Bowers & Wilkins 805S Bookshelf Speaker Review

[Mtbf]

Alas, one of the midbass drivers developed a voice coil rub after 20+ years of use.

I’ve had that same problem, and solved it by disassembling the driver from the cabinet, turning it 180 degrees around, and reassembling it. It‘s caused by the prolonged effect of gravity on the surround of the woofer.

 

[Steve Dallas]

I’ve had that same problem, and solved it by disassembling the driver from the cabinet, turning it 180 degrees around, and reassembling it. It‘s caused by the prolonged effect of gravity on the surround of the woofer.

I think I used to know that trick. Thanks for reminding me. I'll try it.

 

[Jake71]

I bet the engineers at B&W are begging the marketing department to let them stop using the signature tweeter on top of the cabinet. Must be nightmare to try make that work compared to just mounting the tweeter on the baffle.

 

[30 Ounce]

I bet the engineers at B&W are begging the marketing department to let them stop using the signature tweeter on top of the cabinet. Must be nightmare to try make that work compared to just mounting the tweeter on the baffle.

I seriously doubt that.

 

[anmpr1]

The B&W's 800 series speakers may not be rarest or most acoustically pristine. But, I must admit they are beautiful objects. They are a Porsche 911. Their success has made them vulgar.

I don't get the analogy. The latest 2021 911 Turbo S (two hundred thousand dollars) has performance closely matching their 2014 918 Spyder, for about a fifth of the Spyder's price. Are you saying that current B&W offers equivalent sonic attributes (along with fit and finish) as their earlier models, at an 80% discount? And has success made the engineers in Stuttgart vulgar, or is that just a B&W thing?

I think it's fair to say that each Porsche model offers top tier performance, in their respective class. I would never say that about B&W. But I do agree with you that their higher end models are nice to look at from the fit and finish standpoint. Except that snail like thing, which possibly Capt. Nemo might want to have in his quarters.

 

[tuga]

I bet the engineers at B&W are begging the marketing department to let them stop using the signature tweeter on top of the cabinet. Must be nightmare to try make that work compared to just mounting the tweeter on the baffle.

Maybe the marketing department will reply to the engineers that the signature tweeter on top of the cabinet is responsible for half of their sales.

 

[AudioQuestShill]

Nope, it lacked the Honest and insightful sound, Impressive dynamics and Composure at higher volume levels, the mightly ATC SMSC19 has.

So basically too much mid range, not enough boosted lows and highs.

 

[paddycrow]

I actually like the new 800 series speakers. When I read some of the critiques online, all I can say is some folks hear stuff that I don't.

The styling is growing on me. I saw one with the Prestige finish, I thought it was gorgeous. Not worth the up charge, though.

 

[fred_64538]

Hmm.. let me try again. Divisive might be a better word than vulgar. I think the really good works of industrial design - the ones that become classics eventually go through a difficult phase where competing designs emerge as technically better. The design's iconic features may become its technical weakness. And this contradiction invites a backlash of criticism as the objects desirability shifts from quantitive metrics to qualitative style.

 

[tuga]

Hmm.. let me try again. Divisive might be a better word than vulgar. I think the really good works of industrial design - the ones that become classics eventually go through a difficult phase where competing designs emerge as technically better. The design's iconic features may become its technical weakness. And this contradiction invites a backlash of criticism as the objects desirability shifts from quantitive metrics to qualitative style.

Credit where credit's due.

The Elipson 4050 was designed in 1968.
At work in ORTF's (Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française) studios.

 

[TomJ]

Bought a pair of B&W Nautilus 805 new 20 yrs ago and still use them today. What a different speaker from the 805 models that followed. Here's the FR in my living room with Dirac v3. The LF dip is a ceiling beam reflection and the HF roll-off is from the apodizing filter on my DAC (no pre-ringing).

 

[renevoorburg]

Bought a pair of B&W Nautilus 805 new 20 yrs ago and still use them today. What a different speaker from the 805 models that followed. Here's the FR in my living room with Dirac v3. The LF dip is a ceiling beam reflection and the HF roll-off is from the apodizing filter on my DAC (no pre-ringing).

Look nice but what is the significance when it is equalized using a dsp? Relevant would be a measurement from an anechoic room or a nearfield measuring device.

 

[Jake71]

Bought a pair of B&W Nautilus 805 new 20 yrs ago and still use them today. What a different speaker from the 805 models that followed. Here's the FR in my living room with Dirac v3. The LF dip is a ceiling beam reflection and the HF roll-off is from the apodizing filter on my DAC (no pre-ringing).

A DPS corrected on axis frequency response like that is pointless without showing both the horizontal and vertical off axis response +-90degrees.

 

[thewas]

Measurements (also off axis) of the 805 Nautilus can be found here:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/bw-nautilus-805-loudspeaker-measurements
https://www.stereophile.com/content/bw-nautilus-805-loudspeaker-measurements-part-2
https://www.stereophile.com/content/bw-nautilus-805-loudspeaker-measurements-part-3

Like most pre 2000s B&Ws it measures actually smoother than the later models.

 

[tuga]

These measurements by D.B. Keele Jr. for Audio are from the 802 Nautilus (if I'm not mistaken the same model that was Spin'ed by Harman):

 

[tvrgeek]

Beauty and tech aside, I have head most of this line. Way too bright. I wonder, are they targeting what they know about more of the population who has hearing loss? Do they sound more natural to those who have not protected themselves carefully? These folks are not dumb! Or are they playing on well tested marketing scripts the dealers can use " listen to that detail" Kind of like Just Bloody Loud speakers did for years with their midrange hump. "Jumps right off the shelf doesn't it?" Not bad engineering, marketing decisions. Just a thought.

 

[Steve Dallas]

Beauty and tech aside, I have head most of this line. Way too bright. I wonder, are they targeting what they know about more of the population who has hearing loss? Do they sound more natural to those who have not protected themselves carefully? These folks are not dumb! Or are they playing on well tested marketing scripts the dealers can use " listen to that detail" Kind of like Just Bloody Loud speakers did for years with their midrange hump. "Jumps right off the shelf doesn't it?" Not bad engineering, marketing decisions. Just a thought.

I purchased a pair of 805s in 1999 and a pair of 804s in 2000. I still have both in rotation. My in-room measurements of both indicated a relatively flat response. Unfortunately, I do not still have those measurements.

I went back to that same dealer with a friend a few months ago to audition speakers for him. We both found them all to be overly bright. I asked the owner about the decision that must have been made to turn up the ear bleed to 11, and he said it was his understanding that B&W concluded most of their customer base was old enough to suffer high frequency loss, therefore B&W baked it in. That was his scuttlebutt anyway.

If we explore that further, I'm not sure it holds. The pool of people who can afford expensive speakers is adding younger people all the time. But, do young people even care about speakers anymore, or is it true that the vast majority favor convenience over sound quality?

 

[Frank Dernie]

Except that snail like thing, which possibly Capt. Nemo might want to have in his quarters.

My favourite looking speaker. I almost bought them because of the styling 25 years ago...
I was going to have them British Racing Green

 

[Frank Dernie]

he said it was his understanding that B&W concluded most of their customer base was old enough to suffer high frequency loss, therefore B&W baked it in. That was his scuttlebutt anyway.

I don't buy that argument, and never have.
Yes we lose HF as we age but we still use the same ears to listen to the world as we do to our stereo, so we become accustomed to how real lif sounds as the HF roll off develops. I use the same ears at concerts as at home listening to music and I am quite sure I would notice speakers sounding un-naturally bright compared to real life with the FR we see from more recent B&W speakers.
They didn't use to be like that.

 

[tmtomh]

I don't buy that argument, and never have.
Yes we lose HF as we age but we still use the same ears to listen to the world as we do to our stereo, so we become accustomed to how real lif sounds as the HF roll off develops. I use the same ears at concerts as at home listening to music and I am quite sure I would notice speakers sounding un-naturally bright compared to real life with the FR we see from more recent B&W speakers.
They didn't use to be like that.

Agree 100%, both on how our hearing adapts, and on the likelihood that the alleged "scuttlebutt" was more fabricated rumor passed along than it was anything based on fact.