N804 or 804s

**miner** · 09 January 2007, 08:44 Tuesday

First of alll, the N804 have not been in production for over a year now. If you decide to get the N804 you should get a huge discount - 25-40% - offer $1150 ea.). I have the N804 (paid $1400 ea.) and have been very satisfied with them. The 804S has a different crossover I believe, not sure of other differences.

**chinets** · 09 January 2007, 09:44 Tuesday

Audition both if you can, and let your ears make the correct choice for your listening pleasure.
Yes, 804s a little on the brighter side, while N804 more neutral ,that is correct, but hey, you might enjoy the brighter side or again you might prefer the Neutral side to this story.
If you want to save money N804 all the way, as you might get a great discount for a top notch speaker ,and the difference if you ask me between the 804s and N804 is minimum ,when you comaper the steep price between both. You get almost the same speaker at almost half the price...That is a great bargain!! Don't you think so? Go for it!
Cheers

**Briz vegas** · 09 January 2007, 15:51 Tuesday

I have never done a side by side comparision between these two but I did my research as I wanted to get the highs right after the 705s. B&W claim one of the biggest improvements from N804 to 804s was the integration of the tweeter with the midrange using a more simple crossover. This made apparently made the tweeter less prominent. I also read a review of 804s vs N804 on the net and a smoother but apparently slightly less detailed top end was the main conclusion. I was hoping to post the link but could not find the article after a quick google- it was a published review, not a consumers review.

I could only find this review - http://www.ecoustics.com/secrets/vol...05-part-1.html

Chinets - did you compare the 804s with the N804 yourself? Your comments surprise me. Recently a friend who owns Martin Logan electrostats commented that my system was probably the least sibilant that he has heard. This is not an indication of a bright sound as electrostats are known for a smooth top end, unless by bright you mean that they lack a bottom end - this is not a problem I have encountered.

If you cannot hear both & the $$ are a high priority then the N804 may be the right course. I went with the 804s as I was thinking long term what do I want to hear. My options were 804s, Signature 805 (old stock) or 805s.

**DM3000 Owner** · 09 January 2007, 15:55 Tuesday

I have Nautilus series speakers (N801's) and never considered upgrading. If you can get a good deal on the Nautilus, go for it. I doubt that you will be unhappy with them.

**Ronel S** · 09 January 2007, 20:36 Tuesday

Thank you guys for your comments.

I'm now thinking to get the n804 and ask for a higher discount from my dealer up to 40%. My dealer is only giving 25% on both and if I won't be able to improve the the 25%, then, I would probably go for the 804s.

**ZX10 Guy** · 09 January 2007, 22:53 Tuesday

Here's my perspective, it really depends on what you want to use the speakers for. In a dedicated 2 channel system, your selection would probably be based solely on price and which one appeals to you sonicly. If you plan on using it in a HT environment, I would think long and hard about purchasing the N804s...even at a substantial discount. You'll be hard pressed to find a Nautilus HTM1 at a dealer to compliment these speakers. You'd have to turn to Fleabay or Audiogon.

As far as differences between the speakers, I hadn't had a chance to listen to an 804S yet. I did get a chance to look at it physically and of note, all the new 80xS series speakers have a different tweeter assembly. The black part of the housing extends further back cover up more of the silver inner tube that the Nautilus series left more exposed. Along with the first order crossovers, I also heard the S tweeters are based off of the Signature tweeters. There are other things B&W has said in their literature that the new line of speakers have had improved in both the woofers and the FST driver. But the consensus is that these changes are minor compared to the tweeter and crossover changes.

**Fife** · 10 January 2007, 01:41 Wednesday

The 804S sounds a bit better and is easier to drive. Depends whether the cost difference is worth it to you. Since you have 705's, I would go straight to 804S rather than N804.

**chinets** · 10 January 2007, 06:03 Wednesday

Briz Vegas,
Yes I did compare the 2 speakers N804 and 804s as I had the N804 and upgraded a year ago to the 804s...Now I have upgraded to the "D" series ,so I know the difference in sound between these two speakers.
Sorry, but sibilance is what I would describe the 804s, as they are much brighter to my ears ,and I am only talking about the highs and not the lows at all. The N804 sounded more neutral and Natural, while the 804s sounds brighter, and the low end is in my opinion are the same as the N804. Yes, those "S" series do sound brighter to me, and took me a long time to appreciate the brighter sound, but also more detailed sound. The N804 are more smoother in their highs ,and sound very neutral, and no sibilance whatsoever. However, you are right ,he will have to search hard for an HTM1 ,if he went in that direction and was into HT.
I loved the "N" series and they sounded so correct, then when I jumped on the "S" bandwagon it took a lot of time for me to appreciate the brighter tweeter sound of the "S" series, but now that I have gone to the "D" series ,I find them more like the "N" series in terms of being very natural ,but with lotss more detail. Therefore, going from N to S you will get more detail in the highs just like going from the S to the D, but in my opinion the S series is the brightest of them all ,and I prefer the more neutral sound of the N and D series if that is what you wanted me to more specific about. I love all B&W speakers and only your ears can make a jugement on what you like and how much you can afford ,and IMHO opinion if he does not want to spend a lot of cash then the N series will do him well.
Sorry Briz vegas that I described the "S" series that way ,but i have them too and that is what my ears hear. I may be very sensitive to highs ,but unfortunately my ears dictate that conclusion. That is why I jumped into the D series quick ,beacuse I did not really care about the S series when I jumped to them and could not hear much difference between the "S" series and "N" series, except in the highs, and the sibilance of those S series do disturb me especially if you watch Satellite T.V.. Again, SORRY, No offence here,but that is my opinion ONLY.
Cheers!

**akhter** · 10 January 2007, 07:11 Wednesday

Originally posted by Ronel S

Hi,

Could someone pls help me make a decision?

I am planning to upgrade my b&w705 to 804s however, the dealer near me don't have 804s. He said that if I order my speakers it will be available in 3-4 weeks time. At present, he has the older N804 and is recommending this speaker instead of the 804s. He also said that the s series is on the bright side while the n series is neutral the reason why he prefers the older nautilus. Since I don't have the chance to audition these speakers, I would be definitely buying them based on your comments.

I wanted to get the N804 because of its availability and cheaper compared to the s series. My questions to users in this forum are these, is there a big difference between the N804 and 804s? Or is the N804 is just fine upgrade from 705 instead of the s series considering the $600 difference in price?

Thanks to all.

Ronel

I actually went to buy the 704 a in May 2005 (>1.5 years ago). I was impressed, but then when I heard the N804, I was truely blown away so it would be a massive upgrade. I also auditioned the then brand new 804s and couldn't tell the difference (according to my dealer I would have had to upgrade my amps/cd player from my Arcam setup to be able to tell any difference *shrug*). Also, I got the pair of N804 for $2700 which was less than even the 7 series floor standers, and way below the $4000 of the 804s (dealer was offering no discount on them as they we very new then). I would say, get the N804. I still can't tell that much of a difference between the N804 and the 804/3s, and sometimes, I like the N804 sound better. From N804, I only consider the 803D and higher models true upgrades, becuase I can tell a clear difference between them both in highs and bass (unfortunately also in price).

Your mileage may vary, but I'd get the N804 but definitely negotiate a good discount as the speakers have been discontinued for a while. If price is not a bug concern then go for the 803D or higher

**Ronel S** · 10 January 2007, 08:30 Wednesday

Originally posted by akhter

Your mileage may vary, but I'd get the N804 but definitely negotiate a good discount as the speakers have been discontinued for a while. If price is not a bug concern then go for the 803D or higher

Thanks Akhter.

Already contacted my dealer this morning and finally gave me 30% discount for the new N804. Just waiting for my money and the speakers are ready for shipment.

Again, thanks to all who have contributed to firm my decision.

Ronel

**Briz vegas** · 10 January 2007, 17:12 Wednesday

Congratulations on the new 800s Ronel. The temptation now is to resist upgrading your electronics (if you have not already been doing so). Gotta love the 804.

Interesting experience for me the other week was when an 800 dealer swapped in 802D at the end of a CD player auditioning session on some 804. I could barely tell the difference between the two. My guess was that the room and the electronics were just not allowing the 802D to show what it could do. It also indicated that getting better performance over the 804 would require a huge additional investment in both speakers and electronics.

I will qualify this by saying my 804s with other CD players at home sounded significantly better than either speaker in the shop - I think the dealers room and possibly even the electronics he was using - although expensive- were not a good match for either speaker- at least to my ears and preferences.

Chinets -it would appear that my sensitivity to brightness is not as great as I originally thought. I have noticed that one of my ears is noticably better at hearing highs than the other - anyway I find the 804 an extremely enjoyable speaker. No complaints from me is quite an achievement. Enjoy those Ds

**Ronel S** · 10 January 2007, 23:37 Wednesday

Originally posted by Briz vegas

Congratulations on the new 800s Ronel. The temptation now is to resist upgrading your electronics (if you have not already been doing so). Gotta love the 804.

Interesting experience for me the other week was when an 800 dealer swapped in 802D at the end of a CD player auditioning session on some 804. I could barely tell the difference between the two. My guess was that the room and the electronics were just not allowing the 802D to show what it could do. It also indicated that getting better performance over the 804 would require a huge additional investment in both speakers and electronics. Enjoy those Ds

I will qualify this by saying my 804s with other CD players at home sounded significantly better than either speaker in the shop - I think the dealers room and possibly even the electronics he was using - although expensive- were not a good match for either speaker- at least to my ears and preferences.

Thank you Briz for those enlightening comments. The speakers will be temporarily driven by my rotel rb-1070 with rc-1070 and rcd-1072 as the preamp and source components.

Also planning to get the rb-1080 to replace my 1070, but it will be done later once I have more in my wallet.

**yourtoys7** · 11 January 2007, 22:53 Thursday

Ronel S
If you going to get bigger amp. I would say look for 1090 or some other brand, I don't think 1070 vs 1080 is not that big of a jump. Save your money and get something that will WOW you.
I drove my 804S with rotel 1057 till got Bryston 4B STT, and was that ever a jump, WOW.
but thats only my side of the coint.

N804 or 804s

N804 or 804s

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