Nautilus & S series


Hi all,

I am new to high-end system and currently shopping for a pair of B&W speakers. The model of choice is 803. There seems to be a nautilus 803 and 803s out there. These two look completely identical and I did not confuse it with earlier model N803 which is a lot more square looking.

Would it be a same model but a number change only after 803D came out at year 2005? Please let me know if whether they are indifferent or not? Thanks a million!!

jensenjunn
So here is my question, does nautilus 803 (1997 model) looks the same as 803S (2004) model? If they look the same, how can I tell the difference?

Thanks!
The cabinets are identical(on the outside), but the tweeter housing is slightly different. The label near the speaker terminals will say 803S. Hope this helps.
I purchased from a single seller a used pair of N803's, a pair of SCMS's and a ASW 825 subwoofer a few years ago. They were beautiful speakers. The N803's were represented to me as a pair of B&W N803s. All of my pre purchase research was based of the N803s representation. They were offered for a very resonable price and good terms. I accepted the sellers offer and trusted his representation. This was my first high end sysyem and I bought a MC207 prior from the same seller. I did not know of that there was a difference between the N and the s. Then I saw a thread where someone asked the same question as you after I had the system for a couple weeks. I looked at the model # in the location the previous poster on this this thread said. To my surprise I had the N803 and not the N803s. I did some searching of the previous correspondence with the seller leading up to the sale and without a doubt saw the written representation of the "s". Then I started looking for the differences bewtween the two models. I saw that there was definetely a opinioned difference between the two models. The bottom line was, my deal was not as good as I thought it was from the financial aspect but I loved how the "N"'s looked and the sound was very good to my ears. I later sold the system and represented the speakers properly and tried something different. Just make sure you get what you think you are getting. More my bad then anything. Watch for the difference between plural form of "a pair 803's" and a pair of 803s". Because they look exactly alike. My SCM's were the "s" model.
I think I have my answers... there are sellers out there mixing the N with S model for higher profits.

It would be great if any of you can post some pictures of the differences. I google the 803s terminal on the internet but couldn't find one. Many review and articles are mixing these 2 speakers as one model. I am so damn confusing!!

One easy way to tell on the outside of the cabinet is on the older nautilus series, the tweeter housing is sunk down into the top of the cabinet. Enough that you could see the veneer bandings that made up the top of the cabinet. The newer "S" series tweeter pretty much perches on the top of the cabinet.