B&W Speaker Score!

@dastro My first reaction was that that was a heck of a good price for Nautilus 802s. That said, I wonder if the reason the price was so good is that they didn't sound right to the original owner either. I'm with the other posters who say check to make sure everything is working correctly. I've seen reviews where something didn't sound right and it was found that something was wired out of phase inside the speaker. You could easily check that by reversing ONE set of speaker wires to see if the bass gets better.

Good idea, I'll check it.  But I doubt anything is wrong, the previous owner had them for years and was reluctant to sell. 

I should also mention that upon further listening I  hear what seems like a graininess in the ultra high frequencies, almost like a background hiss that stops in between songs.(only present when material is playing).  It is definitely noticeable, more so now that I picked it up.

At this point my thinking is either this model's sound just isn't for me, it's not playing well with my room's acoustics, or maybe there are crossover issues. 

The bass leaness could also be a matter of perception since I find the highs so exaggerated. 

Suggestions: See how the bass sounds with the speaker cables attached to only the lower bass terminals taking the highs out of the equation.  Can you use your bi wire cables both connected to the lower terminals and then use a banana terminated jumper to the uppers and check if that improves the balance.  This should help in determining if the bass section of the speaker is functioning correctly.

UPDATE-  Well, this is funny, after trying about 6 different positions, I pulled them out almost 2.5' from where I usually have my Matrix 802's and boom, things changed dramatically.

Apparently, my 80" TV in between the Nautilus' is a huge factor where they aren't really a factor at all with the Matrix.  I also put them on some moving dollys that raised them about 4" which I think also had a significant effect. The highs calmed down so dramatically I'm still somewhat shocked. 

The bass is still leaner and more polite than the Matrix, which will be a deciding factor.  Also, living with them pulled out so far just isn't an option in the home theater/music room with young kids.  So, I'll probably end up keeping them, at least for a while. At that price, I'd hate to let them go.

Also, can anyone recommend good banana plugs?  The one's I have don't fit the terminals as tightly as I'd like.  The Nautilus' seem to be ever so slightly larger than other typical terminals.  Spades are an option but for convenience I like plugs.

Thanks.