Booming bass from my B&W Nautilus

I am using B&W802N. You need to pair them with minimum 200-250wpc with lots of reserve (those that double power for every half of load impedance). Perhaps you may want to try changing you power amp. I am using the B&W802N with BAT VK-500.

Don't give up yet. There must be some reasons why Abbey road Studio and SkyWalker Ranch use B&W802N.

Keep in mind the room furnishings themselves can cause acoustical problems.

Some time ago, I removed my leather sofa and installed a thick-cushioned cloth sofa in it's place and noticed an immediate improvement (firming up) in the bass/mid-bass regions.

-IMO

I give up on B&W....going to buy REVEL STUDIO instead..

I have the 803's

Hello,
If you are serious about fine tuning your speakers output in your room, I would re-read Stehno's post a couple times. Then you will have to put in a little work and possibly some dough. You can email me if you like as I have learned much after living with the N801's for several years.

If this is indeed caused by room interaction (most likely) you could try to narrow down the frequencies that are resonating. I have found the Stereophile Test CD or Test CD 2 useful for this purpose. These disks have test tones set a specific frequencies, allowing me to narrow down a resonance problem and immediately tell if a change in speaker placement has helped. It is quite obvious when you listen to the different test tones which one is causing the problem.

In my room with my current speaker placement I get a problem with the 40Hz tone. When I play music that has energy in this area, this part of the bass response is emphasized way out of proportion to the point that it is nearly unbearable to listen to some songs.

I agree with much of the above. However, I've never been a big fan of B&W's partly for this very reason.

1. Try placing the speakers further out into the listening area. Unless the room itself is to blame, this should help.

2. Use 3 Star Sound Audio Points mounted under each speaker.

3. Try another speaker cable. With many cables, there is a certain amount of time smear. This can make the bass sound somewhat ill-defined in the lower regions. The Audience Au24 speaker cables will really clean this up in my experience.

4. You do not mention what your components are sitting on. The rack and/or stands can also make a serious impact toward a more appropriately defined bass (as well as the rest of the spectrum).

If the above does not improve your situation, then it's either the room, speakers, or perhaps the amp.

-IMO

Yes the Sound Anchor stands are a wonderful addition, yet you have to correct the BOOM by placement w/ the Factory Spikes First! Sound Anchors are not, an instant Band Aid cure, until after you've found your speakers sweet spot.

Check the settings on the 380s. Are you using the Factory Supplied Spikes, to isolate them from the floor? Even 2 to 2 1/2 feet should be enough room from any wall for your N803's.

Other than those 3 things, I'm at a loss?

Are the speakers spiked ?.You do probley have to move them away from the back and side walls, if this fails .Buy horns and a SET amp .just kidding.I havent had good luck with BMW .

Iujona,
You don't say which model of Nautilus speaker unless you are one of the rare few that have "The" Nautilus speaker. I own N804's, I used to have N805's, A co-worker also has N804's and my brother has N803's so I've listened to a few different systems with this series speaker.
I would suspect your room is the culprit. In my smallish, fairly well damped room the N804's are, if anything, a bit bass shy. Particularly in the lowest region. In my co-worker's larger room the N804's go deeper with more authority than in my room. They are by no means boomy in his room. My brother has a huge room with cathedral ceilings and his N803's are wonderfully balanced (lucky @*&#@%). I might add that Sound Anchor Stands have greatly improved every B&W set-up I have heard. The improvements are not subtle.
You may have a synergy issue whereby you would need to fix the room, work with placement and coupling to the floor or look elsewhere for speakers.
I hope some of this is useful. Good luck!
Woodrow

Where are your speakers located in the room. Against the wall, 3 or 4 feet into the room ? How big is your room? Sounds like a room correction problem.

Check the location of the speakers, more information will help determine where to put them. Existing placement and overall size of the room. Sounds to me like they are either against the rear wall or in the corner, but not neccessarily.

Try moving the speakers around. Of for a quik way to do it.

Put the skeakers in the listening location and walk around and listen to the bass in those area's that you would like to place the speakers.

Where you want to put them may not be where they sound nice.

OR---the resonance my be just optimal for you room, still moving them around will help some. By optimal I mean optimal for reinforcement at the resonance frequency.

Also leave info on which B&W and what size woof they have.
They make more than one Nautilus.

jeff