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B&W suggestions - N803 vs. 804S

Good afternoon. I'm looking to get some good speakers and have been to a local shop to demo the current B&W 800 series. I really like the sound, and can certainly hear what happens as you progress from each model up. My target price range is a bit below entry level floorstander for this series, thus have started looking for a used or demo model.

What I'm seeing is an affordable used N803 from the previous Nautilus line that selling in the late '90s, and the 804S, which has been selling from the mid-2000's until now. From what I understand, they will be upgraded again this year.

Given I'm looking at two different models for roughly the same price, N803 and 804S, I'm wondering if anyone can offer some suggestions on these. Were the technical improvements in the 800 series over the Nautilus series good enough to warrant the step down from 803 to 804?

Note I'll be setting up in a midsize room (12x20) with the speakers on one end, away from the wall. My current Denon receiver puts out 90wpc. I will upgrade to a higher-powered amp in the future, but for now am planning only the speaker purchase.

Thoughts?
nichomoff

Showing 2 responses by brianmgrarcom

brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
A tough choice indeed; I owned the N803's and heard the 804S's at a dealer and to me the newer design had a punchier bottom end; I have also owned the Signature 805's and I thought they had a "punchy" bass, which the 804S followed sonically.

There are a number of changes to the newer line. The N803's I had I sold to a friend and he didn't keep them real long. This friend also purchased 804S's, many years later, and he really enjoyed them. FWIW

I do not agree with Jeff above, especially on the 803D being a slight upgrade over the N803.

B&W is close to rolling out their new 800 series, where all will have the Diamond tweeter, amongst other changes. Here is the U.S. pricing...

800 Diamond: $24,000/pair
802 Diamond: $15,000/pair
803 Diamond: $10,000/ pair
804 Diamond: $7,500/pair
805 Diamond: $5,000/pair
brianmgrarcom
1,317 posts
 
I had great results with a Jeff Rowland Concentra II and B&W N803's some years back, you may be able to find one used.
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