sound quality comparison between BW 805S and N805

[babbu9]

Hi
I am interested in buying the 805 series speakers but would like to know your opinion regarding the sound quality of the old 805 nautilus and the new 805 S.
I heard from people that older version is better.

I cannot afford to buy the new speakers (2500$) hence planning to go for the older version (1500$).

But before I buy I would like to know your comparison on them.

Note: I have tried the 705 (1500$) with the new 805S and find the 805 to be more acoustically pleasing.

Thanks
Bob

[NonSense]

I'm sure you will find that some like the 805S while others like the N805. For you the decision is simple, since you can only afford the N805. You can be sure that most everyone would agree the the N805 will also be "more acoustically pleasing" than the 705.

[marvin4653]

Hi Bob,
I registered to these forums just so that I could post a reply to this thread since your situation is about indentical to mine right now. I'm very interested in a pair of B&W bookshelf speakers that I can take back to college with me. I was initially thinking about the 705s, or maybe CM-1s. I listened to the 705s first, considering that I have a good friend with a 6.1 B&W system based off of the 704s which I liked, and although I thought they sounded good, they didn't exactly blow me away, and for $1500 I was expecting to be somewhat impressed. They weren't a bad speaker, and I liked their detail and clarity, but then seemed a bit thin, and almost airy for the sake of being airy, artificially if you will. I then made the foolish mistake of asking to hear the 805S's back to back with the 705s. Wow what an improvement, the 805S's were everything I wanted in a speaker, detailed but smooth-not harsh at all, and a full bodied sound.

Considering the $1500 price tag of the 705s seemed more in line with my price expectations than the $2500 805S's, I started considering picking up a pair of used Nautilus 805s. I asked my B&W dealer how much B&W changed from the Nautilus to the 805S, and he said that although the appearance is very similar, B&W claims almost 95% of the speaker was changed in some way. He said the Nautilus 805s reminded him of how the current 705s sound now, or at least have similar characteristics. Take that for what it's worth, but it's a non-commission shop and I've had some great conversations with the guy, and I believe him. That seems to be in line with what this review had to say about them as well:

http://www.bwspeakers.com/bwhifi/reviews2005/805S_HFC_October_05.pdf

I still wouldn't mind hearing the Nautilus 805s, but I have a feeling that if I bought them it wouldn't be long before I'd be itching to trade up to the 805S's. It's depressing, but I've given up searching for Nautilus 805s and now I'm just saving for the 805S's.

Victor