below is a list of B&W speakers suggested by a friend of mine. What do you think? IS there something else I should look at for the $$$? Front Left and Right: B&W Nautilus 802 Diamond - the Mac Daddy - $12,000/pair, $9,600 YC.
B&W Nautilus 803 Diamond - amazing speakers to say the least - $8,000/pair, $6,400 YC.
B&W Nautilus 803 Signature - amazing speakers without the diamond tweeter - $5,500/pair, $4,400 YC.
B&W Nautilus 804 Signature - great speakers but for the size of your room I'd go 803 or higher - $4,000/pair, $3,200 YC.
Center Channel Speaker: B&W HTM1 - an enormous center channel speaker at almost 240 lb - $8,000, $6,400 YC.
B&W HTM2 Diamond - an incredible speaker with unprecedented clarity - $4000, $3,200 YC.
B&W HTM3 Signature - the speaker that I have in my system - $2,500, $2,000 YC.
B&W HTM4 Signature - if you were determined to go with 2 center channels you may want 2 of these - $1,300, $1,040 YC.
Surround Speakers: B&W Nautilus SCM - these are wall mounted surrounds matching with the Nautilus line - $2,200/pair, $1,760 YC.
B&W Nautilus 805 Signature - if you are going to put the surround speakers on stands these match up with the Nautilus line - $2,500/pair, $2,000 YC.
My system in your house would be: 2 N802 for left and right (but I wouldn't bury them behind the screen - they are too pretty) 1 HTM1 or 2 HTM2 or HTM3 for the center channel 2 or 3 NSCM for surrounds
If you are going to spend that much money then the ONLY sensible way to to this is to go and listen to everything in your price range with a good quality dealer. After all, would you buy a house based upon my personal recommendation? No I thought not. Its just not practical, indeed nor sensible to ask for written advice when you are spending that much money.
I happen to believe that the best pair of speakers I have ever heard were the original Matrix 800's; Late '80s in Monterey CA, running thru MAC gear. The 800's were about 6ft tall and probably weighed 225#'s. Every time the kick drum hit my pant leg moved...from 20 ft.
Needless to say, I am a big B&W fan. After going with Apoggee Centaurs which sound as clean without the bottom end or the $$$, I went back a few years ago and got the Matrix 805's and a B&W sub. I have been very pleased with the combo.
If you are looking at B&W, you certainly must understand that when you get to that level of gear, everything matters. If you are going to consider spending updwards of $10K on two speakers, you need to be ready to spend a minimum of $8K to pre-amp/amp them up right. If not, it's like buying a Viper with a V-6 in it.
Personally, unless you have really big $$$, I would spend up all I have on a killer STEREO system and live with a more modest home theater surround setup. Further, unless you really intend to plant yourself in front of your stereo and zone out, you will never realize all the nuances of that level of quality.
In the end, it's like sports cars. You can spend $35K and get a pretty sporty car that gets you from point A to B. For $65K you get a Vett ZR that gets you there much faster. For $300,000+ you can have the Ferrari's etc that are total performance. In the end, the Ferrari may not be 5 times the car that the Vette is. You pay dearly for that last bit of ultimate performance.
Not everyone can tell the difference, or justify the cost.
BTW- If you are getting B&W at -20% you are doing well. It is pretty much the full pop most everywhere.
Good luck!
Anonymous
Posted on
"Personally, unless you have really big $$$, I would spend up all I have on a killer STEREO system and live with a more modest home theater surround setup." Indeed, this is why I use a nice high end set of Sennheiser headphones as my stereo system Lots cheaper that way.
I hope that if you're seriously considering speakers at those levels then you're going to some serious quality on the electronics front. An Arcam AVR300 will not suffice. In fact, an Arcam AV8/P7 still wouldn't really get it going properly - and of course you should be looking at a top DVD player to provide the right signal to the system.
As to your question, competing brands at that level that I rate highly would include Wilson benesch, Dynaudio and Focal Jmlab. These brands have speakers that are in that price bracket and which provide very different solutions for the money.
Lots cheaper that way.