I do. It was sometime in the year 2003 when me and a buddy was on a rampage to go all around to every hi-fi store/dealer and hear different speakers and systems. It was the N801s with a HTM1 as a center, Nautilus SCM1s for rears with a flagship Velodyne sub in a dedicated and treated room. And although at that point in time I wasn't really into a more 'neutral' sound, I have to say the sound of that system is still in my head to this very day as the best sounding system I've ever heard. It had a very, and I do mean VERY neutral, natural, and transparent sound to it. Nothing seemed overly emphasized, absolutely no "boominess" AT ALL to the bass, even with the huge Velodyne sub active. The treble wasn't overly bright, didn't stick out at all, but yet still very detailed. The sound just appeared to "be there" out of thin air and extremely natural sounding. If I had any complaint, the top end might of been a little dry/dull sounding for my tastes at that time, but that's probably just because I wasn't used to a more accurate/neutral sound. I think neutral and natural doesn't really impress hi-fi noobs at first because there's nothing that "sticks" out and catches your ear like say having the treble and bass turned up +10dB on their low end ear piercing speakers (I'm guilty!). But then you realize, that's not how a real voice sounds. Then you start to appreciate a more natural and accurate sounding system (that can still remain very detailed).
The first song I ever heard on B&Ws was the Eagles Hole In The World 5.1 DVD (I think it was just released that year). Since hearing this song for the first time on one of the best surround systems I've ever heard, this DVD has been one of my benchmarks/references for listening to music on a surround system. I love the ultra clear center channel dialog on this DVD and the overall sound quality is top-notch IMO. A lot of surround music I've heard (especially ones matrixed from original 2-channel recordings) alway sound a little gimmicky/unnatural. The Eagles Hole In The World is one of my favorite songs in surround.
I was actually just talking to my friend about that time back in 03'....
Like he said, he was more into bass (car stereo/bass boom hobbyist) but I still think he was impressed with the naturalness and accuracy of the system even though when he seen the huge Velodyne powered sub, I'm sure he was expecting some intense "boominess" but it was actually the total opposite. It was very clean and flat. At one point I was standing up during a movie demo and I could feel the joints in my knees vibrating when that sub sank down to subsonic frequencies!
Anyhow, I remember the salesmen explaining the great lengths they went into treating and setting up the room. He said that they used lasers and mirrors to place the wall treatments for example. Bass traps where also in every corner. Just when I thought I couldn't be any more impressed since we went and listened to their top of the line system right from the start, we wondered into a non dedicated room where they had a wall of receivers and amps on one wall, and speakers and subs all around the room, and I couldn't believe the sound that was coming out of a pair of little B&W bookshelf speakers! I remember going around to every sub in the room just to make sure a sub wasn't helping them out! They sounded like a full tower!
Sadly, at that time B&W was WAAAAY out of my price range and I really wasn't looking to buy anything anyway. We where just two young audio enthusiasts just driving around checking out different stuff for fun. For the following years I kinda forgot about them and kinda drifted away from my hi-fi hobby. Then one day sometime in august 2008 I was bored and in the mood to re-visit this dealer and bring something home for an in home demo. My max budget I was willing to pay for a stereo set of speakers was around $1000 so I took home a pair of 684s. I told the salesmen I more or less just wanted to try them and had no intentions on keeping them. Boy did this turn into a financially painful mistake, lol! :rofl: I think high end brands like Classe and McIntosh should start producing more cost friendly and stepping stone value products like B&W does with the 600 series. Give Emotiva and Integra a little sucker punch in the gut. :lol: :B Because I definitely would of never bothered with B&W and the 800 series if it wasn't for the more affordable 600 series line to get my feet wet with.
The first song I ever heard on B&Ws was the Eagles Hole In The World 5.1 DVD (I think it was just released that year). Since hearing this song for the first time on one of the best surround systems I've ever heard, this DVD has been one of my benchmarks/references for listening to music on a surround system. I love the ultra clear center channel dialog on this DVD and the overall sound quality is top-notch IMO. A lot of surround music I've heard (especially ones matrixed from original 2-channel recordings) alway sound a little gimmicky/unnatural. The Eagles Hole In The World is one of my favorite songs in surround.
I was actually just talking to my friend about that time back in 03'....
Like he said, he was more into bass (car stereo/bass boom hobbyist) but I still think he was impressed with the naturalness and accuracy of the system even though when he seen the huge Velodyne powered sub, I'm sure he was expecting some intense "boominess" but it was actually the total opposite. It was very clean and flat. At one point I was standing up during a movie demo and I could feel the joints in my knees vibrating when that sub sank down to subsonic frequencies!
Anyhow, I remember the salesmen explaining the great lengths they went into treating and setting up the room. He said that they used lasers and mirrors to place the wall treatments for example. Bass traps where also in every corner. Just when I thought I couldn't be any more impressed since we went and listened to their top of the line system right from the start, we wondered into a non dedicated room where they had a wall of receivers and amps on one wall, and speakers and subs all around the room, and I couldn't believe the sound that was coming out of a pair of little B&W bookshelf speakers! I remember going around to every sub in the room just to make sure a sub wasn't helping them out! They sounded like a full tower!
Sadly, at that time B&W was WAAAAY out of my price range and I really wasn't looking to buy anything anyway. We where just two young audio enthusiasts just driving around checking out different stuff for fun. For the following years I kinda forgot about them and kinda drifted away from my hi-fi hobby. Then one day sometime in august 2008 I was bored and in the mood to re-visit this dealer and bring something home for an in home demo. My max budget I was willing to pay for a stereo set of speakers was around $1000 so I took home a pair of 684s. I told the salesmen I more or less just wanted to try them and had no intentions on keeping them. Boy did this turn into a financially painful mistake, lol! :rofl: I think high end brands like Classe and McIntosh should start producing more cost friendly and stepping stone value products like B&W does with the 600 series. Give Emotiva and Integra a little sucker punch in the gut. :lol: :B Because I definitely would of never bothered with B&W and the 800 series if it wasn't for the more affordable 600 series line to get my feet wet with.
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