B&W Nautilus vs Diamond

[AcuDefTechGuy]

800D:
B&W 800 Diamond loudspeaker Measurements | Stereophile.com

801N:
B&W Nautilus 801 loudspeaker Measurements part 2 | Stereophile.com

Neither looks great, but why does the cheaper Nautilus measure better than the much more expensive Diamond?

 

[jonnythan]

Which sounds better?

(Yes, this is a trick question.)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Which sounds better?

(Yes, this is a trick question.)

Why...................you...................

I've never heard the Nautilus line before.

 

[Irvrobinson]

ADTG, you are such a B&W fan-boy! Will you just buy a pair already?

On a more serious note, isn't it interesting how similar the on-axis frequency responses are? A nice bass bump and a similar but lower amplitude upper treble bump too. How convenient for in-store demos!

I listened seriously to the 801N at the time they were released, and they did not sound substantially better than the Legacy Audio Focus I was using. While comparing listening experiences over 10 years is foolhardy and silly, I do not remember the 801N having the hot treble that the 800Ds have in spades.

One weakness I definitely remember hearing on the 801N was the critical bass-midrange transition when reproducing solo piano. The 800D did not strike me as having a weakness in that regard on the same recording. Also, Wes Phillips' musings aside, I never found the imaging of the 801s, any 801, to have much in the way of depth. Not that the Legacys were very good at depth either.

The latest 800D and 802D are far and away the best B&Ws I've ever heard, though I have not heard the fugly 800s that were the rage with Stereophile's former "musician in residence" Lewis Lipnick. And the 800N test report was written by Wes Phillips, who destroyed his credibility with me forever with that preposterous review of the YG Anat he penned, where he claimed he could hear differences in power cords for the powered subwoofer sections.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

On a more serious note, isn't it interesting how similar the on-axis frequency responses are?

John Atkinson said the same with the 800D vs 802D - how remarkably similar their measurements were.

Obviously it's transparent how much I like the aesthetics of the 802D & 802N.

I'm just trying to justify it by searching for a decent measurement.

So is the measurement of the 802N better or what?

 

[Irvrobinson]

So is the measurement of the 802N better or what?

Well, if you insist on yet another speaker system, I recommend the newest 802D, coupled with your new 18.0 subs. It was an 802D system on which I auditioned the Velodyne sub, and the combination can be compelling. It still doesn't beat the Salon 2s though. At the dealer I found a high-pass filter at 100Hz mitigated that B&W bass bump nicely, and pointing the 802Ds straight ahead took the edge off of the hot treble. That B&W diamond tweeter is at least the equal of the Revel Be tweeter, and that bit of extra energy around 1KHz makes a Steinway sound better than a real one, adding some richness. You could do a lot worse...

But to answer your question, as I hinted at, I'd choose the newest 802D over the N-series speaker every time. Sorry.

Have you considered therapy for your inability to commit? Er, stay committed. Of course, I've always suspected that Gene actually pays you to acquire all of that hardware, as I think there are numerous people that read this forum only to see what you're going to buy next.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

But to answer your question, as I hinted at, I'd choose the newest 802D over the N-series speaker every time. Sorry.

Okay, fine. I think you're right. I'll just wait around for great deal on a 802D. Might as well.

 

[Pio]

Hi all,

FWIW - I've owned (and enjoyed very much) the 802N, 802D and now the newer 802 Diamond. My (short) impression of the three:

802N was a bit shrill at the top - excellent mids - decent bass.

802D, significant improvement on the highs, more fluid but still very detailed. Mids comparable to 802N, slight improvement on the bass.

802 Diamond - improvement in detail on the highs, still very comparable to the 802D, same goes for mids. The bass in the new version is considerably better.

I could get into more detail, but thats my macro take on the 3. IMO - the best buy out there right now is the 802D (not the newer one) - team that up with a killer pair of subs crossed over at 60 or 40 hz and you have a super sounding system.

Oh, regarding frequency response no matter how flat a speaker looks on paper it will measure differently in your room. Look how the 800's measured in Kals room -

Also, reviewers don't always have the best set ups either-
RealTraps room treatments | Stereophile.com

Hope this helps.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Oh, regarding frequency response no matter how flat a speaker looks on paper it will measure differently in your room.

That's true.

That's why the most important measurement is not the on-axis.

The most important is the horizontal off-axis & polar response @ 30 - 90 degrees, which isn't so much dependent on the room and cannot be fixed by EQ.

Somehow I believe the 802D would sound better in my family room than at the two B&W dealers. I had a similar experience back when I bought the DefTech BP7000SC, which I also believe did not have a great off-axis. At the dealer, the BP7000SC sound only good. But in my house, they sounded great.

I think that's the importance of having a great horizontal off-axis.

When I listened to the Revel Studio2 & KEF 201/2 at the dealers, they sounded absolutely amazing even in the poor room setting. When I got the Salon2 & 201/2 home, they sounded as awesome as they did at the dealer, not any better.

So speakers like B&W (& many others like DefTech) that don't have great off-axis responses are a lot more dependent on the room acoustics than speakers with great off-axis.

So I believe the B&W 802 can sound great, but only in the right rooms.