B&W CDM 9NT vs 804's

CDM 9 have more bass, tweeter is less smooth, and overall sound is less refined. N803 is better for bigger room, N804 for smaller room.
Get some used 802's for the $5,000, forget the N803. I agree with RLB61 the 802'3 with the bowling ball midrange is where the big improvement lies.

Owned CDM 7NTs, the N803 and now N802s. The 803s and 802s I believe are the two best speakers for the money in the Nautilus line. The 802s add a larger sound stage, and, to my ears, a slightly more detailed midrange. My room is a living room, which runs into the dining room, with a large arched opening from the hallway, with large windows and 9' ceilings. Both speakers worked in this room -- the 803s are certainly adequate. Neither speaker is dependent on exact placement.

Having listened exensively to side by side comparisons of CDM 9, 804,and 803 using all curent Krell KAV equipment, I can say to my ear there is perhaps a slighter tighter deep bass in the 804, that was to me not always evident and not worth the $1000 price diff, so i bought the CDM9. The 803 blows them both away, but is much more $. Right now, I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade to 803 or go for broke (literally)on the 802, which with Krell is sensational, to me.

I had an opportunity to give the N804's an extended listen recently, and came away very impressed. My last session w/ these were over a year ago. The other day, using my personal amp, a crappy 15 year old Sony carousel CD player with patch cords and zip cord speaker wire, this system out performed mine noticably. The sonic improvements I can wholly attribute to the N804's, these speakers really shined. There were no sonic flaws that I could discern, sibilance was imperceptible. They were open, detailed and smooth as silk. In a word, wonderful. I'd love to upgrade to these.

Regarding the original question about the $1000 price difference, that's up to the individual. But, if I had the money, I'd upgrade today and be happy. However, all the comments regarding the superiority of the N803's over the other 2 speakers are on the mark. These would be my target speakers. I'd take the N803's in a heartbeat if the funds were available. I'd be happy w/ the N804's but thrilled w/ the N803's. The N802's are wonderful, but are too much speaker for me and my living room.

What about a set of B&W 703 or 704s?