Revel,salon vs B&W Nautilus

Earlier in the year I was in the market for a new pair of speakers under $20,000. I auditioned as many systems as possible; Wilson 6, Avalon Eidilon, Thiel 7.2, & Revel Salons. Revel Salons got my vote for the overall highest performing system in most sonic departments. Then I accidentally stumbled upon Nautilus 801's. They are simply the most live, dynamic, tonally convincing system I have ever heard in dynamic speakers. I debated my speaker purchase for quite a while that is until I got a chance to hear the 801's... The store had a really crappy set-up as most stores do. I played with the speaker setup for hours... It took my ears simply this one audition on entry level Krell gear to learn that they were something special. I immediately arranged a 1 day long (second audition) at a different location bringing along some of my own gear... This time they were driven by my own Wadia 860, Nordost Quattro-fil xlr into a store demo Krell FPB600. Finishing it off were my Nordost SPM speaker cables, misc. tweaks etc... They also supplied plenty of tube traps to help me dial things in until I was satisfied. I left the store that night purchasing the Nautilus 801's in red cherry & the Krell FPB600c... My current system which is seriously tweaked to the hilt will send chills down your spine... The Revels are simply an awesome speaker system but after hours of critical placement & setup tweaks I feel they can not match the B&W's in most sonic departments. It just comes down to how close you want to get to the real event in your listening chair. Happy listening, Tony akob007@aol.com

I listened both at the same place, at the same eqipment at the same time. I voted to Rewell Saloon. B&W 801 Nautilus came to me bright at the upper treble with a lots of unnecessary bass. The bass characher was boomy and lot. I found B&W not a studio monitor speaker as it was before. It may go to your music testing of rock or country

Heard the Revel Salons at a seminar at Overture in Wilmington, DE. WOW! They are absolutely fantastic. I did not hear them do ANYTHING wrong. And I was sitting somewhat off-axis too. Revel's website says they try to maximize off-axis performance of their drivers in the Revel line. I think it's working! Setup included Theta Digital DaVid, and Casablanca (they played some new DVD Audio tracks at 24/96), and the huge Classe monoblocks. I can't remember the cabling. I do remember hearing microdetails like a small triangle being played quietly at the back of the stage while a symphony plays triple forte in front. Astonishing!! Never heard the B&W Nautilus, but have not been overly impressed with the Nautilus 802 at the local dealer compared to the Revels. I'm trying to figure out how I can afford to get a set of the Revel Studios for my rig!

NOT EVEN CLOSE,THE REVEL SMOKES THEM. A BUDDY AND I LITENED TO THEM BOTH THE OTHER DAY AND THEN LAUGHED OUR BUTTS OFF WHEN WE SAW THAT STEREOPHILE HAD B&W 801'S TIED W/ THE REVEL'S AS SPEAKER OF THE YEAR? IF YOU WANT A BLOATED BASS AND YOU LISTEN TO RAPP THEN BUY THE B&W. IF YOU WANT A SPEAKER THAT SOUNDS "REAL" THEN GET THE REVEL. I ALSO LISTENED TO THE REVELS AT OVERTURE AND THEY ARE GREAT!

Both speakers are very, very good systems. Flip a coin. At this level of performance system matching is more important than any intrinsic quality of the speakers. The coin flip will probably give you a better shot at selecting the "right" speaker than anyone's advice on the internet could.

I was also recently was in the market for under $20k speakers. The Revels were my second choice and I personally didn't care for the BW. They were awesome on hard rock played really loud. Large scale classical is my primary listening music with rock second. I bought Dunlavy SC V because I thought that the Dunlavy's were more realistic and engaging but I would have been happy with the Revels. BUT Onhwy61 is right, at this price level system and room matching is crucial. How even a weel warmed up a rig sounds psychacoustically after five hours of fairly loud music is quite different than what it will sound like to you at your first five minutes of listening.

Not even close... B&W Nautilus - Big and heavy looking and heavy sounding.. Muddy bass and you need a crane to bring them in the house. I found them to be terrible. I would rather listen to the stereo in my car. If you are married don't even think about it. Revel Salons - Beautiful sounding - warm and effortless to listen to. Very contemporary look - aesthetically pleasing as well. Madrigal at their best. The more power the better. I still like the Watt/Puppys over both and for one reason... RESALE!

If I had to spend $20,000 on a speaker system (for my large room), I'd consider a used Genesis 200, or a Wisdom Audio Adrenaline...And I'd need even more of the already considerable ASC traps that I have...