Kevio

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
These are very accurate and very enjoyable speakers. I'm using them for nearfield monitoring. I can hear everything. That's not always a good thing. Here it is. Imaging is solid and midrange is very balanced. I can listen to these for hours without fatigue.

I've used these as a center channel speaker and was happy. I have not used them in a stereo setup in a larger space.

Bass response for small speakers is always an issue. First off, what bass these guys have is very musical and even. The bass response is very responsive to placement. Move them to where they sound good to you.

Strengths:
Accurate nearfield reproduction. Non-fatiguing midrange. Musical bass response.

Weaknesses:
Bass response sensitive to placement. Won't fill large spaces with sound.

Similar Products Used:
Infinity Entra One
Celestion 5 MKII

Price Paid:  $150.00 from Lisbon - Portugal

Summary:
B&W DM302 are easy, clear and small. 91dB sensitivity / 8 Ohm makes it ideal for matching with almost any Amp - EASY. No big power needed. Vivaldi's Autumn (from 'Four Season') rain drops are allways there - CLEAR. Low level and high level sounds allways fit in these speakers. Grieg's 'Peer Gynt - The King of the Mountain' allows you to listen it with maxim detail, no matter volume level. These €150 speakers are enough to tell you that Gold Frapp's record is a very fine electronic music from XXIst century but with too much "hiss". It allows you to listen the really Best and the really worst of a record (even a CD). No need more than 20W p/ channel for fullfill a room with plenty of volume (did I said NAD-320? No. Rotel-921 is cheaper) - SMALL. If used with speaker stands gives you a nearby Nirvana state. Enjoy it!

Strengths:
Detail, Price, overall music.

Weaknesses:
Too much bass when close to walls. (read the manual first on how to put them)

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
In terms on value for money, the 302s were very balanced, good soundstage (setup 4 metres apart) and fill a 6mx4m room well. Orginally used as front speakers, now used as surround speakers (DM303 fronts).

Strengths:
Balanced, soundstage, price & size.

Weaknesses:
High end freqency not as detailed as more expensive speakers. But I suppose thats why there cheaper.

Similar Products Used:
If to be used for front speakers I prefer DM303, for rears save your money.

Summary:
This seems silly to some, but I own *3* sets of these speakers. My wife bought me a set of these for 2 channel back in 97 or 98, and I bought HER 2 pair (plus the matching CC3 center) the same year to start our home theatre. At the time we bought them, there was nothing in this price range that could come close to these speakers for the price.

Back in the day, I took the B&W's, PSBs, and NHT's home for a semi-lengthy home audition. I didn't have a ton of cash at the time, and really wanted to make a decision I could live with for years; so I really put them through their paces. The PSB's sounded muffled and veiled (although their bass response was better), and the NHT's just didn't have the midrange of the B&W..

I can't comprehend why people complain about the 302's midrange. The midrange is, by far, the strong point of the 302.. Vocals are absolutely excellent with this speaker, timbral accuracy is shocking for the price; and although it may be a bit artifically warm in parts, it really makes music where others in the price range failed.

The soundstaging is quite good; excellent when comapred to the others in it's price range. Imaging is fairly well focused, and coupled with the relatively spacious soundstage, can create great likeness of the original recording. You MUST place them well, though, or the soundstage disappears. Room placement, and your seating position in the room, pay HUGE dividends here.

One thing I noticed over the years is the 302's, like other B&W's, put a high demand on upstream components (especially amplification). No, you don't need a multi-kilobuck amp, etc., but most receivers won't be able to power these little guys. Their impedance may be 8ohm, but it dips well into the 3's, IIRC.. This makes them a very BAD pairing for most mass-market equipment. Perhaps this is why some have complained about the 302's. I used an NAD 712 (receiver) quite happily for a number of years, but a Creek 4330 really makes these babies sing. Also, cabling must be up to par for these beauties to perform as they should.

Bass is somewhat lacking, as you would expect for such a small driver. And no, the 302's are not rear-ported, so you can easily place them close to walls (1 foot seems perfect) and not get floppy bass. Good stands help quite a bit in the bass department.

The biggest weakness of the 302, IMO, is their ability to handle very dynamic music. Live music (that was loud originally), heavy orchestral music, electronica, or anything with extremely complex passages will not come out well on these speakers. It all becomes one 2-d flat painting instead of a nice live performance. Also, when the 302 begins to compress, the top end gets a bit edgy and will tire you out after awhile.

But on the flipside, with less complex music these are some wonderful speakers. In the absence of compression, vocals are beautiful, most instruments (violin, guitar, electric guitar, etc) come through quite convincingly, the top end smooths out considerably, and things of smaller scale come out incredible. If you're a fan of chamber music, bluegrass, solo or small ensembles, female vocalists, or even some types of jam bands/reggae/rock (Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Dave Matthews come to mind) these speakers may well be all you ever need.

AND for Home Theatre they are a shocking buy. Pair them with a tight quality sub, and they will handle any 5.1/DTS you throw at them with great satisfaction and volume. The sub frees up the little 302's (make sure it's crossed over properly) and they won't compress on any movie I can think of. I am 100% happy with them for home theatre.

Incidentally, I tried a set of Polk RT25i's just to see what the competition hath wrought (and Stereophile hath recommended haha). The little Polk's put up a fight; they even had better bass extension when properly placed, and imaged incredibly well. But in the end, they compressed on complex passages even more than the 302s, and their midrange just didn't have any beauty. It was very clinical. It was all in good fun, really, but the 302's still remain king. (I have not auditioned the 303's). I decided to go upmarket for 2-channel, and what I ended up with is a story for another day..

Judged against others in their price range, these are a SOLID 5 stars.

Strengths:
Soundstage, imaging, beautiful midrange

Weaknesses:
Compresses quickly with complex orchestration/music

Similar Products Used:
PSB Alpha, NHT, Polk RT25i

Price Paid:  $175.00 from ebay

Summary:
I'm always bargain hunting online for quality stereo equipment. B&W name, so gave these a try.
House a soft-dome tweeter, and 5 1/4" woofer, in an innovative small enclosure. I mentioned build quality as a weakness--I say this because they seem extremely light to me. I can't imagine that B&W is using high quality drivers (magnets) because they just aren't heavy--but the enclosures and plastic and that may be why they're so light. Still, they are fairly decent in construction (5-way binding posts, not spring loaded cheapness), and decent to look at, but certainly don't have a classic or vintage look (you can tell they're plastic from 20' away).

As one would expect with a British speaker, they excel in quality mid-range and give excellent imaging. Bass is very strong for this small of a bookshelf speaker, but you'll need a sub if you're a bottom dweller. I don't know the rated freq response, but can't imaging they get below 60 Hz. Still fairly decent lower mids, and a bit of punch for their size. Treble is decent, and overall sound is very good.

For 95% of music these speakers would rate a 4-star's in my opinion. They are very laid back, open, and airy--good for background listening. They're weakness is in the hard-rock arena--the treble range can be harsh with certain types of rock guitar. This is still rare, but occasionally I find these speakers harsh (2-1/2-stars on this music). It still is rare on rock music, but certain types (metal mostly) just doesn't lend itself to these well.

No listening fatigue here--I could (and do) listen to these for hours on end at both low and volumes.

For a used speaker in the $150-200 range, these are a great deal. At retail of over $350, you can probably do better. If I were to buy new--I'd prefer a more refined looking enclosure to the plastic boxes these come in, but they're so small they still won't make a strong statement in your listening room. At $350 I'd prefer Monitor Audio Bronze series or Paradigm Mini's (the Min's are twice the size--I prefer these to the Atoms which are the equivalent Paradigm model).

Bottom line:
If you want a strong and forward speaker, again these are not for you, but if you like great imaging and laid back performance they are ideal. For jazz, easy listening, acoustical rock, most opera and classical, even the majority or rock and pop (hip-hop's OK, but get that sub) they perform wonderfully. Stay clear if you're a heavy metal freak as 20% of metal music is harsh through these.

You much better off with a used pair of B&W's than anything you'll find in the mass market stores (Polk, Bose, AR, JBL, you know the others).

Strengths:
Midrange, imaging, small size.

Weaknesses:
Build quality?

Similar Products Used:
JBL, Bose, Cambridge, M&K, Paradigm, Yamaha, AR, Mission, BIC, you name it.