B&W Nautilus 803's versus 804's and 802's

I agree with BM. Get the 805 and a good sub. the 805 has more detail with a good sub, and it will have more bottom end as well comparing to 804 and 803. Only the 802 is better than the 805 in terms of higher resolution beyond the mid-bass range.

The only draw back is you need to find a sub that will blend in seemlessly with your speakers, room and electronics. Velodyne ULD series is the only sub I know that does it well in audio terms.

Bring back to ULD, VELODYNE!!

For the N805 you will also have to get a really good pair of stands to really get the really good bottom end.

Sugarbrie is right. I bought the B&W stands that were made for them, but have heard that there may be a few superior alternatives. They just looked right to me. I have a sort of 40's/2002 style in my living room, and the semi "Bauhaus" design of the B&W stands fit right in.

I found the 804s WAY too anemic in my room, and much preferred the 803s. Neither cohere well in the nearfield, so your 9' listening distance I consider a minimum for the Nautilus. Good luck.
PS If your budget dictates the 804 level, and you prefer to not get a sub, then I'd seriously consider the Revel F30 instead. Much better than the 804 alone, and I actually preferred it to the 803.

As you can see from most of the responses, Natalie is right,"the size of your room dictates "which model you should use. B&W even say that the N804 is for small to medium size rooms, while the N803 is for medium size rooms. At 11'X13', my room is small, with 24" behind my speakers and a foot behind my head, I am right at 9' from my N804s. I have all the bass I want or need. Power is BelCanto EVo 200.2 through a Cary SLP 2002 preamp.
I think your N804s are all you need for your room size. These speakers need at least 300 hours to breakin. They will improve up to 500 hours according to many posts I have read. If you need more bass, add a sub , REL comes to mind.
claud