Heard the B&W N804d3s ...


I've owned the original iteration of the N804s since I bought them new in '01. After 15 years, I thought perhaps it was time to upgrade to a newer model. So, I auditioned the new N804d3s at a local retailer. They sounded great, and are an improvement over the originals in the areas of bass slam and airiness. However, that step up to my ears is equivalent to about 10-15%. Not sure that that sort of improvement justifies the price ($9K for the d3s vs. $3,500 for the original N804s), although "upgradeitis" tempts me to pull the plug. Is it just me, or does the law of diminishing returns apply in this case? Your thoughts on this or the qualitiative differences between the old and new Nautilus lines would be most appreciated.

rlb61
A good sub should sound good with the 804's and actually will do more to the perceived sound than just add lower bass.  The 804's are basically very revealing older monitors with "built-in stands", as opposed to full range speakers.  I agree with other posts that room size will limit lowest bass you can experience in your listening room (but not necessarily down the hall!). For this reason I would shoot for quality of bass rather than trying to buy down your Hz.

Try the Rythmik and see how that works. For the quality of the rest of your system, you might be happier with the F12. Another option for a small room is the B&W PV1D or the PSB Subseries 450.  Anyway you cut it, good bass is expensive.

kn
whyowhy:

The CM5 that  you ve gotten are some of the musically satisfying speakers at any price.... You are not going find anything that much better till you go up 805 D3s, or Chario Sonnets, both at about 6 grand... And even then, CM5s can hold their own.. I ve owned them and sold them to foot a bill for a 17 thousand floorstanders..But I miss them dearly.. Still use the  smaller CM1s on my desktop and those are fantastic as well.... So hang on to those me thinks :)
I have the N802's bought new in 2004.
1. I personally feel my N802's appearance looks better than the   
    current 802's. I'm not just saying this, they really look better.
    They way those lower 8 inch drivers stick out like they do
      looks awful.
 
2. I really don't care what anybody says but the mid-range and highs
     on mine sound better
3. Yes, there is more bass on the current 802's but it's just too much.
     The bass on mine are lean as most people say but it is much
      tighter and I prefer a tighter bass to excessive bass any day.
       I only want bass to be reproduced when there is bass and that
       is what my N802's do. I don't want bass coming out when
       there is no bass in the music.
4.  Are the current 802's worth the extra money over the older N802's
      ??? LOL   Absolutely not.
 5.  Find an older pair of N802's or N801's in very good condition
      or better and save some major bucks. Use the savings and buy
      more music.
A used pair of 805's have been what I really want to use, but many on here have talked about the Ascend Sierra 2.  There are a fair number of good choices in sub $2000 range.

Now if life would just quit getting in the way with medical bills and car breakdowns :)
@knownothing ... I agree with you that the N804s are basically monitors with built-in stands. The purpose of the sub in this application is not to get the lowest bass possible, but simply to embellish the existing bass slightly. For my very small room with space limitations, the L12 should be quite sufficient, both cone-wise and size-wise ... Enrico, from Rhythmik, agrees with this. After I get the L12 set up and integrated, I’ll post the results. If this doesn't work, I likely will keep the sub, sell the N804s, and purchase stand-mounted speakers. My fingers are crossed.