N802 for Home Theater in small to medium room

I own the N802s and have them on the long wall of a 17x24 room. I love them but I would recommend listening to the signature 805s with a well chosen subwoofer. Your suspicions about the 802s are correct. Great detail but they really start to sing at higher volumes - more than you will probably be able to enjoy in that room.

Maybe you should go back to the dealer and have a look and listen to the B&W SCM-1's, which are basically a wall mountable N805 and for that matter could go on a shelf. I believe once mounted they are only 7 inches or so deep..you also might want to check the B&W site for exact specs. As far as your power concerns go what were you going to use... separates, reciever etc. As I had mentioned in my earlier thread to you I had just heard the N802's at a dealer...who had just finished a demo for someone else using a reciever "Rotel 1065" to power them.. the reciever played them louder than I would ever want and is rated I believe at 100 "but clean" wpc. I'm sure others here on Audiogon will sound in soon and give you more useful and technical ideas... I only know what my ears heard, trust yours!

I do not know which B&W I would use for the rear. Since I will be placing the main speakers along the long wall, there is not much room in the back for a floor standing type speakers for surround sound. It may have to be something I can hang on the ceiling. One thing I am worry about is if the N802 requires lots of power to get it going, it may be then too loud and over power the room. Since I am going to listen to music on this system as well, I am looking for something that sounds natural at low volume as well.

I will be watching this thread myself Ttl2000 ! I also would like to use N802's .... My room is slightly smaller than yours. I have been doing the N802 vs N803's battle in my head for some time. I just recently "2 days ago" spent a long afternoon listening to the N802..what detail!. What other B&W's are you going to use as surrounds ? Will they fit into your room "WAF" without standing out too much,or maybe that is not an issue. Are you considering any other B&W's as mains? Good luck to you !!!