I bought these speakers new in, if I remember correctly, 1988 on year-end sale for about 800 Dutch guilders and they have served me ever since. At first they were hooked up to a Onkyo amp. Over the years I had been very pleased with them, but as time passed by I was looking around for something else. I could never find anything that really grabbed me at the throat in the shop.
I already chosen a different amp based on the tripath technology (Poppulse T-150) which improved the sound somewhat.
When I was discussing this with a friend, who had built his own 20k worth of audiophile speakers, he said that instead of buying new speakers I could also try to upgrade the DM220i's since these late 80 speakers were mass produced and often cost were cut on filter parts. That's when i decided to re-cap the filters using special audio capacitors and resistors, leaving the original coils to save some money. Next to that, on his advice too, I added some thick sticky foil (the one that's used in car doors to make them sound better when they're closed) to stiffen the speakers' box.
All in all, I think I spend about EUR 150 on this speaker revival and it has been worth every cent. This filter upgrade improved the tightness of the bass, the overall soundstage became much wider. They're a whole different set of speakers now.
I placed them on massive blocks (100 kg each) which are on spikes on a tile floor, to compensate for the height.
The only problem is; I'm thinking about upgrading because of the looks (the vacuum cleaner hose left some damage over the years....), but that will set me back at least 2 - 3k to further improve the sound. A very good reason to hold on to them for another couple of years.

When i first bought a “serious” sound system” it was an Sansui au-217 AMP with a set of B&W DM-110i speakers. Man... that sounded good compared to my standard computer speakers.
When i moved to another house i also wanted other speakers. I bought some B&W 620i, they broke down after an accident with my cat and the speakers itself. Then i had the oppertunity to buy a Sansui au-517 for around 150 Euro. I had the chance to buy a set of B&W 603S3 as well.
When i hooked the 603 on the au-517 i was missing something. I went on the hunt for 2 monoblocks. It where 2 Rotel RB-850BX. Pure poiwer what went in the speakers at that momenty and i tought i'll never had to change my system again. BUT... when some un expected bills came on the floormat, i wass FORCED to sell them and went back to my DM-110i. Well they did the job.
I was missing something that was for sure and that was BASS!!.
When a little money came in i went on the hunt for some DM-220i.

I had a change to buy them for 90 euro. So i went with a buddy of mine to pick them up. Once arrrived we hooked them up on my sansui au-217 and blasted some judas priest true them.
Hey i cant hear Halford's voice very well. One tweeter was blown. So after negotiation withe the fellow, i could have them for 60 euro. So at home i replaced the tweeter from the 110i tot the 220i.
Hooked them up on the rotel amplifiers with the sansui connected to them. And it was good!!!
BUT!!! When i connected them directly to the Sansui AU-517 ….. i could NOT believe my ears.

That Detail
That soundstage
The overall preformance

Let me tell you when i got a chance to buy another set i deffenitly will!
Remember i also had the B&W 603S3 but these babies blow them out of the water!

Music i listen to is heavy metal and hardrock.

I bought these speakers new back in 1986 for 800 guilders (pair) when they were on sale (regular rice at the time was 1000 dutch guilders). They were simply the best speakers within my budget. Overall very balanced sound from low to high, clear, sparkling sound, well defined spatial image with orchestras, but does require quite a large room for god bass performance, otherwise basses sound like they are "cut off". They need quite some space from the wall and off the floor. if your chamber is less than 5x5m (15x15ft), you might want something smaller, but if you have space, orchestras come out very convincing.

In the higher ranges, strings, e.g violins, might soud a bit glassy, as if the tweeter dome is made of glass.

The most remarkable aspect of these speakers is that they perform equally well with jazz, classical, pop, rock and instrumental music.

I use them with a Denon pma720a amplifier (2x15W in class A, 2x80w in AB), and after 25 years, I still don't feel the need to buy new speakers.

Its bigger brother, DM330 of DM330i, is an even better choice since you won't need a stand to put them on.

A friend of my have the B and W loadspeakers,I have a complete audiophile equipment with spectral ,goldmund and sony player avalon speakers and siltech and mit cable so i can make a judgement.
My friend, who own the B and W speakers and I give him a old luxman L3 amplifier ( which I repaired )with monster 400and 600 cable and a old Denon DCD 895 cd player and van den Hull speaker cables and the sound is perfect ,It is smooth beautiful in space ,maybe not the last bit in resolution but a sound I can life with for many years.

Just wanted to put my two cents in on a fantastic set of speakers.

I have a setup which includes a proton d940 amp driving NHT Super One bookshelfs and a boston vr500 sub. Sounded great absolutely loved it.

Then a buddy at work said he was getting rid of some B&W DM220I speakers that had been sitting in his garage for $100, with very few hours. I really had nothing to loose, and being the audio dork I am I decided to take them home and hook them up..

Let me tell you.. the sound of these speakers are amazing... The Mids are very full and detailed.. You can hear each string played on guitar..at a level of detail in the mid range that I didn't have with my super ones. and the highs are not bright... like the super ones. Inherently the NHT Superones that i had been using are slightly bright and very inefficient but they are great speakers.

However.. there really is no comparison to the B&W... the dynamics that this system is able to achieve because of their increased sensitivity vs the NHT is staggering. I have so much headroom with this amp I can barely turn it past 10 o'clock and I have all I want.

Let me just say... that without a sub these things are a little boomy on the lower end .In my situation I'm sure that lots of it has to do with placement. But really thats my only complaint.

If you find a set of these I would not hesitate to pick them up.

Having won these B & W DM220i's (without grilles) for £41.00 on eBay, I was delighted to find that I had bought speakers that could begin to live up to the standard of my old Tannoy Lancasters and, at such a low price.

Although supposed to be floor standers, I found that the old adage of tweeters at eye leve,l showed that they seemed to perform best on stands that achieved this height, especially when positioned a foot or so away from the wall. With a crisp and bright treble range and smooth, open, natural bass response, their performance, reproducing my preferred classical music library, made me a very happy man indeed. I particularly enjoyed finding, unusually in speakers, that they reproduced speech without sounding boxy.

I must agree with other reviewers that, not surprisingly, they do perform best with better amplifiers. They seemed to work particularly well with the Technics SU-500 class AA output stages.

Originally hoping to pass these on at a small profit, I now find myself unable to part with them, and they will have to squeeze in with all the rest of the vintage hifi paraphernalia that I love playing with in my retirement.

I have since found some DM 570's (breathtaking) and DM 110's (superb) on eBay and seem to to have become something of a B & W addict. Especially, I enjoy these older vintage models as they are now available at prices I can afford, not yet having the funds to pay the fancy prices asked for the newer models,

With this in mind, if I were forced to find some aspect of these lovely old speakers to criticise, I would say that the mid range performance does not appear to be quite as strong, accurate and clear as that produced by the DM 570's. That being said, I can listen to them all day long without the fatigue that seems to appear when using many of the other speakers I have experienced.

Did buy on Ebay belgium a pair of B&O BM220 for 100 euro, the best buy of my live but for my records in vinyl theseare the best,special my collection bowie(258pcs)Reed(30pcs)Pop(25pcs)VU(10pcs)Cale(15pcs)RoxyMusic(25pcs)etc;...... but when I was 20 did not have the money, now at 63 years have the time, the experience, the wisom and a little more money!

I have owned my B&W 220's new since the early 80's. By now most of you know from other reviews that these speakers are not known to be efficient. Meaning they require high power to drive them to be sharp and clear. With that being true, powering and driving them to their potential was an experiment over the years till I had a pre-amp and amp to accomplish the task. They sound just as good as they look when driven properly. They have brought me great joy over the many years and would not trade them in. If you ever get the chance to acquire a set of used 220's don't hesitate. Value of my in perfect shape speakers are priceless to me.

- Bass could be a strength is one is looking for boomy bass for such music as hip hop or house music.
- Since they are old they can now be purchased by someone with a modest budget who is trying to buy their first set of speakers
- Possibilty that most weaknesses will be resolved to some degree with a higher powered push pull tube amp

-Vocals are closety
- Drums do not have presence
- Very high frequencies merely present, do not shimmer
- Needs more power than most low power SE tube amps can give

I bought these as well as a pair of B&WDM 560's from a local fellow for 340$ Canadian dollars in mid-2007. This review will be for the 220i's.

- They are a bit heavy on the bass end (boomy bass)
- Vocals sound a bit like the singer is singing in the closet
- Drums do not jump out at you, for instance, the snare is not as present as it should be and can be difficult to pinpoint in the soundstage
- Very high frequencies are good but not the best or crispest they could be and not pronounced enough
- Do not try to use with a very low SE tube amp

As in my situation, these speakers are not for listening to live performances, as the accuracy and overall fidelity is not high enough. Perhaps with well powered push-pull tube amplifier there could be a vast improvement. I am now using high powered solid state sansui ampfliers to push these ones (au517 vs. b-5000) and it does not give me the proper enjoyment. However, if someone is looking to purchase speakers to listen to electronic music, pop music, or just for leisure and is on a tight budget, these are a good used purchase. Compared with much newer B&W DM 602 s2 models, these 220i's are much behind. If one is searching for better musical reproduction and can afford a bit bigger budget I would suggest the DM 602 s2's.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM 560
B&W DM 602 s2

Sound is natural, detail,accurate,deep n wide.

need good setting in placement, need much power.

I've been used B&W DM220 for 20 yrs. but at first 10 yrs I dont realize that my speakers is quite good in sound n quality. After I upgrade my frist amp Sansui to Audiolab 8000A I found the diferents of sound but not much the sound more open bass get deeper hi range more accurate. Last month my father in law gave me his power amp Quad 606 and pre amp Aragon 24k I never predicted before that the diference is a lot. Amazing The vocal is get wider clear n more accurate in instrument music. before that I compare to my friend's B&W DM 601with Musical Fidelity A3 is better in vocal but now my DM 220 is very much better. I've been compare also with Tannoy mercury MX2, JPW,JBL mine is better. When I listen guitar and piano in my DM20 is similiar with real sound.( I'm a pianist) So If you have DM 220 partner it with powerfull amp these need it. my systems now
Cd player Exposure 2010, pre amp Audio research,power amp Quad 606

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Tannoy, KEF