Do B&W 804s have good bass?

[mr_m687]

Just wondering if this accurate speaker has a good amount of rich satisfying bass. Listening in a store it sounds kind of weak no deep sound. Anyone experience better lower end in a home setting?

[DrBoom]

I don't know how you would define "rich satisfying bass", but the 804 isn't exactly a bass monster.
It has a relatively small cabinet, with "only" 2 6.5" woofers so it seems kinda logical that it wouldn't be the ultimate bass speaker.
In stead it has a fast and accurate bass, which I find much more pleasing than heavy and slow bass.
If you want more bottom end, i.e. below 40 Hz or have a large room, either add a sub (just make sure it's a good one, or it gets worse), or buy 803's or even better 802's.
It all depends on the amplifier whether they have a decent bottom end, the speaker can't go lower than it's meant to go, but there sure are very large differences with different amplifiers.
Ranging from slow and undefined bass, to fast and dry.
Parasound is a good match, Rotel is less (in my opinion), Classé works great too and I'm sure dozens of other brands will be just as good.
Just don't go cheap on the amplifier, it makes or breaks everything.

[aphexist]

The Nautilus 804 (which I own) and the new 804S are solid performers when it comes to bass output. Before I bought a sub, I was running mine full-range and music listening was very satisfying. You will not get much gut-busting bass from them, but they are not meant to reproduce such frequencies. A decent subwoofer is needed for home theater.

I noticed a nice increase in bass at higher volume when I went from a Rotel 1075 to an Earthquake Cinenova amp.

I find many people are used to inaccurate, flabby bass (usually from car audio backgrounds), and confuse this with "rich, satisfying" bass.

[miner]

I have had my N804 since Good Friday and at first I was a bit disappointed with the bass. My source is a Denon DCM-370 (soon to be replaced by a Rotel RCC-1055), Rotel RC-1070 pre and RB-1070 amp. My previous speakers were Polk RT-20p with built-in dual 8" subs which produced good bass. My B&W are slowly getting broken in along with amp & pre and each time I listen they tend to sound better ; a fast accurate bass. I too was contemplating a $1500 sub but I am beginning to rethink.