Nautilus 805 setup question

Did you also take off the grilles of the tweeters?
Did you put the supplied foams on top of the tweeters?

I find the N805 sounds best with grills off. Did not have the same localization issues you mentioned: might want to check & make sure all of the mid/woofer screws are properly tightened.

Some tweaks I found very valuable (and fairly easily reversible):

Remove the protective screens in front of the tweeters. They either resonate or muck up the dispersion...but whatever the cause, the speakers sound much better without 'em!

Unscrew the phase plugs from the mid/woofer (quite easy, just grab 'em and turn counterclockwise). You will find the plugs are hollow plastic. Buy some non-hardening modelling clay/putty and pack it into the hollow areas. Make SURE that the clay/putty is a bit recessed at then end so it does not squeeze out & gum up the coil gap! This tweak is a bit subtle at first, but you'll find everything sounds more natural (perhaps that's why B&W went to a SOLID aluminum plug in the N805 Signature?).

Anyway, good luck & enjoy!

David

I did not remove the tweeter grilles. Not only 'cause I'm not into advanced "tweaking" but also because of the risk of damaging them. (Over)Enthusiastic guests are bad enough already ("what's this? a karaoke microphone? Can I try it?") So far no harm done and I intend to keep it that way :).
No loose screws either - BTW - how long does it take before one needs to tighten them, if at all?

Taking the grilles off makes the tweeter look unlike a microphone. Another tweak makes N805 easier to drive for SET is temporarily taking out the woofer & adjusting the position of the foams inside so that the foams do not block the back wave of the woofer.

Let me just add that my room is an "acoustic nightmare" - it always takes me a lot to set up my speakers acceptably, and even then it's not always perfect; the stands I use are cheap wood stands (had floorstanders 'till now, adequate stands are on their way) and finally, the differences I'm talking about are subtle - if this is not the right place to be paranoid about your system's sound, then which one is? :)

I tighten down the woofer screws about every six mounts. How far apart do you have the speakers?
Keith

"I tighten down the woofer screws about every six mounts (sic)" - Sounds vaguely like some sort of unatural sex act, don't it? ;^)

I also removed the tweeter grills.
Sounds nice.
I LISTEN TOTALLY GRILLE-LESS, AND i MUCH PREFER IT THAT WAY
I have found that these speakers sound best(not sure why)
in a roughly 6.5 foot equilateral triangle.
I listen nearfield from the sweet spot, and then at about 15 feet away while in bed.

Also, what do the 805 siggys cost, does anyone know?

OH, and is anyone aware of a screwdriver that measures torque?

I bet that there is a certain "tightness" that sounds best re: woofer screws.
I seem to remember Merlin doing something about this.

Anyway, best of luck with the 805s

Joe

Albodor
Not sure what stands you have on the way and if can reverse them back but call Bob Warzalla atSound Anchor and have him explain what went inot their design.He told me that he top mass loaded them as opposed more prettily and way more expensively B&W did when they bottom mass loaded them.All I know is that Bob knows more about some speakers than their actual manufacturer and B&W has been his bread and butter for years so he put's a huge amount of time and money into their design.While their are a number of good stand manufacturers out there like Target and Arcicci B&W and Sound Anchors well there is no other match.I even had a dealer THROW IN FOR FREE a pair of used ones for a pair of 802 Matrix III's after we had agreed on the speaker price (very good deal to begin with) as he told me he had forgotten to mention it and that he wouldn't want to have people hear my speakers and then they had come from his shop without the stands as that they dont' realize anwhere near there potential without them.Go to Sound Anchors web site and get numbe and talk to Bob if you have any questions but they are worth every penny and then some.

had a pair before all the hype. sweet midrange. beautiful to look at. could not get them to dissapear either. i tried for 6 months. bought the best stands i could find. helped focus but still would not dissapear. tried room treatments still to no avail. in short i tried everything. sold them bought ref 3a's. problem solved. not as pretty but the best speaker i have ever owned. period. the array of speakers i have owned are: 805n's, infinity rs2a's. ml cls2's, infinity preludes, theil 6's, mani 2's, proac 2,ml request,maggies 1.6, apogee duetta's, carver al3's and i know im forgetting some. anyway this is my experience.

I love the sound of my Nautilus 805s, but they just don't image as well as I like. However, I hate making blanket statements about a single component like that without listing my setup. I'm sure there are other factors - it's called a sound system for a reason:

(4) B&W Nautilus 805s
(1) B&W HTM-2
Rotel RSP-1066
Rotel RMB-1095
Rotel RQ-970BX
Music Hall MMF-5
Denon DVD-2500
Home Depot speaker cables

I listened to some Vandersteens and fell in love. I'll always keep my 805s, but I'm already plotting my next system (with a 2-channel focus). The Vandersteens are in my site.

Nrenter,

I have owned both the Nautilus 805s and Vandersteen model 3.
I actually upgraded from the Vandersteens to B&W.
Bottom line? I think the 805s need a higher quality
front end to really show their stuff. The Vandersteens
are more forgiving.

Currently with my 805s I have
Krell amplification
Theshhold preamp
Electrocompaniet CD player
Discovery Speaker cables
Audioquest interconnect

The 805s VANISH. Completely and utterly.
Speaker placement does affect this. They have
to be widely enough separated. In my own listening
room I place them on the long axis. There is NO
sidewall interaction.

Judit,

Thanks for the reply (9 months late). I kinda forgot about this thread.