Finally...a good B&W demo....

[shack]

As I've mentioned on the forum before, I've yet to demo any B&W speakers that I really enjoyed and have listened to quite a few. So its raining today and I decided to stop by the local hi-end shop just to see whats going on. The place is a mess as their landlord doubled the rent so they are giving up space and rearranging their demo rooms. I head to one room and there is a pair of Nautilus 801s hooked up to a Mark Levison pre-amp and amp with a Music Fidelity CDP. The music was a very well recorded Blues CD. Let me tell you...I was impressed. The soundstage and imagining were superb. You could close your eyes and the muscians were just where they should be and you could reach out and touch them. The sounds were clear as a bell with every octave right on. This was one of those rare demos where everthing was just right. The room was set up well...the right music...the right equipment. Of course you have to remember that this was close to $45,000 worth of equipment with cables as thick as my wrist. It should sound good. Now I'm not one to think something is good because it is expensive (ask anyone I've dealt with on the flea market - I like bargains!) but this was impressive. Would I spend this amount of money for a stereo system....NO....because for $45,000 I think I could get close to this sound for say $10,000 and have enought left to get a SVT Mustang Cobra (and probably a new set of Cleveland wedges). It was still a sweet demo though....

On a side note they are dropping Rotel and picking up Music Fidelity. Their equipment lineup now includes Denon, Sherwood, Music Fidelity, McIntosh and Mark Levinson with, Paradigm, B&W Theil, Sonus Faber and Revel with REL subs.

They had a couple of Rotel demos that they were getting rid of. A couple of RSP-960AX pre-amps for $125 (a pro logic surround pre). I considered getting one to use for a 2 channel pre as it is said to have a nice stereo pass through mode. They also have a
RB1080 for $649 - This is a nice 200wpc stereo amp that is very tempting. Maybe if I can talk them down some......

[mantis]

Everything has a price......

everyone does as well.Mustang......B&W's.......all the same,toys nonetheless.

Really if you think about it for a minute,what really has value and to whom?

As your experience here,good gear is good gear.When you get into high end,the price starts and goes .......and seems no end.

value...........how do you judge it.......

[VR3]

When you are selling clothes off your back, and eating out of dumpsters......

[mantis]

This isn't the place for B&W buyers.

Choosing toys over life needs(large topic there)is flat out stupid.

[TroyD]

I think there are a few Bowers and Wilkins fans and owners here (myself included)...why not talk about them?

B&W makes many great speakers, as long as you don't play rock through them.

BDT

[RuSsMaN]

Sure it is, I'm a Bowers and Wilkins buyer.

Cheers,
Russ

[cmy330go]

I'm with Troy and Russ.

I'm not personally a B&W fan. But lets face it they wouldn't be this popular among audiophiles if they were junk.

[Frank Z]

Schmantis doesn't have it "In his soul" therefore it need not be discussed.

All hail schmantis



Numb nuts!

[mantis]

Frank...........the end.


B&W speakers are fantastic,the comments that Troy made about Rock is actually my opnion.I just feel they don't shine when playing this type of music,really is hard rock and metal.It could be that they are not a forgiving speaker.If there is a touch of harshness in the track, the B&W's will tell you about it maybe more so the you wanna experience.I have talked about this is the past,it's ok to disagree.Personal opnions and all that.

B&W however play classical,Jazz,soft rock,techinical type music extremely well.Extremely well.

Whne you get up in the higher end N series,I feel there are better speakers for the money like Dynaudio.

[cmy330go]

Originally posted by mantis


....If there is a touch of harshness in the track, the B&W's will tell you about it maybe more so the you wanna experience....

B&W however play classical,Jazz,soft rock,techinical type music extremely well.Extremely well.

Whne you get up in the higher end N series,I feel there are better speakers for the money like Dynaudio.


I agree with that.

[Zero]

B&W Nauts sport some excellent sound. Not to mention, they are sexy as hell. :)

Will concur with Dan - from my time with the Nauts on various material - there is a lot they do well. One of the things I feel they lack on is indeed, rock. Perhaps I am just spoiled by Polk in that department.

[shack]

In all my previous demos of B&W (300s, 600s and CMs) I always came away feeling they were too "bright" and almost fatiguing to listen to. Not to the Klipsch level but similar. Yes...it was primarily rock and blues that I used to demo...not heavy metal...but stuff like Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Dire Straits, etc. I've always felt B&Ws would make excellent HT speakers because they are very detailed and I imagine that voices and other effects would be very good. Source and amplification may be more important with B&W than with other brands...the "British Sound" as it were.

My post was just about a very nice demo where everything came together for a few minutes of musical excellence.

And yes...I think this is an appropriate forum to dicuss all speakers. The common thread is that most own or like Polk speakers. In addition to Polks I own Advent, AR, JBL and a Dayton sub. Most on this forum own other brands including B&W, Paridigm, Dynaudio, SVS, Velodyne, Carver, Theil, Magnepan, Martin Logan, etc, etc, etc. It also covers the entire $ spectrum from a $10 set of computer speakers to whatever.

And if it isn't basic food, shelter, clothing, necessary transportation and so forth....aren't they all toys?

[Zero]

Shack,

Enjoying the musical experience is the name of the game. Those Naut's sure gave me a few moments of pleasure as well. I definately agree with the brightness, and the over-all Brittish sound. I plugged in Josh Groban - and it was beautifull. Plugged in Evanescence - Very fatiguing. Then again, so is the recording. Perhaps the weakness of the Nauts is - they play it how it is.

The trouble is, with this hobby, it can and often times does infest our daily habits. How many times have you dreamed about audio? Think about it throughout the day? Read magazines? Contemplate upgrades, visit web-pages, shop around, etc..

For some, the above listed is a rarity. For others, this may be a day to day occurance. And for the latter, we sometimes forget that they are just toy's. Sometimes it becomes nearly as critical for the mind, as food, protection and clothing is for the body.

Now if you wont excuse me, I have to go and tinker with my new toys.. :)

Regards,

Sean

[dcarlson]

I just had a great audition of some Paradigms and B&Ws. I started with some newly revamped Paradigm Studio 20s, i'm not sure if they where broken in but I didn't like them. They were very bright and lifeless. I heard some 20s about a 8 months ago and was impressed with them then but not this time for some reason. Difference room, different equipement, I'm not sure what it was. Maybe my taste has changed since then.

Next up was a pair of B&W CDM 1NT. I liked them more than the Pdimes, soundstage was wider, imaging was tighter but they lacked bass (duh...). They are bookshelves of course and I wasn't sold on them either. Again somewhat bright for my taste.

Next up, a pair of B&W CDM 7NT. Once again better fuller sound but similar to the 1NTs.

Then the big change. I have no idea of what model of speaker cable the dude came out with except that they were Cardas. They were about an inch in diameter and pricy I'm sure. He wouldn't even tell me price. They made the 7NTs sound incredible. Detail beyond detail. I was in awe. The bass was still lacking a little for my taste maybe the 9NT would do a better job in that department. Did I say they sounded incredible? :)

Once again it has made me a cable beleiver, actually even more so now.

I used DSTOM 30th aniv. remaster and Pearl Jam - No Code.

Equipement:
Musical Fidelity A3CD CD player
Musical Fidelity A308 Preamp
Adcom 6000 power amp (I think)

Derick.

[dorokusai]

Nice to hear your ears had a good time Shack :)

I was able to demo the B&W Nautilus again, the big one, and the really big one....I don't know the model. It was certainly a better demo, in a better room, on some really nice Macintosh gear. I still wouldn't say its worth that kind of money, but it was a better listening experience than last time. I was pretty impressed with the vocals...bass still did not have enough impact for a speaker that comes with wheels.

In the looks department, that really is one of the more ridiculous looking speakers I have seen. I am a basic form speaker fan, not a transformer/egg speaker fan. Yea yea, it is designed to do blah blah, and I am sure their is a reason, its just weird looking.

[Zero]

DCarlson,

Yep - wires - they make such a big difference :)

Also, Musical Fidelity is bright gear.... so in fairness, you were listening to bright stuff all the way around..

Regards,

Sean

[dcarlson]

It turns out the cables were Cardas Neutral Reference. They've left such a great impression in my head that I might put off new speakers for a little while and maybe look into some new speaker wire instead.