Thoughts on B&W Nautalus 805 speakers?

[RunOutGroove]

I don't really need another set of speakers, but I was "window shopping" on the local online ads saw a pair of these for what seems to be a very good price and figured that I'll be able to offset some of the cost by selling off my Quad 12L speakers, which I like but don't quite love. First of all, will my Marantz 2270 work very well for powering these things and then how do they compare with my Quad 12L speakers? The Quads are really smooth and detailed, with satisfying bass for a small speaker and sound pretty good for jazz, but seem to lack dynamics that would make them sound great for heavier, busier, louder kinds of music. Maybe the B&W Nautalus 805 have all of that but are more dynamic than the Quads?

I can't resist a bargain and they're about the right size to swap out with my Quads in an extra room where I don't have space for anything much bigger. Talk me out of buying these things!

 

[Erik Tracy]

I've always wondered about getting a pair.

I guess it would depend on the price and condition of the tweeter domes- seems like average prices hover around $1500, which still seems too high for the age, and the tweeter domes always seem to have a dimple dent or two.

Stereophile's measurements seem pretty good. Aside from the low-ish sensitivity of 85dB (measured), it was characterized as easy to drive. I guess suitability with your 2270 is how loud do you like to listen, how big of a room? I have B&W CDM1NTs, have heard several other B&Ws at shows and they all respond better to more power rather than less.

 

[RunOutGroove]

Well... Let's just say that the price of the ones that I came across are far less than that. I have no intention though of also upgrading my amp though and I don't buy stuff to flip so the fact that it may not work well with my amp would be a deal breaker. The specs that I looked up say 8 ohm and 88 db, which on paper would seem easy enough to drive (more efficient and higher impedance than the two pairs of speakers that I'm currently using), but those numbers might not tell the whole story. I suspect that at the price they're going for that they may sell before I make up my mind about it, but that's OK because I really don't need these things, particularly if there's any question about them sounding great with my current setup.

I should also say that were I to get these speakers, they would be used as remotes in a small bedroom/office room, where I wouldn't be listening to them very loud. I still want them to sound good though at modest volumes. It looks like the stuff that I've seen about them recommends 50 watts minimum though and my Marantz is just 70...

 

[twiiii]

805's gave me the impression of listening to the larger full range models as if a subwoofer was missing.

 

[RunOutGroove]

805's gave me the impression of listening to the larger full range models as if a subwoofer was missing.

Yeah, I bet that lots of folks would say that my little Quad 12L speakers are shy on bass too, but to me even though they obviously don't go down low enough for pipe organ music. They do go down low enough to hear a string bass really nicely and the quality of the bass they produce is nicely crisp. True, some speakers really are thin on bass (of course) but to my ears, even small bookshelf speakers that don't go down all that low can still have pretty satisfying bass, at least for a lot of music.