It's Magnepan 20.1's or B&W Nautilus 801's


Ok, I have narrowed my speaker choice down to either Magnepan MG 20.1's or the B&W Nautilus 801's. I have heard them both and like them both. Unfortunately in different locations with different electronics. No chance to A B them

Here's my setup: 18 X 18 foot dedicated room with "A" frame ceiling 10' at center. Source is primarily CD (BAT VK-D5SE - tube output stages); Tube Preamp: BAT VK-50SE; Amps: Pair of Aragon Palladiums (SS, 600W into 4 ohms), Aragon 8008BB (dual SS monoblock 200W into 8 ohms, 400W into 4 ohms).

Prefered Music:

Acoustic Strings: Bella Fleck & Flecktones, Tony Rice and Norman Blake Acoustic Guitar.

Classical: Motzart piano Sonatas and Concertos,

Light Jazz: Diana Krall (who doesn't like her !)

I am new to this and really need an expert's advice. I like the sound of both speakers. Since I am a novice audiophile it all sounds good to me compared to what I have been using ! I am sure as I become accoustomed to a high end system, my tastes will be more specific. Help me choose something I will like when I finally get there !!

Roy3
roy3

Showing 1 response by tafka_steve

An interesting choice, Roy, as those are two VERY different sounding loudspeakers, which excel in very different parameters. I will not tell you what I would buy in your setup, as I think it is less relevant than the following advice:

The audiophile hobby, for me, is about self-discovery, maximizing my personal energy through experiencing the journey, rather than the destination. This is very much like the philosophy of martial arts. As a novice, you won't have a large base of external experiences/journeys to reflect upon, but you still have basic self-knowledge. Meaning this: instead of asking yourself what you are hearing when auditioning these speakers, ask yourself "HOW DO YOU FEEL?" and "WHAT ARE YOUR REACTIONS?" to what you are experiencing. In this way, the choice you make will be true to yourself (what and where you are right now). In time, you'll gain more experience to be able to answer the question "WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?" and "HOW DO YOU GET THERE?"

Good journeys to you.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox and resume my morning meditation on the toilet.

Steve