Best Entry Points to the B&W 800 Series

For me, it is and always was  the Nautilus series.  I have owned B/W N802's, N803's, N805's and their flagship Nautilus HTM -1.  They are the smoothest sounding of all their 800 series.  Since then, it seems the highs have been pushed and their following has decreased.  A beautiful pair of N802's can be found these days in the 5k range.  Look for a minty pair and spend no more!  I still have  a pair of N802's and N803's in my vacation home.

I have a pair of 802 Diamonds in my vacation home that I bought nib earlier this year for just south of $10K that are quite good for that kind of money.  They are very easy to live with.  They would image better and the overall presentation would be enhanced with a pair of the better RELs.  Contrary to rumor they are not overly bright, rather they are neutral and remind me of a pair of LS3/5A monitors in my study in terms of overall tonality and balance.  I would rate them 7.5-8 on a scale of 10.

For me, it is and always was  the Nautilus series

100% agree, these are incredible! That's why the N802s are in this list, can be found for around $7k and still deliver incredible performance, while retaining the look of modern B&W 800 speakers.

Try getting a less expensive pair like the 805's first and see if you can live with the tweeter. There's a reason most of us have had B&W speakers, and not have them. I had the 805's, 802's, 800's, HTM and the Matrix HT system. Overall, they are great sounding speakers so long as you can live with the highs. 

I also think the B&W sound is bright. I was able to bring it into a neutral, balanced sound by positioning my 803 D3 facing straight ahead (no toe-in), and bringing my listening seat closer to the plane of the speakers so that my speakers are wider apart than the distance from the speakers to the listening seat. Made a wonderful difference and cost nothing. Also, my ears are about 10" lower than the height of the tweeters. If I raise up higher I start hearing more brightness.