B&W Nautilus.....Where are you?

[bart]

I had the pleasure of hearing the Nautilus a couple of months ago.
The show also had a pair of 802D's and 800D's to compare.
Difficult comparison though, because the 800 and 802 were driven by Accuphase electronics and the Nautilus by Classe monoblocks.
The Nautilus defended itself pretty good I must say. The highs maybe even more revealing than the Diamonds.
All excellent speakers.
But compared to Dickie's more recent realisations, Vivid Audio, the latter wins very easily. It also requires much less amplifier power.
I own a whole set, so I am probably prejudiced. But I chose the brand only after lots and lots of comparing. And I am still auditioning speakers but have yet to meet its match.

[JohnA]

i was lucky enough to listen to them a few weeks back.
These have been a speaker i have always wanted to listen to and finally got a chance.

The room was designed like a cathedral, very high ceilings with lots of different angles.

bass traps, absorption panels and diffusers, all incorporated into the walls, as well as cd racks

Use of diffusion panels was quite extensive indeed, in fact most of the rear of the room was covered in it.

Floor, 3/4 of the room covered in carpet and the rear 1/4 timber.

Speakers were really brought right into the room, i would say a minimum of around 3 mtrs in, maybe even a little more, and listening seat is nearfield

Equipment was the full DSC scarlatti quad stack. Transport, dac, upsampler and clock.
amps were a pair of 4 channel jeff rowlands
pre amp was a custom built valve job from a local guy here in Melbourne Aus.
There was also an earth box that everything was earthed to.

All i can say is that this has now become my reference system. It just sounded magical.
talk about a 3d soundstage, with great height and width, but the depth was simply amazing.

No doubt the room played a huge part, but none the less, the system as a whole was very impressive indeed.

[Briz Vegaas]

Originally Posted by bart

I had the pleasure of hearing the Nautilus a couple of months ago.
The show also had a pair of 802D's and 800D's to compare.
Difficult comparison though, because the 800 and 802 were driven by Accuphase electronics and the Nautilus by Classe monoblocks.
The Nautilus defended itself pretty good I must say. The highs maybe even more revealing than the Diamonds.
All excellent speakers.
But compared to Dickie's more recent realisations, Vivid Audio, the latter wins very easily. It also requires much less amplifier power.
I own a whole set, so I am probably prejudiced. But I chose the brand only after lots and lots of comparing. And I am still auditioning speakers but have yet to meet its match.

Thats interesting as I have only heard the 802 & 800 series and the Vivid K1s. Unfortunately the Vivids room was not treated and was only soso. The owner was still undecided if he preferred the Vivids or his Revels (which he felt had more emotion).

[AudioNut]

I found a website that lists the retail price as € 52,000.00. ($68,938.5 US dollars)

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by Dj_AmTraX

My girlfriend thinks its UGLY. I must like UGLY.

It is a little reminiscent of the Alien!

[piolaxo]

That's is why it is a killer machine!

[Grasshopper]

I think I'd be happy keeping my B&W signature 800's....and picking up a nice pre-owned Porsche 911 Turbo with the difference in price.

[ssmith3046]

I own a pair of Nautilus speakers. Nautilus 805 speakers that is

[Eisener Bart]

There are a pair of "Aliens" in my City, it owns to my collegue - Master (but from passenger fleet). I am still waiting moment to catch him on vacation, already second year, no luck till now.

[BlueSky]

I once asked a car salesman in a Ferrari dealership if I could take a test drive in the used Testarossa that they had on the show room floor. He told me that I could test drive it if I purchased it. I suspect the same philosophy may be true in the case of the Nautilus.

If you are in the market for speakers in this price range (excluding the 4 channels of amplification each speaker needs), it may be worth taking a jaunt to Great Britain, touring the factory and scheduling an audition of this fantastic speaker. I'd say it'd be money well spent if you can't find them closer to home.

Cheers!