Anyone got B&W DM602.5 S3 speakers??? **UPDATE**

[Leigh]

Has anyone got the speakers in the title?, thinking about upgrading my SAVE705 Sony front to these, after some comments.
They are £399.99 is this a good price?

Its these or some monitor audio ones at the same price (£50 off in the sale on the MA ones)

And yes i know i need to audition them ;)


Cheers

[Leigh]

Someone??? please :nuts:

[AndyBlac]

I have a pair of B&W 602 S2's as my rear speakers & a pair of 603 S2's as my main and a CC6 S2 as my Center all sound great, so i would expect the S3's to be even better

hope this helps

just in case you did not know BW's web address:

http://www.bwspeakers.com

AndyBlac

My Setup:
Toshiba 42" PR TV (42WH18B)
Toshiba SD-900E DVD Player
Yamaha A2 Amp
BW 603 S2 as main, BW CC% S2 as Center & BW 602 S2 as Rear

[ronski]

Hi Leigh,

I have a pair of 602.5s3 acting as rears in my setup (got some 603s3 as fronts :)) I demoed them against the 601s3 and found the 602.5s3 to have more depth and control than the smaller book shelf speakers.

You will not be disappointed I am very impressed with mine. As for price I managed (after a lot of negotiation) with Audio T to get 10% knocked off them so £359.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy whatever you end up with.

Hope this helps

Cheers

ronski

[Leigh]

Thanks for the replies, most appreciated :)

Fingers crossed for some money off ;)
Gonna audition some tomorrow hopefully :)


Thanks again

[Radiohead]

Make sure you've got a big enough room to take floorstanders.

I still believe that, unless absolute bass is what you're after, a good sized driver in a standmount enclosure with decent stands will beat the equivalent priced floorstander. It may well be worth you looking at the 602 S3 as well, as the 602.5 S3 may introduce more colouration due to it's larger cabinet size. If you have a smaller room then still look at the 601 S3, particularly if you have a sub....

Ronski's comments show what a minefield it is as I listened to the 602.5's and found that whilst they did have more depth (to be expected though), they had also less control and certainly a less-taut bass. The 601's are perfect got my room and offer more slam and atack than the 602's or 602.5's, let alone the 603's!

[Leigh]

My rooms about 4.25m x 3.25m and i have just rearanged it today, as my TV was in the corner of my room. Which meant that no way could i get speakers either side of the TV.

I will be sitting between 2.75 and 3m away from the TV/Speakers, does this sound reasonable?

Also the room is carpeted and not Laminate floor.

Any other recommendations in this price brakcet?, the first thing that has drawn me to them is there looks. i will (if i like them) be going for the "Sorrento" cabinet with silver fronts. :)

Cheers

[ronski]

Leigh - I am sitting 11 feet from my fronts and 5 feet from my rears and the whole sound field is fantastic. Did take a little experimentation with the placement before I was completely satisfied though.

Radiohead's comments are very valid - as always it is down to your opinion as to what sounds the best for you.

Also you will need to give the speakers time to run in before listening too critically - though they do sound pretty good out of the box.

cheers
ronski

[Radiohead]

Originally posted by ronski
Leigh - I am sitting 11 feet from my fronts and 5 feet from my rears and the whole sound field is fantastic. Did take a little experimentation with the placement before I was completely satisfied though.

Radiohead's comments are very valid - as always it is down to your opinion as to what sounds the best for you.

Also you will need to give the speakers time to run in before listening too critically - though they do sound pretty good out of the box.

cheers
ronski

You lucky sod - that's a fair sized room! The 602.5's should really shine in that sort of environment

:D

Leigh - there are plenty of recommendations at that price point, although I'd say the B&W's would be high on any such list. The best thing to do is to audition as many as you can. They do look stunning in the Sorrento, but don't let that alone make your mind up. It'd be worth checking out the usual suspects such as Mission, Tannoy, Dynaudio, KEF and so on, although I doubt that you'll be disappointed by B&W. All speakers manufacturers have a "house" sound, and this can vary by a fair amount. Mission tend to be very taut and fast, whilst Tannoy tend to sound warm and laid-back. I'd say B&W fall somewhere in the middle, and that's spot-on for me - you might be different though!

Happy listening



:)

[Woz]

I'll second the comment about running them in.
I've got B&W DM603's (Series 1) and I noticed a large improvement in sound after they'd run in (seem to remember it took a while to happen).

They sound loverley now and I wouldn't change them for the world :clap:

[Leigh]

Thanks very much for your comments, most appreciated

/gets coat to go and audition some speakers :D

[Leigh]

**UPDATE**

Well auditioned some speakers today Jamo (cant remember model), but they were £400 in the sale reduced from £550, to my ears they seemed dull and not to my liking.

Had a listen to some Missions as well, which were a lot better than the Jamos.

Then i listened to the B&W's, and wow, they were absolutely brilliant, very sweet sounding, with lots of clarity, managed to get 10% of the the RRP as well :) , as there was an Audio-T opposite the Sevenokas hifi where i bought them, and Audio-T have a sale on where they are knocking 10% off everything, so Sevenokas price matched. Didnt tell them that Audio-T wont be getting any stock until the 2nd week in January though :D ;)

Thanks to all who contributed.

/One happy B&W owner :)

[Radiohead]

Excellent news Leigh - didn't think you'd be disappointed with them.

Have you got a centre - I'm now saving hard for the LCR60 S3 to match my 601's.....

:clap:

[ronski]

Leigh - heh heh good work. The lovely sorrento I trust?

cheers

ronski

[Leigh]

Radiohead - no i havent got the centre, but that will probably be next :) no idea where i'd put it though as the underneath of my TV is full, so i have to buy a seperate Hifi stand as well to make room for the centre ......along with the RPTV ;) , well i can dream.
So it makes it more than the £200 cost of the centre :(


Ronski - Yes they are in the lovely sorrento :D , thats what drew my eye to them in the first place, they integrate perfectly with my room, and they sound the :nuts: to boot, cant be bad :D

Was originally a bit concerned as they are being used with my original small Sony (SAVE705) satellites, inc centre, although the B&W's are superior in sound quality the satellites dont get overpowered, so im very happy

Forgot to ask in the shop, how many hours should i be looking at for these babies to be run in???

Thanks

[Radiohead]

Yes - it has to be the Sorrento doesn't it - B&W have really hit the spot with the look of these.

I hope to have then LCR60 S3 within the next few weeks so I'll let you know how it sounds.

My dealer reckoned that about 50 hours for them to loosen up fully.....I'd imagine it's the same for 602.5's....

:)

[Leigh]

i hope to have then LCR60 S3 within the next few weeks so I'll let you know how it sounds.

My dealer reckoned that about 50 hours for them to loosen up fully.....I'd imagine it's the same for 602.5's....

Thanks id be interested to hear your comments on the centre when you get it.

Just had a look on the B&W site about "running in" time, and they say allow 1 week for the speakers temperature to stabalise, 15 hours for the metal tweeter and bass drivers to run in, and allow 1 month of regular use for the Kevlar driver to "run in"


:) good luck with the centre!

[Radiohead]

Originally posted by Leigh


Thanks id be interested to hear your comments on the centre when you get it.

Just had a look on the B&W site about "running in" time, and they say allow 1 week for the speakers temperature to stabalise, 15 hours for the metal tweeter and bass drivers to run in, and allow 1 month of regular use for the Kevlar driver to "run in"


:) good luck with the centre!

Leigh

I've picked up the LCR60 S3 this morning - £180 from B&B Hi-Fi in Reading - price matching Audio T (who didn't have any in stock) so down from £200.

It's brilliant - it integrates so well with the 601's it isn't true. I though the Tannoy mXC I was running sounded good (and it did with my old mX3's), but the LCR is so detailed. Clarity is high, excellent bass for a centre and looks great as well.....it's a big baby as well.

As an aside - this months Hi-Fi Choice has good article about integration across the front and the B&W S3's are given as an example of it being done very well. Mission are fingered as doing the opposite on some of their models. The review also rates the B&W as easily the best in their price range, if not a little higher as well. Worth checking it out.

I recommend the LCR60 S3!

[ronski]

I agree and say that the LCR60s3 is a great center. I had a good listen to it the other day....still I am just waiting for the LCR600s3 to go with my 603s3 :)

cheers

ronski

[jflynn]

Radiohead
How does the LCR60 compare to your old Tannoy.I`ve got 601s2`s for my main pair and a Tannoy mc centre (very similar to the mxc)I keep thinking about going for the B&W centre.Is there much improvement.Obviously it should integrate better although the Tannoy does a nice job.My Tannoy does seem slightly duller than the B&W`s.Appreciate any thoughts.

[Radiohead]

Originally posted by jflynn
Radiohead
How does the LCR60 compare to your old Tannoy.I`ve got 601s2`s for my main pair and a Tannoy mc centre (very similar to the mxc)I keep thinking about going for the B&W centre.Is there much improvement.Obviously it should integrate better although the Tannoy does a nice job.My Tannoy does seem slightly duller than the B&W`s.Appreciate any thoughts.

The mXC is a good centre, and a bargain to boot, but it just didn't integrate that well with the 601 S3's. The mX's are fairly warm (the main reason I got rid of the mX3's), whilst the 600's are more neutral. In terms of absolute performance the LCR60 has the edge, but then it should do at over twice the price.

I think the older CC6 is a match for the 601 S2's (I could be wrong) and that can be had for around £150 new if you can find it. Having said that I'd imagine the LCR60 S3 would match well......

If you're replacing an MC with an LCR60 S3 then I'd expect to notive the improvement.

[Leigh]

Congtraulations on picking up your centre, glad it is all you expected of it, i havent stopped watching films since i picked mine up yesterday, like you have already said the clarity is absolutely amazing :D

Anybody of thinking of getting some new speakers, should definitely give these a listen!

[MikeK]

Originally posted by Leigh
Congtraulations on picking up your centre, glad it is all you expected of it, i havent stopped watching films since i picked mine up yesterday, like you have already said the clarity is absolutely amazing :D

Anybody of thinking of getting some new speakers, should definitely give these a listen!


But think carefully, and only buy them if you believe they are the best sounding speakers for the money - they are very pricey for what you get, essentially a vinyl wrapped box with a bass driver and tweeter.
The 602.5, at £400 is competing with numerous models which feature a better "bill of materials".
The Tannoy R2 for instance, is £100 or more cheaper and feutures full MDF construction, with real wood veneer.
The Mission 773e is now available at half the price, and also features real veneer.
The Wharfedale Diamond 8.3s can be bought for as little as £125, and essentially are a similar design to the 602.5.
There are plenty of others too - but as ever, it comes down to personal taste.

[Radiohead]

Originally posted by MikeK



But think carefully, and only buy them if you believe they are the best sounding speakers for the money - they are very pricey for what you get, essentially a vinyl wrapped box with a bass driver and tweeter.
The 602.5, at £400 is competing with numerous models which feature a better "bill of materials".
The Tannoy R2 for instance, is £100 or more cheaper and feutures full MDF construction, with real wood veneer.
The Mission 773e is now available at half the price, and also features real veneer.
The Wharfedale Diamond 8.3s can be bought for as little as £125, and essentially are a similar design to the 602.5.
There are plenty of others too - but as ever, it comes down to personal taste.


Agreed MikeK - although I went for the 601 S3's myself, and got them for £210 - which seems a pretty good price. I demo'd them extensively. Tannoys were out for me as that's what I had (mX3's) and they were just too laid-back, whilst Mission went the other way and were too up-front. The B&W's were pretty much in the middle and were just what I was after......

Another driver for me was reverting back to stand-mounters from floorstanders - hence anything like the 773e or 8.3's being out - a friend has these and they sound lovely in his huge lounge, but abysmal in my more typical-size.

I do think that the 600 S3's are beautifully built myself, and they are featuring technology derived from higher in the range, such as kevlar-drivers and tube-loaded tweeters.

Horses for courses.....

[Radiohead]

For what it's worth - I heard the 8.1's the other day, and wasn't impressed at all - I had high hopes for these....