Amp for Nautilus 801

A pair of Bryston 7bsst monoblocks will give your 801's everything they need.

I recently replaced a Levinson 331 with a McCormack DNA-500 driving my Aerial 10Ts. The DNA-500 produced an exceptional improvement in dynamics, slam and transient response. Very musical!

Tubes are always at the top-of-my -list.The CJs should be a good choice,and are becoming more affordable.

The Nautilus 801 is a very difficult speaker to drive and decent shops that sold it bi-amped it with expensive, truly high-current solid-state amplification such as Classe Omega, Levinson, Krell FBP or Rowland.

Unless you limit yourself to chamber music, the c-j tube amp would be totally inappropriate on N801's, as would all but a small handful of tube amps.

N801's also need to be used in a big room with lots of placement options so they don't boom, as they produce prodigious bass. They are also not shelved down in the treble and thus tend to sound bright, especially with digital sources (because most recordings are bright and most CD players still can't do treble). In short, they are hard to use properly and thus not very practical -- are you sure they are the speaker for you? If 90% of what you listen is full-scale symphonic music and rock, if you have a big, well-damped room and if you own megaamps, then okay, but otherwise, there are a many alternatives that are better choices.

I currently own the B&W 801's and am driving them with Bryston 7Bsst monoblock amps and used along with a CAT Ultimate MKII pre. The 801's are a demanding speaker and can handle alot of power. I can only speak for the Bryston's and can say that they effortlessly feed these speakers. They are rock solid on the bottom end, Mids are precise and Hi's are detailed and not overwhelming. They are quiet running and when put to the test, these 600w amps can produce some heat. The warranty from Bryston is one of the best and carries over if sold second hand. I believe for the money that it will be hard to beat their performance. Also a large listening room is preferred with these speakers to appreciate what they are capable of producing. For those tube amp lovers I have heard (by word of mouth only) that the Bryston's lean towards a tube sound. If you have a chance of auditioning these 4 amps that you've mentioned by all means line it up, for it will be well worth it to you and other Audiogon members. Take your time in choosing and above all HAVE FUN doing it.