He hasn't, that was only AVU [img]tongue.gif[/img] :D

I didn't walk in with my platinum card in my hand so I wasn't a 'good AVU customer' [img]graemlins/freak.gif[/img] Then you correct a salesguy a couple of times and it all spirals down from there [img]tongue.gif[/img]


again - referring to local Corporate AVUs. Franchises may vary, hopefully.

Went to Sounds of Music yesterday and had a listen to 2 very cleanly recorded cd's on one of their home audio systems:

CD player: Wadia
Controller: McIntosh
Preamp: McIntosh (solid state)
Power amps: McIntosh monoblocks(1200w per side, solid state)
Speakers: Bowers&Wilkins(the top of the line model)
Wiring: Transparent Audio

Incredible depth, width and height. It was definately out of the box sound. Very lifelike and very warm sounding.

Happen to remember the exact model of B&W? From the 800 series or did they actually have a set of Nautilus there?

Hey Keith did you get to listen to the Totem at K&W there amazing. Just listen to the bookshelfs thought. I like them better then the logans.

Paul, it was the Nautilus line of speakers that I was listening to. They are large and heavy with two 10" subwoofers at the bottom, one on top of the other, one 6.5" midrange, and an exceptional tweeter which can reach to frequencies well beyond the human range of hearing. The retail price for these monsters was $30,000 Cdn. Absolutely gorgeous sound Paul, incredibly life like and gorgeous to look at. I was listening to a jazz cd by Ray Brown (stand up bass), and with my eyes closed, I thought that Ray and the rest of the band were in the room with me.

Mike, I will be visiting K&W in January and I will definately have a listen to the Totems as well as other speakers such as JMLabs.

wow - sounds like Model 800s. Back when I sold B&W they did not have the 800 yet - just the 801 and up. My favorite back then was the Nautilus 802. Sadly our market could not support the Nautilus line and we only stocked the 600 line but as I have said over and over, for the $$$ nothing can touch the 600s.

I can totally believe the Nautilus 800 was phenomenal. When the Nautilus line came out B&W doubled the pricing from the previous 800 line as they were losing sales in the high end market for being underpriced!! People could not believe that a speaker as 'inexpensive' as the old 801 was the best of the best.

The only speaker I have enjoyed as much were Martin Logan.

Well, the Nautilus is out of my price range, so I will have to settle for the 700 or 600 line or perhaps the Martin Logans.
Damn I want the Nautilus speakers !!!!!!

The best stuff I have heard:
Accurate: Dynaudio solid up and down their product line, Snell (haven’t heard their new stuff), Dunlavy (RIP), Revel (can sound clinical)

More emotional than accurate: Sonus Faber (the Amati Homage MUST be heard), Martin Logan, Apogee (my fav planer), and B&W

I had the wife talked into a B&W 802N but I backed out with the check written... I have bought so much car audio, car upgrades, and home audio thanks to that non purchase!

Electronics
Accurate: Audio Note, Classe` Omega, Pass, BAT
Emotional: Cary, Emotive

Cary and especially Emotive and Audio Note are life changers, expensive, completely impractical, no power, gorgeous sound. Emotive is for fanatics only, obsolete tubes, huge amounts of microphonics but they sounded fantastic...

JohnVroom, if you had about $20,000(U.S. currency) to spend on a complete(source, amps, preamps, wiring, speakers) home audio system, what would you suggest??? I listen to classical and jazz only.