Anyone sell Nautilus speakers at anything below full price?

NicolasB

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Still thinking about Nautilus 803/HTM1/SCM1 combination for home cinema. Still can't really afford 'em. :blush:

I've recently been dealing with a salesperson (who shall remain nameless) at a particular store (which shall also remain nameless), and had been told by this person that the store's B&W rep. had been making inquiries about selling B-grade stock through them. However, said salesperson has informed me today that because I have been listening to equipment in shops besides theirs, they don't care to deal with me any more. (I'm paraphrasing but only slightly).

So: does anyone happen to know of any other (reputable) dealer who might have access to B-grade B&W stock (Nautilus 800 series) or does anyone know of anywhere that sells the Nautilus range even slightly below the standard price? (I would suggest a forum powerbuy, but Uncle Eric seems distinctly unenthusiastic about the Nautilus range).
 
Originally posted by NicolasB
Uncle Eric seems distinctly unenthusiastic about the Nautilus range).
Call me daft but I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.
Installed a Velodyne HGS yesterday at a customers in SW1.
Sadly the gentleman has Nautilas mains and wanted to listen to U571 after set up to hear/feel the sub in action. Of course Roger was listening to what the sub was doing and smiling from ear to ear which is understandable with the big Velo. I was listening to the "big picture" as it were and I must say that the following just confirmed my opinion re the B&W's.
When the depth charges are ejected into the sea, with my M&K MPS, there is a distinct dramatic SPLASSSH as they hit the water. A nice heavy mid-range thud as they land into the ocean followed by the SHHH of the residual sea spray which is at the top end of the frequency range.
With the Nautilas, the mid range sounded less dynamic and even worse, its as if the sea spray SHHH sound (HF's) were chopped off and thrown out in a black plastic bin bag for the dustmen to collect.
Quite frankly, I think I would have a go at suicide if I was forced to live with these things.
Just my opinion.
Good luck with your search.
 
eric,

I don't get it!!!??

If these are so poor, why are they so popular.
 
I don't think they are poor as such. There is a lot of other stuff on the market thats much, much worse. But I do think they are poor value for the money. For the kind of wallet surgery these perform, I can think of a dozen speakers that will better them by a long way.

As for something being popular? Bose are also popular.
 
Hi,


The B&W speakers in question are superb performers,

if you can afford them, buy with confidence and enjoy!

Just my humble opinion

Trust your ears, not someone elses.



Seven.
 
do not mean to hijack thread but would likeuncle erics opinion of b&w cdm1nts as i have never auditioned these against simuler priced speakers, are there better speakers for the money , or are b&W consider to pricey for product????
 
Uncle Eric,
what amplification was your Velodyne customer using?
Perhaps you could interest him in some better quality amps to go with his HGS?
 
Krell Amplification, Meridian processor and DVD player. Roger won't be upgrading these in a hurry. On a side note, he will bin his Sony HT10 LCD PJ very soon so you may expect to see this in the classifieds.
 
this makes me laugh, search all the threads.

Uncle eric is one of the top people in the know.

I think he would no if the amps are not up to it.

I have some massive Tannoy R3`s they are to big for most.... but quality is right up there. for the price they rock.

Eric`s poins are always made at the price point. VFM.
 
Originally posted by darren7
Eric`s poins are always made at the price point. VFM.
Thanks Darren. Thats what its all about really.
I think some folks often misunderstand my comments. For example, I rate the KEF Q1's very highly indeed. IMO difficult to beat at their current street price of approx £210 per pair.
I'm not suggesting the Q1's are better than the Nautilas its just that there are plenty of vastly superior alternatives for that kind of money.

Originally posted by seven
Trust your ears, not someone elses.
Seven,
Your point is valid. Albeit in a limited way. I live and breath this stuff every day almost 24/7. I lost count long ago of the gear that goes through the Batcave. I listen to and evaluate a hell of a lot of gear. How much hardware do you listen to?
 
It was so long ago that this is now practically off-topic, but is there any chance of an answer to my original question...? :)
 
Uncle E wrote:


Meridian processor and DVD player


There's smart people everywhere you look!

Good man....


PS....How's things Eric?...still got those bags under the eyes mate:eek:

Adam:)
 
Originally posted by NicolasB
It was so long ago that this is now practically off-topic, but is there any chance of an answer to my original question...? :)

What exactly did the salesman say was B-grade stock? How does it differ from A-grade? Does he mean seconds? Second-hand?
 
Good question. Not entirely sure, actually. :confused:

I think the definition of B-grade stock varies a little from company to company. A possible meaning is stuff that meets the full battery of functional tests but has some minor cosmetic blemish. I think it can also refer to items that have been despatched and taken out of the box but then returned unused. It's certainly usually a step up from either "second hand" or "ex demo". (Although not always).
 
Originally posted by Adzman
.How's things Eric?...still got those bags under the eyes mate:eek:
:eek: Adam, I'm now sitting closer to Godzilla so hopefully they will soon be gone :D
 
Uncle,
A few weeks back you had some 'quality' gear in the batcave for a possible power buy.But you found the gear some what lacking to say the least.Care to name and shame?
Gary
 
Hi Gary,
I've launched into many rants about poor value hardware over the years. These days, I prefer to concentrate on talking about products that stand out in terms of value and performance. Sadly, there have always been more of the former and less of the later. Lets hope this changes in time
 
I rate the KEF Q1's very highly indeed. IMO difficult to beat at their current street price of approx £210 per pair.

I think that the B&W 601 S3's are more than a match for the Q1's. Bass is better, and the midrange is clearer. I tested both quite extensively.

Seems to me that people on this forum tend to take what uncle eric says as gospel (no insult intended) without listening for themselves, which is the most important thing when choosing what to buy IMO.
 
There are a few people around who will take uncle eric's opinion as gospel and these are the people who would be buying their speakers without auditioning them first anyway. If one must buy in this fashion then Eric's opinion is one that won't let anybody down.

Most people will ask for Eric's advice then include whatever he recommends on their shortlist. Although you are a newbie here you can see that he has been around a long time, given a lot of advice to loads of people which always tends to be qualified with extensive reasons for his recommendations and I don't recall anyone complaining afterwards that they didn't like what he recommended.
 
Ian J There are a few people around who will take uncle eric's opinion as gospel and these are the people who would be buying their speakers without auditioning them first anyway. If one must buy in this fashion then Eric's opinion is one that won't let anybody down.

Still find it hard to understand how people can take someone else's opinion as gospel (however well informed they may be) and purchase without actually having ever heard the kit themselves.

IMHO there is still no substitute for doing your own research, taking on board views from the forums, then actually listening to the kit you have shortlisted.
 
The problem is, of course, that even listening to the stuff isn't really enough because you rarely get the opportunity to perform a controlled experiment. It's difficult to say that processor A sounds better than processor B if you hear them with different amps and speakers. And even if you hear them with the same amp and speakers and in the same acoustic space there's always a chance that two particular components working together will sound just that little bit nicer than either one of them would suggest when you hear it with something else. Then there's the question of how it will sound in your living room as opposed to the HiFi store demo room....

I think I've just talked myself into giving the whole thing up as a bad job. :)
 
NicolasB The problem is, of course, that even listening to the stuff isn't really enough because you rarely get the opportunity to perform a controlled experiment. It's difficult to say that processor A sounds better than processor B if you hear them with different amps and speakers. And even if you hear them with the same amp and speakers and in the same acoustic space there's always a chance that two particular components working together will sound just that little bit nicer than either one of them would suggest when you hear it with something else. Then there's the question of how it will sound in your living room as opposed to the HiFi store demo room....

Nicolas, any decent dealer I have dealt with have been more than happy to demo or lend me the kit so that you can hear it with your existing kit in your own AV home. This way you get to experience exactly how it will sound if you purchase it.
 
That's true, although I think you'd have to be fairly sure you'd got the right kit before intalling an entire system you were thinking of buying.

Actually there's an even bigger problem with listening to stuff in stores: sometimes you can't be certain the system has been set up correctly. Some dealers are extremely reliable - but they might not stock the things you want to hear.

:(
 
NicolasB - depends on the dealer and how keen they are to ensure that you purchase what is right for you.

There is absolutely no substitute for a home demo utilising all of the components in the proposed system. I suppose I still find it incredible that some members advocate relying on someone else's interpretation of what does or doesn't create the ideal sound for the money!
 

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