Nautilus owners upgrade to what?

The N804's are a great speaker for the money. They need great amplification and proper set up. I spent 6 months placing my speakers after moving into my new house with a dedicated sound room(No basement). I would move the speakers a little one way or another and listen for days before changing positions. I started with the Golden Ratio found on the Cardas web site. I talked with audiophile friends and dealers from Michigan to New York. I have the money to buy any speaker under 25k. I have listened to Revel Studios and they are better to my ears than the 804's but not that much better to justify the cost difference. I have heard the Wisdom speakers and could not justify the added amps necessary to drive them. I added the Sound Anchor stand to the 804's and the improvement was incredible. The stands allow you the option of tilting the speakers back to tailor the highs and lows of the speaker while keeping the fabulous mids. What I found besides personal taste is patience and trust in what YOU hear and do. This is what this hobby is about. Not what gear is best.

You are BAD Kthomas, bad I say. :-).
I think I can resist the call of the 802 for now. At least while I keeping busy auditioning speakers.

psjulian got me thinking about sound anchors. I've got some massive 30-40# 1" thick steel blocks. Maybe I could bolt the speakers to them - sort of like the sand-fill idea.

I purchased a pair of older B&W DM640i's with an eye to upgrade in the near future. I'm somewhat of an audiophile neophyte, but have been trying to invest in good yet moderately priced equipment. I jumped on good deals on an Aragon Soundstage (w/Audio Research balanced cables), Audio Research 100.2 SS Amp., Rotel RCD971 CD Player. I was all set to upgrade to the something in the Nautilus line until I heard the JM Lab Electra 926 (at my B&W dealer's store) on a pair of Rogue 100 watt tube (non-magnum) mono blocks and was blown away! My dealer, a loyal B&W retailer for years, doesn't sell JM Lab YET, he had just received 2 models to test the waters, the 926 that retails for about $4,000 and another (model #?) that sells for around $1,500. He's seriously thinking about making a switch and is convinced that B&W can't touch the JM Lab in the $4K-$5K price range. Is he right? I haven't heard the Nautilus 803 ($5K), but I have heard the N802 ($8K) and while it sounded a little more detailed and slightly fuller than the JM Lab, for my buck, it didn't sound $4,000 better! I'd simply like to get you guys' thoughts and opinions as to how the N803 would stack up against the JM Lab 926 or any serious challenger @ $4-$5 grand. I listen mostly to acoustic jazz like Diana Krall (80%) and HT (20%). Is my AR 100.2 able to drive more upscale models? My room is 20'x30' w/10' ceilings and due to a fireplace, my speaker sit about 18' apart. I also use a Paradigm PS-1200 powered sub. Any recommendations on upgrading would be appreciated.

Montana Kas..I would recommend you..a terrifying speaker..forget the B&W..

Herb4, that is a bit of a loaded question, as a lot speaker questions can be. IMO speakers make the most dramatic difference in your system and we all have our personal tastes, EX. the thunder boomers driving down the road, they love it, others hate it.

If you prefered the JM Lab, by all means go that route, that may not mean it is "better" than the B&W's, just different.

I do believe that it can be a no brainer at times that one speaker is better than another. But as we move up the price chain, you start getting into personal preferences.

And don't let me forget synergy, it may be that one speaker works better with tubes than another...again, doesn't mean it is a better speaker per se.

On one of the Sterophile's test CD's, a guy reads the column by J. Gordon Holt, "Why Audiophiles Disagree", this sums it up much better than I am.