I have to wonder how much of the improvement is mainly due to the use of that new surroundless Kevlar midrange driver that's used in the new Nautilus models and in the CDM 9NT. I heard a pair of the much less expensive ($2600/pr) CDM 9NTs the other day and was very taken with their smoothness and authenticity throughout the midrange and high frequencies. I heard them directly compared to the Paradigm Studio 100 V2 speakers and there's no question in my mind that the B&Ws better served the music. In fact, I was so impressed at the bang for the buck the CDM 9NTs provided that I ordered a pair and expect them to arrive any day now. Surely the new 800 is even better and more refined, but I really think B&W is on to something with that new midrange unit, and I suspect that all the models that use it will perform demonstrably better than models that use the older midrange drivers.
I just heard the Nautilus 800
WOW!
I currently own the N802 and can't believe the sound improvement. I heard them today on a CJ 240W SS amp coupled to the CJ 17LS tube pre. Digital was from a inexpensive 5-disc sony sacd player!!! cheap dyi cables and it sounded amazing. I called BMW today to curse them out - hehe. I just bought these not too long ago and now I'll have to take a beating on them. They should offer some sort of upgrade being that the new midrange and tweeter of the 800 are them exact same size as the 802. They don't sound the same though. The highs and midrange on the 800 was @#$%!& amazing compared to the 802's. I can honestly say i was at that "Friday Night in San Fransico" :)The bass also went lower and was superb. I have to go now. I'm goin to think what I can sell around here to make up the difference in cost. My dealer told me that the retail was $16@#$%,000.00 dollars.
Steve
I currently own the N802 and can't believe the sound improvement. I heard them today on a CJ 240W SS amp coupled to the CJ 17LS tube pre. Digital was from a inexpensive 5-disc sony sacd player!!! cheap dyi cables and it sounded amazing. I called BMW today to curse them out - hehe. I just bought these not too long ago and now I'll have to take a beating on them. They should offer some sort of upgrade being that the new midrange and tweeter of the 800 are them exact same size as the 802. They don't sound the same though. The highs and midrange on the 800 was @#$%!& amazing compared to the 802's. I can honestly say i was at that "Friday Night in San Fransico" :)The bass also went lower and was superb. I have to go now. I'm goin to think what I can sell around here to make up the difference in cost. My dealer told me that the retail was $16@#$%,000.00 dollars.
Steve