Verity Fidelios VERSUS B&W Nautilus 803's

I also agree with the previous responses. I own the 803 matirx and they require a high current amp to make sing. I jsut bought the Pass X-250. The N series is a little less demanding but typically the B&Ws sound better with each upgrade, maybe mid-fi sounding without the better components.

Hi, Having owned the Fids for two years, and having closely looked previously at the B&Ws, I'd have to agree with subaru, jason, and tobias: at their price point, there's nothing that is as musical. A large bonus, for me, was the relative efficiency and the easy load it provided to my Classé DR-8.
I didn't go by the book, I just spent a day moving the speakers around and experimenting, the old trial and error still works best, and then---audio bliss! I previously owned Merlin VSM-SE, and Sequel II electrostats (for 10 yrs. +), but the Fids had the coherence and better immediacy. The midrange? Ah, it is one of audio's magical components. Lastly, I should mention how easy the Fids interfaced with my Hsu TN 1220 sub. It added even more separation, definition, and air (not to mention authority!). Good luck!

I spoke with Julien Pelchat at Verity about the lack of biwirability, snd he said that they decided to NOT allow users to muck up the sound if using two different sets of cables. There ya have it....
The Fidelio (and my Parsifal Encores) have a truly magical midrange driver, a 5" made by Edgwind Skaaning, who started Scanspeak and is ex-Dynaudio. He only makes $$$ custom drivers in a small operation in his waning years, and indeed makes a light, ULTRAfast mid for Verity. This driver is SO smooth and flat that it's crossed at almost absurd 150Hz and FIVE kHz points, using NO electrical crossover!
Hence the 'stat-like speed and purity of the mids.
The Nautilus 80x can't touch it. That mid they use is a decent driver, but iw WAY too recessed behind that hot 'n splashy tweeter to work correctly in home-sized rooms.
The Fidelio IS tricky, though. Because of the fized rear-facing 7" woofer you MUST be careful with front-wall boundary support or else the presentation will get really lean. Too bad. I tried a pair in a nearfield 8' triangle and found that they were VERY bass-shy because they were 9' out from the front wall. I called Verity and they told me I had one of the 20% setups that require a front-firing woofer and port. So I chased a great deal ($8k) on demo Parsifal Encores, and set them up identically (rear-firing).
Same problem. So I reversed the separate woofer pods and caught my jaw just before it hit the floor! Amazing response and coherence! I reintroduced the N803 and it was no contest. I DID notice that the 803N sounded pretty nice from OUTSIDE the room, so that told me that the power response was really great. I then remembered that a Bristish reviewr mentioned that they needed 12+ feet to cohere (the woofer cross is a too-high 400 Hz to protect the midrange, I guess). But in the nearfield the 803N was a splashy "hifi" performer. Great for HT I guess, or amplified rock, for sure. But on acoustic material, the Verities are an open window to the truth. The Encore's 8" 4 ohm woofer DOES require more amp than the Fidelio, and its 28mm tweeter is nicer than the Fidelio's 19mm. But it's the reversibility of the woofer that proved critical for me.
I'm glad I could find a pair for the same price as NEW Fidelios! The Verity's are extremely well-built, with drivers matched to +/- 0.25dB!, and catalogued by Verity so that if you ever blow one they'll replace with an exact match. This in part explains their spookily-good soundstaging, even when positioned a bit farther apart than normal. Bravos all around. Sorry to wax on....

Smjason calls the Fidelios coherent and I have to agree in spades. FWIW I would choose the Veritys myself without a moment's hesitation. If I could afford them, I would have them now instead of my Shearwater HRs. I respect B&W speakers but they have never seemed to me to transmit as much life as several other manufacturers' products at the same price level. I feel it's almost a shame to compare them to the Fidelios, the Verity products sound so much better. Your biwire configuration is a small price to pay, IMHO.

I have heard both speakers and I feel that the Verity produces a much more coherent image than the B&W's. The Verity does a better job with making the music, the 803s do a better job with reproducing the recording. They both are good speakers, I like the Verity sound more, but that has to be based on your preferences, hope this helps. Good luck.