15% off on showroom 803s... (1 Viewer)

[Dennis B]

So here am I again with the eternal "which Nautilus" question.
This morning I auditioned the 804s and 803s side by side at my favorite dealer, and I felt there was as significant difference on both mids and lows. The 803 had just more presence than the 804.
I've been into many threads where people usually tend to think the 804 or 802 are the best choice, but the 802 is kinda out of my budget today, while the 803 just fits.
Where I live it's not that easy to sell or trade-in such an expensive model, so my choices have to be well thought over, whatever I buy is supposed to last some years in my room. Speakerwise, I don't think I'll be upgrading again for many years, so this makes this decision a lot tougher.
Now my dealer, who I've known for years, offered me 15% off on their showroom unit. It's 1 year old and sounds and looks great, not a single scratch or anything. Also, she said the Nautilus line doesn't get that much auditioned at the store, so this 803 has 'low milage'.
My question is do you think it's okay to make to move on this particular pair of 803s or should I get new 804s...
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[RajeeK]

Well I can't really comment on the 803 vs 804's. But I don't think the price of 15% off for 1 year old floor models is anything to get excited about. I got my my B&W CDM's for 20% off brand new. Now nautiluis may not be discounted as much, but I think if you did a bit of shopping around you should be able to get new 803's for that 15% off with a bit of haggeling.

 

[EricHaas]

Yep, 10-15% off is a standard discount for brand new stuff. A local dealer here has a yearly sale to liquidate all floor models. They go anywhere from 50% off to about 20% off. At least bargain him down to 20% off. Otherwise, you can get them used (but pristine) and a year old for probably about 40% off.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

So you're talking about $4250 for the pair? 15% off retail right?

Have you looked at Audiogon? That's a pretty good gauge of what to pay for a used pair. However, if the dealer has taken good care of the pair and doesn't allow them to be auditioned without the presence of one of the employees, 15% may be worth it. That is the amount of "low mileage" listening time to break in a pair of Nautilus speakers. You automatically get a pair of broken in speakers and full warranty, right?

If you get the full warranty and support from your dealership, this is a decent deal. I would probably take it. BTW, I paid $5750 for a pair of 802s that were about 18 months old. That's a bit over 20% savings, but they were someone's trade in (for a pair of Signature 800s) not the dealer's. The gentleman that owned them before me used stellar electronics and babied them. I feel I got a great deal.

I have done business with 3 B&W dealers and have never seen more than 15% off the floor models...much less 50%. Even in the used market, the Nautilus seem to go for right around 75-80% of the retail price.

Jeremy

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

I got a set of 602s for %17 off, they were open box.

 

[rodneyH]

you NEVER see B&Ws for 50%, NO WAY!! B&W doesn't give their dealers a very good margin, but what they do for them in return is promise NO mail order or internet sales. Usually a 15-20% discount on B&Ws is very good. The above poster was right, go to ebay and look at past auctions, they usually go for 75-85% or retail (another advantage of not selling over the internet).

 

[Dennis B]

Thanks for your opinions, guys. As Jeremy puts it, it's a pair of broken-in, very well taken care of, low milage speakers, and I agree 15% is not bad...
I'll do some math today and see... I might be begging for food tomorrow, but who cares if the 803s are there when I come back home...

 

[EricHaas]

I'd still try to bargain them down. My local dealer will give me 10% off anything in the B&W line brand new. I see on audiogon a trend consistent with most other audiophile grade speakers - 20-50% off for used, depending on a number of different factors. Of course, a floor model is well taken care of and carries the full warranty. 15% isn't a bad deal, but isn't a terrific bargain either.

Either way, I'm sure you will enjoy them immensely if you buy them. I was impressed with a pair of 804's I demoed recently, but am leaning toward the Dynaudio Contour series at the moment.

 

[Mike Main]

Yeah I bought my CDM series stuff for 15-20% off list. I cant see much more on new items. Maybe a little more for floor.
Mike

 

[KeithR]

Dennis,

One thing to think about, is that the 804s and 802s are the better speakers in the Nautilus line. In fact, most say the 804s are actually better, at a lower price point...they give up a bit of bass, but nothing worth mentioning.

I don't know where people are paying 75-80% for used B&Ws...I have seen plenty go in the 55-60% range...

 

[Justin Doring]

I personally think the N804 is a better balanced speaker than the N803. Even if one does like the slightly more ample bass of the N803, it is in no way worth an extra $1500. The N804 and the N802 are the two stellar speakers of the Nautilus line, in my opinion.

15% off a demo pair of N803s is no deal. You should be able to get 15% off a new pair without much haggling.

 

[rodneyH]

Justin, I have also heard that the 802 is "better" than the 801 and the 804 is "better" than the 803, from a person (freind) that owns a B&W dealer (who I respect very much), that being said, if someone offered me the 803 for the price of the 804, I would take the 803, since since that isn't reality, I would get the 804s.

Keith, If you want to find where people are getting 75-85% of retail for used B&Ws go to Ebay and look at "completed auctions".

55-60% range would be on the old matrix series (if you are lucky) or much older.