01-17-2005, 08:43 AM #247 (2)
tmt
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Belgium
Posts: 26 803D hmmm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Saturday I went to a dealer to listen to the 803Ds.
These things are really HUGE. they dwarfed the old 802s that were standing besides them.
I could compare the new 803D to the old 802, unfortunately they were not connected to the same equipment.
The 803Ds were driven by a clasé CA201 amp, a Thule PR350B pre-amp and a marantz sacd/dvd player.
The 802s were on the new Rotel RSP-1098 pre-amp and RMB1075 amp, with a rotel dvd player.
For surround listening an "old" HTM1 and 804s were driven by a Thule PA350.
They both sounded very good, but very different. It was like listening to speakers of different brands.
I wasn't instantly blown away by the sound the new nautilus offered. They sounded a tiny bit like speakers.
Of cource the 803Ds are only in use for half a week so they are most likely not entirely broken in yet.
The highs to mid-ends on the 803Ds do sound incredible detailed and lifelike, in comparison the 802 sounds a bit muffled.
This only shows how good the new diamond tweater and other refinements really are!
In SACD surround mode the differences between the HTM1 and the 803Ds are clearly audible. The HTM is very good, but the 803Ds are just that better.
The 802s low-end is still a LOT better, it goes into subwoofer levels (you can feel the punch in your stomach) but when it's going really low you can hear the wind blowing through the flowport at the bottom.
In my opinion the full potential of the new diamond tweeter can only be used when playing SACD or 24/96 DTS sources, which go higher than the 20kHz cutoff that cd offers. Using ordinairy cds is like driving a ferrari only in first gear.
Many people are hoping that the 803D will be the new 802 (pricewise).
But I doubt if they will ever reach the low end of the old 802.
(Therefore it's really tempting to buy a pair of demo 802s, which would cost me the same as the new 803D)
The dealer mentioned that the new 802D will be the best speaker price/performance-wise of the new range.
"It's already better than the old 800" he said , which in his eyes makes it a super bargain, considering it costs 12.000 compared to 18.000 for the old 800.
I admit he is a B&W adept so he could be a bit biased
But he knows what he's talkin about. A few months ago was able to sneak in the test laboratory in Belgium (which normally is totally off-limits) where all new nautilus models get there final tweaking and approval by the Belgian importer before being released.
In the end considering the price they cost I'm not entirely convinced yet. More testing required...
