B&W Nautilus

[southall-1998_mk2]

I used to lust after these many years ago. The design looks timeless! Yes, I'm talking about the ones that are shaped like a snail shell. Not the 'trickle down' 800 series.

Anyone here heard them?

S.

[Pharos]

I used to lust after these many years ago. The design looks timeless! Yes, I'm talking about the ones that are shaped like a snail shell. Not the 'trickle down' 800 series.

Anyone here heard them?

S.

No but read reviews, and they are described as metallic sounding, (all metal drivers IIRC), lovely industrial design though.

[simon e]

I had a good look at a pair at the show in Ireland a few months ago, they are a work of art. Unfortunately B&W weren't playing them as they had a driver issue. But they did replace the driver and leave them with Cloney Audio in Dublin for a month or 2.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200216/be862fbc313fb48f529d0089ad1e999a.jpg

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[User211]

Ken Ishiwata was using them when I spoke to him at Silverstone a few years ago.

Can't be that bad.

[hifi_dave]

Yes, I've used them and even had a pair in the window of my shop. They weren't memorable.

[southall-1998_mk2]

Yes, I've used them and even had a pair in the window of my shop. They weren't memorable.


Did you find the sound unpleasant? Are they mega fussy when it comes to equipment matching?

S.

[Barry]

The design looks like it was inspired by F. R. Gyger's 'Alien'.

[hifi_dave]

They do. When I had them in the window, they attracted a lot of interest but no sales.

[Spectral Morn]

I used to lust after these many years ago. The design looks timeless! Yes, I'm talking about the ones that are shaped like a snail shell. Not the 'trickle down' 800 series.

Anyone here heard them?

S.

Yes, on the end of Classe audio :spew: sounded awful.

[WullieD20]

Interesting thread this, especially given the age of the Nautilus now.
Speakers (IMHO) are probably the most subjective component of the system and can invariably be a 'Marmite' piece of kit.
Anyway, to the issue here: I used to be a B&W customer and always had the (proper) Nautilus on my list to hear (Out of interest only!) whilst I owned an original pair of 802s, but only achieved that desire very recently when I was invited to hear them at an Edinburgh outlet.
In short, when played within a conventional system of: source / amplifier & speakers they sounded pretty underwhelming...... However, when the system was changed over to encompass a host of "room treatments" (sorry, I cannot elaborate on the specific kit), they did sound absolutely amazing. Night and Day just about explains what was going on! A very interesting experience to say the least.

[Yomanze]

Yes, on the end of Classe audio :spew: sounded awful.

Classe and B&W, an example of over-egging the pudding.

[Pharos]

I certainly don't think that this journey of ours is a simple one of linear improvement.
Perhaps there is a phenomenon going on with very high end stuff that seems non instinctual.

I said to my audio friend a couple of years ago that as we get closer to perfection, the apparent differences become smaller, but at the same time they in another way become much greater, perhaps through subtle changes.
These smaller differences result in a much greater perceived quality, but it is difficult to pinpoint them as an obvious FR change, or distortion change, and it is a bit disorientating, like moving into another world, and we cannot pinpoint what has happened.

John Atkinson said something similar in a speaker write-up.

I am currently in a position in which most of the time my system sounds worse with my new very expensive speakers, especially when listening to FM, and then suddenly, perhaps when reception conditions are good, it sounds brilliant.