BW | listen and you'll see
Nautilus
Speaker system
FEATURES
4-Way Active Loudspeaker System
- Drive Units (High Frequency): 2 domed units of anodised aluminium of similar construction, 50mm and 25mm in diameter, handle the 880Hz - 3.5kHz and 3.5kHz – 25kHz ranges respectively. All drive units are completely mounted on silicone rubber O-rings to decouple from the cabinet
- Drive Units (Mid-Range/High Frequency): From 220Hz – 800Hz, a 100mm flat-fronted unit is employed to prevent the gentle cavity resonance found in conventional cone units at around 2kHz interfering with the output from the upper/midrange unit. A rare earth magnet assembly with hollow pole is used to minimise the obstruction to the rear radiation from the diaphragm
- Drive Units (Bass): A 9.5kg (21 lbs) magnet with a 100mm (4”) voice coil acts as the massive motor of the 300mm (12”) bass unit (10Hz – 220Hz). This, when used in the exponential line enclosure, results in a high-pass behaviour so over-damped that the traditional second-order characteristic is replaced by two distinct first-order slopes and no stored energy. A 250 micron one-piece aluminium cone ensures coherent motion to beyond 1.5kHz
- Frequency Response: 25Hz – 20kHz ± 0.5dB on reference axis
- Frequency Range: -6dB at 10Hz and 25kHz
- Power Handling: 100W – 500W into 8 ohms, one amplifier is required for each drive unit
- Electronic crossover supplied with speaker
- Dimensions (H x W x D): 1210mm x 430mm x 1105mm
- Net Weight: 110kg (Loudspeaker – 60kg, Base – 50kg)
- Finish: Midnight Blue, Black or Silver
DESCRIPTION
Now recognised as a design classic, the original Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus is not just our flagship product, but the very pinnacle of technological innovation to which all others must aspire. It is the result of a groundbreaking, five year research and development programme to achieve, as near as possible, the perfect loudspeaker.
The B&W Nautilus has been greeted worldwide as an outstanding loudspeaker which will shape the direction of the audio industry well into the new millennium. Already sought after by cognoscenti, it has been unashamedly designed with the serious audiophile in mind, not only because of its size and shape but also because of its active design – the crossover network is positioned between the pre and power amplifiers. This means that a full Nautilus system needs one stereo pre-amplifier and eight monobloc or four stereo power amplifiers per pair (amplifiers of 100 watts upwards are recommended, with 500 watts being the optimum for the low frequency drive unit).
Works best with...