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how to side-grade from B&W 805's?

hello, i have b&w nautilus 805's and would like to change things up.. i need some advice on what speakers to move onto

first of all, some background on my room

it's about 11x15 and i do have some minimal acoustic treatment (8x 2x2 absorbers)

my electronics consists of a peachtree decco (soon to be nova), and a mcintosh 7100

as far as power, i feel that the mcintosh provides enough clean power for my room, i'm just looking for a different sound

what i love about the 805's is mainly the midrange/imaging... it is silky smooth and very rich... vocals and jazz really excel on these speakers... imaging is off the charts, the speakers simply disappear and the soundstage is huge, love that

however, when i listen to bass-heavy/faster music such as electronic/rock/etc, i feel that the 805's leave something to be desired... also, after extended listening, the metal tweeter does cause fatigue

long story short, i'm looking for something with more bass (prefer not to add a sub) and better attack/PRAT while retaining the smooth mid/highs

my budget is around 1.5k, give or take a few hundred

what should i be looking into? who has HAD the 805's and moved onto something of similar price, but better overall performance?

thanks
koven
steveaudio
331 posts
 
I've owned a bunch of b&w's, inc. M802's, & Sig. 805's. The 805 Signatures, I sold after a month. No bass was one issue, but after owning 802's, small Spendors, Merlin TSM-M's, I just found the 805's very lacking. (I also had a pr. of M805's that I got rid of pretty fast too).

Then I found a pr. of slightly used Totem Mani-2 Signatures. Like night & day vs. the 805's, & probably the best speakers I've ever owned. Totem Model 1's might be worth checking out too. Also Dynaudios, also Spendors......
klaudio
113 posts
 
I take these are the 805's and not the newer ones.I actually like the 705's for bass more than
the ORIGINAL 805's.
I owned both of these. With your amp......MAC 7100 I believe, I would look at a pair of SALK SOUNG TOWERS.
Really silly money for this quality of speaker. The craftmanship and sound is worth double. Search for reviews. I would also make sure I got a good quality
4 ohm speaker with that amp. MAC's especially the older ones are first speced with 4 ohm speakers. I have had quite a bit of MAC equipment also. I have one system with a MAC int amp and SALK's...........really good. Just an opinion.
klaudio
113 posts
 
Excuse me...........SALK SONG TOWERS......my fingers are moving faster than my brain.
koven OP
94 posts
 
thanks for the suggestions.. i'm looking into a lot of different options right now, dont want to rush into anything

i'm hoping my next speaker choice will cure my "upgradtitis" and that i can own them happily for many years

anyway, here's a quick video i made today for fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HI9zO3Mp9I
reynolds853
377 posts
 
It would be an upgrade from the B&W's, but the Silverline SR17 Supreme ($6k) would be worth auditioning.
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