New B&W Nautilus Series!

[topspeed]

Saw this thread over at avsforum and thought you guys would like to see it. Disregard all the crap after the links to the pics and pricing (it becomes a pissing match between two members).

Diamond tweeters, new woofers materials, new crossovers, and new carbon fiber plinths along with new cabinet construction highlight the changes. Considering the glowing reviews RH gave the diamond tweeter on the Avalon Eidelon Diamond (I believe he called it the best tweeter he's heard) and a frequency response up to 70khz(!), this should be an interesting speaker to hear. The prices have gone absolutely ballistic and what was an expensive speaker line has now become hideously so. Oh well, as they say; "If you have to ask..."

BTW, it appears they will not be replacing the current Nauts, but in fact will be more models added to the burgeoning Naut line and identified by a "D" after the model designation (i.e. N800d).

[Woochifer]

Very interesting to see what a "diamond" tweeter would entail. Would it be the shape of the tweeter or something with the material used?

Doubt they would stick a chunk of gem into the tweeter. JBL experimented with using prism shaped plexiglas tweeters on some of their floorstanders in the late-70s. They had a jewel-like look to them and had very extended highs, but with a fairly harsh sound that some people didn't like very much and JBL went to its first titanium dome tweeter not too long afterwards.

[topspeed]

The "diamond" label refers to the materials used, not the shape.

Kal Rubinson just posted this review at Stereophile.

[RGA]

Well I'll have to keep an eye out for Layman's post on the new B&W's. I have a feeling the bigger improvement to this speaker will be axing the Kevlar than it will be for a tweeter when we can;t hear past 20khz and very little musical energy extends beyond 15khz anyway. The top of the midrange passband has been a problem with Kevlar.

[topspeed]

I have a feeling the bigger improvement to this speaker will be axing the Kevlar than it will be for a tweeter when we can;t hear past 20khz and very little musical energy extends beyond 15khz anyway. The top of the midrange passband has been a problem with Kevlar.

From Kal's article:
The new series' tweeters, diamond and aluminum alike, are fitted with a suspension which relocates the free-air resonance down into the 300Hz range, several octaves from the crossover point. This permits a gentler electrical and more predictable acoustic HP filter roll-off and, as a result, B&W has been able to use a single carefully selected capacitor for the midrange-to-HF filter to achieve a smooth, second-order L-R response. Furthermore, B&W moved the tweeter mounting forward by one-half a wavelength to avoid the vagaries concomitant in polarity inversion, which is often used to compensate for network phase shift in second-order crossovers.

It sounds like the new tweeter, speaker construction (they altered the FST midrange also), and crossover design may solve some of the issues you're talking about.

[RGA]

It sounds very impressive - so did the white papers for the B&W 705. We shall see or more to the point hear how well it actually performs in real world listening environments. B&W has the bucks and a solid track record so it should be fun to hear what they have come up with.

[theaudiohobby]

It sounds very impressive - so did the white papers for the B&W 705. We shall see or more to the point hear how well it actually performs in real world listening environments..

Stop it, RGA, if a speaker does not rock your boat fine. Remember, your preferences are not universal. I prefer the B&W 705 to the ANK by a mile, to these ears the midband of the 705 is so superior as to make comparisons between the two speakers academic. And since B&W have a number of subwoofers (as well as other manufacturers) that integrate very easily with the 705, its lack of mid and deep bass is an academic issue to me.

[theaudiohobby]

From Kal's article:
B&W has been able to use a single carefully selected capacitor for the midrange-to-HF filter to achieve a smooth, second-order L-R response.

Yep, that is true, and if you listen to the 705 and S805 side by side, you will notice that it lacks the xteristic slight brightness in the presence region that was xteristic of the current Natilaus series. And in that critical respect, I think that the 705 is superior to the current models I have heard in the nautilaus series. maybe, b&w should have an upgrade program for their current nautilaus series speakers.

[BillB]

I'd just like to add that I'll be happy to take the now mundane Nautilus 800, 801, or 802 off of anyone's hands that will be upgrading.

Bill

[kexodusc]

Such a wide responding tweeter presents alot of options for picking woofers. Usually, its done the other way around, matching a tweeter to the woofer, but in this case you could take previously discarded woofers that excel at some ranges and crap out at others, and design a pretty straight forward crossover with this tweeter to compensate.
I will be very interested to see how this works. With a slow, gradual crossover slope, these should easily eliminate the slight ringing people complain about in some Nauts. That' thing could be considered a "mid-tweeter".

[kexodusc]

I'd just like to add that I'll be happy to take the now mundane Nautilus 800, 801, or 802 off of anyone's hands that will be upgrading.

Bill

Oh, Bill, your generosity and goodwill never ceases to amaze me...always willing to take one for the boys...

[topspeed]

It sounds very impressive - so did the white papers for the B&W 705. We shall see or more to the point hear how well it actually performs in real world listening environments. B&W has the bucks and a solid track record so it should be fun to hear what they have come up with.

I agree with you on this one. When I heard the 705's, I actually preferred the previous gen 1NT's (and not just because I own them). I dunno, I just thought the voicing was a little too...umm...generic(?) for lack of a better word. As I said before, they seemed to be voiced more towards the 600's than the Nauts. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, I just prefer the more focused sound of the 800's.

Looks like I'll have to schedule another vacation near my B&W dealer and give these a listen when they arrive. Damn, I hate going to the coast !

[BillB]

Oh, Bill, your generosity and goodwill never ceases to amaze me...always willing to take one for the boys...

Just trying to do my audio duty!

Bill

[cone]

I would say this is largely smoke and mirrors ....only 10% of the population can hear above 20khz(unless your a canine)...so its a marketing scam in many respects...not to say the tweeter sounds good or bad in the hearing range....that remains to be determined...at any rate...I still find the 705 to be a very good speaker...and it doesnt sound thin or bright....

[RGA]

I agree with you on this one. When I heard the 705's, I actually preferred the previous gen 1NT's (and not just because I own them). I dunno, I just thought the voicing was a little too...umm...generic(?) for lack of a better word. As I said before, they seemed to be voiced more towards the 600's than the Nauts. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, I just prefer the more focused sound of the 800's.

Looks like I'll have to schedule another vacation near my B&W dealer and give these a listen when they arrive. Damn, I hate going to the coast !

Yeah it was like the Matrix to the Nautilus series. I prefer the 1NT's as well - they even look a lot better IMO. Also the 2 SE was a gem from B&W it punched above its weight and while less refined than say the Totem Model one it had some grunt and some oomph behind it - more enjoyable to listen to IMO. You just need to be careful as to which B&W you're getting.

[cone]

I also liked the cdm 2.....although it received mixed reviews when introduced...I found it to be very lively and dynamic...I almost bought a used pair for $400 a couple years back...decent speaker for the money...and a good deal on the used market...