Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus 805 Speakers - Reconditioned

Free Shipping on *ALL* Electronics (Excluding Speakers, Contiguous 48 US States Only)

General:
Really nice set of bookshelf speakers from B&W made in the early Nautilus days before the harsher diamond tweeter was implemented.

This listing is also available with the B&W matching stands for an extra $700 shipped. 

The current version of these speakers will set you back $9,750.

Technical Notes:
These B&W speakers were reconditioned in-house. They had a rough life before arriving here at SkyFi, but the cabinets were so pretty that we decided to give them a new lease on life. We sent out both woofers to be professionally refurbished. Both tweeters were then replaced with authentic tweeters ordered directly from B&W Parts.

Then both speakers spent over a week on our long term testing rig where we thoroughly enjoyed listening to them while breaking in the replacement components.

Cosmetic Notes:
The metal woofer trim bezel on one of the speakers has a couple of touched-up scratches and some light veneer damage. Overall they look very presentable with the grills off, and even better with the grills installed.

There is some light paint chipping on the stands that are available as an add-on to the speakers for an extra $700 shipped.

Brand Background:
Excellence, uncompromised and uncompromising. The world’s most famous recording studios demand Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series loudspeakers, for no other reason than they represent the pinnacle of sonic supremacy.

Ownership:
Single Owner

Amplifier Recommendations:
Per B&W "50W minimum, 120W maximum"

General Sound:
Neutral sound with little to no coloration

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab and listening room.

Included:
Exactly as pictured and described above.

Packing:
Will be packed using our highly developed in-house process and custom packing materials.
Specs:
Two-way, stand-mounted, reflex-loaded dynamic loudspeaker

Drive-units per Speaker:
One 1" (25mm) metal-dome cooled tweeter
One 6.5" (165mm) woven-Kevlar bass/midrange cone with 1.24" (32mm) voice-coil

Crossover frequency:
3 kHz

Crossover slopes:
Third-order Butterworth alignment with 49Hz cutoff

Frequency response:
49 Hz - 22 kHz, ±3dB

Sensitivity:
88 dB/W/m (2.83V)

Nominal impedance:
8 ohms (minimum: 4.6 ohms)

Amplifier requirements:
50W minimum, 120W maximum

Maximum recommended cable impedance:
0.2 ohms

Dimensions - Each Speaker
16.3" (415mm) H by 9.4" (238mm) W by 13.5" (344mm) D

Weight - Each Speaker:
20 lbs (9kg)

Finishes:
Cherrywood, red-stained cherrywood, black ash

Manufacturer:
B&W Loudspeakers Ltd., Meadow Road, Worthing BN11 2RX, England, UK

Recommended Cables:

Kimber Kable - Speaker Cables - Good

Kimber Kable - Speaker Cables - Better

Kimber Kable - Bi-Wire Speaker Cables - Best

Testing Process:

Our speaker evaluation process starts with a visual inspection of all drivers. We are looking for damaged or deteriorating woofer surrounds, dented tweeter domes, and cone damage. We also inspect the speaker connection points for loose or broken connectors.

After the initial visual inspection we connect the speakers to a reference amplifier with our preferred test tracks. With the speakers placed with proper distance we listen to each driver to make sure that they are producing the intended frequencies with no signs of distortion or rattle. During listening tests with test tracks we check for proper stereo imaging and bass response at various listening levels. If there are any audible signs of issues, the speakers are taken to the bench where we perform a frequency sweep to isolate the issue so that it can be resolved by component repair or replacement.

Our subwoofer evaluation process starts with a visual inspection of all drivers. We are looking for damaged or deteriorating woofer surrounds, cone damage, or rubbing voice coils. We also inspect the input connections for damage.

After the initial visual inspection, we connect the sub at our bench and perform a sine wave sweep from about 200Hz down to around 10Hz. During this sweep we are listening for excessive rattle or other signs of improper function. If the sweep passes, we then increase the input level to evaluate how the woofer performs at high output levels. If the woofer has built in crossover features or multiple connection options these features are tested at this time.

We complete the subwoofer evaluation by feeding the unit with an audio signal in conjunction with our house music system to see how it responds to low frequency content in real world conditions while paired with a full range system.