinforced midrange enclosure, audio powered overload circuit APOC) and 801FS (new tweeter).

1987 - 1991
Matrix 801 series 2 (fluid cooled alu tweeter).

1992 - 1997 Matrix 801 series 3 (improved fluid cooled alu tweeter, improved frequency dividing network).

1993 original Nautilus

* 2nd generation 800 series (post Nautilus):

1998 - 2004 Nautilus 800 series (800N series, alu tweeter)

2005 - 2009
800 D series (800 D1 series, Diamond tweeters for 800, 801, 802 and 803)

2010 - 2015
800 Diamond series (800 D2 series, Diamond tweeters for whole range, no more 801)

* 3rd generation 800 series (50th anniversary):

2015 - current
800 D3 series (completely new construction, 800 D3 appeared 2016 as 50th anniversary model)

Martin

Last edited by meltemi; 08-29-2020 at 08:59 PM. Reason: 803D added
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 08-10-2020, 04:35 PM
70sMac's Avatar
70sMac 70sMac is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: The Berkshires
Posts: 557
Thumbs up Very Nice list

Martin..... Thanks very much for the B&W timeline. Going by your list, it would seem that we own the 802Ns and the 805Ns.
__________________
Bill in the Hills

OUR VINTAGE MAC: MAC4100, MAC4200 | AMPS: MC452, MC300 | MAC PRE/PROS: MX151, MX130, MX121 | B&W SPEAKERS: (2) N802s, (2) N805s, (1) HTM3S | NEWER EQUIPMENT: Oppo 203 & 105D, Sony X800M2, Denon CDR-W1500 | VIDEO DISPLAY: 65" LG OLED | IMPORTANT NOTE: Zero High-speed internet connections

Last edited by 70sMac; 08-10-2020 at 07:56 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 08-27-2020, 03:06 AM
obiwankenobi obiwankenobi is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2020
Posts: 13
Default

Just curious if there are rumors that 800 D4 series is coming soon? Not that the current line up is facing lots of competition. I bought my 804 D2 in late 2014 and should I have known, I would rather wait for D3. The difference is quite substantial.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 08-28-2020, 01:38 PM
silversurfer6 silversurfer6 is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 193
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by obiwankenobi View Post
Just curious if there are rumors that 800 D4 series is coming soon? Not that the current line up is facing lots of competition. I bought my 804 D2 in late 2014 and should I have known, I would rather wait for D3. The difference is quite substantial.


Have not heard anything. Could be late 2021 or 2022 I guess.

I
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 08-29-2020, 07:21 AM
hdvidguy hdvidguy is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Ontario
Posts: 267
Default

I only seen one rumour on another forum that 600 series is getting refreshed.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 08-29-2020, 10:06 AM
thughes thughes is offline
Senior Member

 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,314
Default

Quote:
2005 - 2009 800 D series (800 D1 series, Diamond tweeters for 800, 801 and 802)
... and the 803D
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 08-29-2020, 10:10 AM
joey_v joey_v is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: DFW, Texas
Posts: 2,179
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by thughes View Post
... and the 803D
I believe you are correct.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Audioaficionado.org tested by Norton Internet Security

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:57 PM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.10
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
©Copyright 2009-2023 AudioAficionado.org.Privately owned, All Rights Reserved.
Audio Aficionado Sponsors
AudioAficionado Subscriber
AudioAficionado Subscriber
Inspire By Dennis Had
Inspire By Dennis Had
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Harmonic Resolution Systems
Wyred4Sound
Wyred4Sound
Dragonfire Acoustics
Dragonfire Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
GIK Acoustics
Esoteric
Esoteric
AC Infinity
AC Infinity
JL Audio
JL Audio
Add Powr
Add Powr
Accuphase - Soulution
Accuphase - Soulution
Audio by E
Audio by E
Canton
Canton
Bryston
Bryston
WireWorld Cables
WireWorld Cables
Stillpoints
Stillpoints
Bricasti Design
Bricasti Design
Furutech
Furutech
Shunyata Research
Shunyata Research
Legend Audio & Video
Legend Audio & Video