Mixing Diamonds and Nautilus

[William]

I have 4 804 and a HTM1 Nautilus. Auditioned the 803D's and fell head over hells (actually it should be heals over head) for them. I could not afford to replace all 5 speakers so I'm keeping 2 804's for the surrounds and getting 2 803D's for mains and a HTM2D center. How well will the 804's mtch as surrounds for the 803D/HTM2D fronts? It will be used about 80% film, 10% concert, and 10% SACD/DVD-A, Does this sound like a good combo?

[Kal Rubinson]

So far, I have not found any problems using 3 802Ds in front with the 804s' in the surround. Most of the listening has been of materials with primarily ambience in the rear but the few with discrete sounds are fine, too. Frankly, the difference in room acoustics from front to back are probably much greater than the differences between the tweeters.

Kal

[ShadowZA]

Hi William

Welcome to the forum.

I have a system similarly matched to what you plan to do. To say that I am happy is an understatement Looks good, sounds great! The last pic in post number 667 here: http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...=10838&page=20 shows my Nautilus 804's positioned in rear duty mode.

Good luck with your decision & please let us know how it pans out. Pics would be great too.

[William]

Hi William

Welcome to the forum.

I have a system similarly matched to what you plan to do. To say that I am happy is an understatement Looks good, sounds great! The last pic in post number 667 here: http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...=10838&page=20 shows my Nautilus 804's positioned in rear duty mode.

Good luck with your decision & please let us know how it pans out. Pics would be great too.

They should be in by Friday. Kind of odd but I sent my projector (JVC HD10K) to have it calibrated and I also had PRK so I have been listening to music only for a few day and my 804' sound great. Year setup looks very nice and the cabinet looks like the same finish as the speakers. Here are a pic of my soon to be gone speakers. Will post some new pics next week.

[jayhawk75]

that is my current leaning with a 855 sub however i still havent ruled out 802d as my music listening is a higher proportion. however if you make the changes before i do, your thoughts might help me with the decision process. currently i can only listen to 802d at dealer and it makes it hard, so i just keep adding to the rest of the equipment. i dont want to make the regret choice for my retirement system. the variations that i have tested have shown that you will not go wrong with your current selection, but i would listen with your htm1 and the 803d prior to switching to htm2d, you might find you wont have to. also with your projector set up you need to start thinking about how the htm2d tweeter can be raised up to aprox same height as 803d tweeters as i have found it makes a huge difference in ht.

[William]

If I could get the tweeters at the same level I would buy a 3ed 803D so they would be 100% timber matched. I also feel the HTM2D will be very important because in pans I don't won't the dialog sound to change. Listened to the 802D (in a deferent room) but they sounded about the same as the 803D (flame suite on). For the money I feel the point of diminishing returns is just too great (of course all B&W's suffer this). Also IMHO the 803D's fit the style of a HT better being taller and thinner. Truth be told I could not afford the 802D's anyway so all of the above is just my way of justifying the 803D's over the 802D's.

[D-bucket]

William, looks like you too have been smitten by the magical spell of those sultry 803D's. Do you recall what amp & source they were being driven by when you fell under their charm, oops, I mean auditioned them? :T

[William]

Diamonds are in the house.

Picked up Friday and they are being broken in. I have only had time to listened to one song (Eagles-I can't tell you why-HFO) and was impressed by a couple of things over the 804's. The low end on the 803D's is much stronger and has quite a punch. I even checked to be sure the sub was off. The 804's really did need the sub to fill in the lows but not so with the 803D's. They also seem to convey a sense of presents that the 804 don't. I think it is a combination of the Diamond tweeter in a superior position and the deep full bass. There is one thing that is not as nice (to me). The finish is not exactly the same (cherry wood) as the 804's. The 804's have a deeper red color and more darker wood grain (more over all contrast and character). Tonight I will get to speed some time with them and my just optimized HD10K projector. They will have about 35 hours on them by then.

[William]

William, looks like you too have been smitten by the magical spell of those sultry 803D's. Do you recall what amp & source they were being driven by when you fell under their charm, oops, I mean auditioned them? :T

I believe it was a McIntosh system with mono amps? Not sure of the source but it was server based (I think).

[ShadowZA]

Congratulations, William :T

Enjoy ... enjoy ... and ... enjoy

Don't worry too much about the colour of your new 803D's. Over time, the cherrywood tends to darken and should begin to match your 804's.

Looks stunning your setup does ... oh yeah :T

[miner]

You have a beautiful system Wm. The 803D will be my next upgrade.