[akhter]

I have loved my B&W Nautilus 804 floor standers. They were a bit bass light, but a Velodyne DD-12 matched them perfectly and I had tight non-boomy bass to go with the incredible mids and airy highs. When I close my eyes, the speaker disappeared and I forgot about the system and only heard good music

I have had this setup for about seven years now, but I am at a different stage in life and have a 1.5 year old boy. First the subwoofer had to go because he kept leaning over it and would stick his hands at the back where all the cables are. Now he has started using the 804s as a lampost to grab an lean on. I am in the process of selling them because in a few months he will be able to reach the tweeter housing which is very easy to destroy.


I live in a rental and we move cites quite a bit so cannot invest in custom furniture

So my requirements in new speakers are:


1) They are child-proof. To mean this means, metal grilles so my boy can't destroy the drivers and a heavy base so he can't tip them over.


2) They have very good bass--atleast rated from the manufacturer to the twenties.


3) The mids/highs won't be a massive downgrade compared to my beloved B&Ws


4) Budget is about 5k but a bit flexible.


5) Good 2nd hand value as I do change my gear from time to time. I sold my Velodyne subwoofer for only 25% less than the price I paid 6 years ago, and I already have offers on the 804s that are the same as what I paid for them 7 years ago. Thanks to B&W steadily raising prices on the 800 series, I would have used the 804s for essentially 'free'

The only speakers that I found that match my requirements have been the Linn Isobariks.




They have metal grilles. No exposed drivers down low and the woofers can be separately amplified (Aktiv Isobarik in Linn speak) for better bass.


The Isobariks will be driven initially by by Anthem MRX 700 until a year or so when I will power them with Linn amplification.


I listen to a lot of bass heavy house/electronic music and classic rock (Pink Floyd/Eagles etc.)

 

[Martycool007]

I would contact both Salk Sound and Ascend Acoustics and inquire about possibly having them make some custom metal grills for their speakers. I think either an Ascend Sierra Tower setup or a Salk Song tower setup would probably trump what you have now, for much less, and I am sure that both Jim Salk and Dave at Ascend, could easily make you some custom metal grills.




BTW- you have pm from me.

 

[Class A]

Might want to check out the Atlantic Technology At-1's or the Thiel SCS-4's as options.

 

[commsysman]

I suggest the speakers I have, the Gallo CL-3 speakers.


They have great sound, but they also have strong heavy curved metal grilles to protect all of the drivers and tweeter. They are held in place by a set of strong integral magnets.


These are amazing speakers which have incredible sound quality and power and excellent bass despite being only 31 inches tall. They use a patented transmission-line loading that makes the speaker enclosure act as if it much larger than it is. When you hear the huge amount of low bass they put out it is simply hard to believe; they are too small to do that...aren't they??...lol.


They use NO CROSSOVER NETWORK, which is the source of many sonic problems in other speakers. Phase distortion in the crossover region plagues almost all speakers to a greater or lesser degree.


They use a pair of ultra-fast carbon-fiber drivers that go from below 40 Hz to 3 Khz, and then have a unique tweeter with 180 degree dispersion that rolls off below 3 Khz. The wide dispersion makes every seat in the house a good seat; listening position is non-critical, unlike most speakers.


I have listened to and considered buying the top Paradigm, KEF, PSB, and B & W speakers in the $2000-4000 range, and these are definitely better-sounding speakers IMO. They are really quite amazing.


The Absolute Sound magazine just did an article on them in the current issue; anyone who is interested in them will want to read it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by akhter  /t/1417371/b-w-nautilus-804-replace...others-that-fit-my-requirements#post_22163998


I have loved my B&W Nautilus 804 floor standers. They were a bit bass light, but a Velodyne DD-12 matched them perfectly and I had tight non-boomy bass to go with the incredible mids and airy highs. When I close my eyes, the speaker disappeared and I forgot about the system and only heard good music

I have had this setup for about seven years now, but I am at a different stage in life and have a 1.5 year old boy. First the subwoofer had to go because he kept leaning over it and would stick his hands at the back where all the cables are. Now he has started using the 804s as a lampost to grab an lean on. I am in the process of selling them because in a few months he will be able to reach the tweeter housing which is very easy to destroy.

I live in a rental and we move cites quite a bit so cannot invest in custom furniture

So my requirements in new speakers are:

1) They are child-proof. To mean this means, metal grilles so my boy can't destroy the drivers and a heavy base so he can't tip them over.

2) They have very good bass--atleast rated from the manufacturer to the twenties.

3) The mids/highs won't be a massive downgrade compared to my beloved B&Ws

4) Budget is about 5k but a bit flexible.

5) Good 2nd hand value as I do change my gear from time to time. I sold my Velodyne subwoofer for only 25% less than the price I paid 6 years ago, and I already have offers on the 804s that are the same as what I paid for them 7 years ago. Thanks to B&W steadily raising prices on the 800 series, I would have used the 804s for essentially 'free'

The only speakers that I found that match my requirements have been the Linn Isobariks.


They have metal grilles. No exposed drivers down low and the woofers can be separately amplified (Aktiv Isobarik in Linn speak) for better bass.

The Isobariks will be driven initially by by Anthem MRX 700 until a year or so when I will power them with Linn amplification.

I listen to a lot of bass heavy house/electronic music and classic rock (Pink Floyd/Eagles etc.)

 

[Mike Garrett]

Another vote for the Atlantic Technology AT-1's. They should do well for your situation.

 

[Matts]

Did you lose the mesh metal grille that comes with the B&W 804's. B&W already makes a metal grille that cover all their tweeters and of course full grilles for the rest of the speakers as well. If you are happy with B&W speakers I would just call B&W and get some replacement grilles. While it's true that the grilles are only held in place by magnets, you are going to run into the same problem with almost 99% of all other mesh grilles that cover tweeters on other manufactures. Of course if you are no longer liking the B&W speakers in general, well then I guess you should look for something else.

 

[NewHTbuyer]



Quote:
Originally Posted by commsysman  /t/1417371/b-w-nautilus-804-replace...others-that-fit-my-requirements#post_22164415


I suggest the speakers I have, the Gallo CL-3 speakers.

They have great sound, but they also have strong heavy curved metal grilles to protect all of the drivers and tweeter. They are held in place by a set of strong integral magnets.

These are amazing speakers which have incredible sound quality and power and excellent bass despite being only 31 inches tall. They use a patented transmission-line loading that makes the speaker enclosure act as if it much larger than it is. When you hear the huge amount of low bass they put out it is simply hard to believe; they are too small to do that...aren't they??...lol.

They use NO CROSSOVER NETWORK, which is the source of many sonic problems in other speakers. Phase distortion in the crossover region plagues almost all speakers to a greater or lesser degree.

They use a pair of ultra-fast carbon-fiber drivers that go from below 40 Hz to 3 Khz, and then have a unique tweeter with 180 degree dispersion that rolls off below 3 Khz. The wide dispersion makes every seat in the house a good seat; listening position is non-critical, unlike most speakers.

I have listened to and considered buying the top Paradigm, KEF, PSB, and B & W speakers in the $2000-4000 range, and these are definitely better-sounding speakers IMO. They are really quite amazing.

The Absolute Sound magazine just did an article on them in the current issue; anyone who is interested in them will want to read it.

I have disagreed with Commsysman many times, but his recommendations does look good for your situation. Given your price range and need for low frequencies, I would even consider the CL-4s.


The AT-1 speakers also look like they would fit the bill.


That is what I love about this forum, lots of great recommendations in a short time.


Oh, if you need a new sub the is more child-proof, consider the SVS boxed offerings b/c they have metal grills or the Outlaw EX b/c of the down firing woofer and port.


BTW, I have 2 kids and the both seemed to want to destroy my wall mounted center speaker for a brief period of time. But, they quickly lost interest and it survived. So, you may be able to weather the storm and might not need to change speakers. Just saying. Although, any excuse to tinker is always good...

 

[akhter]

The Anthony Gallo CL-4 does look very interesting and is less that half of the Linn Isobariks. I will try to get an audition.

 

[akhter]

Ended up staying on the b&w family. Got 802 diamonds. The speakers I have always dreamed of owning...

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]



Quote:
Originally Posted by akhter  /t/1417371/b-w-nautilus-804-replace...others-that-fit-my-requirements#post_22163998



...1.5 year old boy. First the subwoofer had to go because he kept leaning over it and would stick his hands at the back where all the cables are. Now he has started using the 804s as a lampost to grab an lean on. I am in the process of selling them because in a few months he will be able to reach the tweeter housing which is very easy to destroy.

How will he treat your $17,000 802D2?

 

[akhter]

He has a bigger lamppost