I heard the Nautilus properly set up w/ 8 monoblock amps and it was the finest sounding speaker system I heard, better than AvantGarde Trio.
I have also heard a pair of B&W Nautilus loudspeakers, in my case driven by a pair of Rowland Model 304 4-channel amplifiers, a custom valve preamp and the full dCS Scarlatti digital front end in a very large dedicated custom built audio room. The speakers, which totally disappeared, were a looong way from the wall behind them and setup in a semi nearfield arrangement. Interconnects were Audioquest WEL Signature between source and preamp and between preamp and active line level crossovers. Short lenghts of Tara Labs The Zero connected each channel of the active line level crossover with its repsective amplifier channel in the Rowland 304. Shunyata and NBS power cables were used throughout. It was a very fine sounding system indeed. Extremely transparent and pure due to the lack of non-linear distortion
I should point out that the owner is a very experienced audiophile and he spent lots of time and money optimising these speakers. The results speak for themselves.
Aaron