Nautilus 802 vs. Revel Studio vs. Sophia 1


I've heard all 3 (though not recently) and all sounded excellent to me. Is one considered a clear stand-out over the others, or does this decision boil-down to personal preference? They'll be installed in a large room with good acoustics and powered by Krell. The N802s do have the advantage of being the least expensive, though the others are close enough for this not to be much of a factor. Thanks!
cwbriggs4262
I auditioned the 802 and sophia head to head. I was there to hear the 802 specifically as I owned 805's and planned on these for a future upgrade. The sophias just happened to be there. I bring a disc of tracks with me to demos and usually a bit of each track tells me the story then its on to the next track. The sophia was up first. I couldn't skip to the following track till the one playing finished. They blew me away!! Next up was the 802. I was ready to be even more impressed. I couldn't get through the tracks fast enough. They sounded like my 805's only bigger (yes they were broken in). I learned that I did not like the B&W sound and promptly sold the 805s.
They are all nice but very different sounding. You really need to hear them side by side.
Personally, I'd stay away from the Revels just because they take several hundred hours to break in! Wow are they harsh at the beginning. After 250 or so hours they are beautiful.
I agree with Audiomadness about Coincident.
I used to make the same choice 1,5 years ago. I have heard them all, I think 802 is not on the same league with the other two in terms of any parameter. I had choosen sophia at that time which I still believe is a very good speaker.
But I advise you to try coincident line. You may be surprised.
tough choice, i can't see where there is a clear winner, though if funds permitted the 802D would be my choice,

good luck

Kurt