B&W 805S.. Anyone listen yet?

Hmmm. I had completely different results. I have owned the N805, then the signature 805, twice, and then the 805S speaker. I heard significant differences between the sig 805 and the N805. In fact, I prefered the sound of the signature 805 in my room over the 805S. The sig in my eyes, is an incredible speaker. According to B&W, they will not put the diamond tweeter in the 805 as it would cost too much, and the general public does not appreciate two channel sound enough to make use of a diamond 805. I disagree, but that is straight from the manufacturere.

They both are excellent speakers. But I felt the Sig 805 was a fuller sound, and seemed to appear "larger" than the 805S. I agree that rooms, and electronics could be the difference. The midrange of the sig 805 is so smooth. I honestly believe that it comes down to personal prefernce when comparing the sig 805 and the 805S. A tech personnel from B&W said that the 805S and the sig 805 each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Also, I don't think that I'm that used to hearing a 1st order, very simple crossover that the 805S has. If B&W follows suit, about two years after the release of the line, they bring out a signature speaker. When talking with people, they felt that the diamond tweeter was just too expensive for a possible signature 805. My personal feeling: they will put it in. They are going to give the public what they want. But, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a price tag of 4500-5000 dollars.

No one is contesting the difference between the Nautilus 805 and the 805S that you have quoted above. It's clear the 805S is better.

Where the fog lies is the difference between the Signature 805 and the 805S.

The differences between the sig 805 and the 805S are large, yet the sound difference is not that large.

805S uses a different woofer, tweeter, cabinet, wiring, and crossover than the sig 805.

The above could also be said about the difference between the N805 and the sig 805.

I firmly believe that the sound of the sig 805 vs. the 805S is strictly a preference, they are that close. I love the finish of sig, and prefer it slightly to the 805S in terms of sound quality. Having said that, the 805S is obviously the better value at $1000 less retail than the sig.

I also believe that the sig 805 really needs to be heard in your own listening room to appreciate them. Same with any speaker, really.

I think the closest you are going to get is to buy their new 40th anniv (?) model. The white one with the marble tweeter housing. It's a two way with diamond tweeter, but not a monitor. It's a full floor stander.

Don't think you'll see anything else besides that in a two way diamond from B&W.