clean sounding,imaging ,depth,dynamics, clarity and very revealing amazing performance for the price

none,let me go through my cd collection then i will tell you

Well been a movie buff for years but needed more in the music department and i think i finally found it these things rock detail and imaging has changed dramatically to tell you the truth i had to get used to the sound they produced far cry from bi-polar i had a review posted about 5 months ago that said i would never go back to direct radiating "i lied" welcome back unbelievable sound out of these i once again love my music now i am 80% for MUSIC and 20% for HT. They blow me away in imaging and soundstage 'i am basically there feeling' although i am using a RED ROSE ROSETTE 1 intergrated amp pushing 50 watts per channel and MUSICAL FIDELITY x-ray cd player, they blow my bp30's completly out of the room and without a sub they are scary,no coloration,no distortion i can only imagine them with a b&w sub.But i dont feel that i need one guys dont take my word for it dont walk to buy these speakers RUN out and get them they are amazing for bookshelfs wait did i say bookshelf i call them mini-moniters they are big for a bookshelf but they sound out of this world for the money i heard the sonus faber thay want 2 grand for i am sorry they cant compare to the sound these babies produce, "brits" are doing something right 5 stars is not adequate for these guys i give them 10 stars all around for price and performance my system consists of RED ROSE ROSETTE 1,MUSICAL FIDELITY X-RAY 24 BIT CD PLAYER ALPHA CORE PYTHON SPEAKER CABLES SILVER,ALPHA CORE INTERCONNECTS,FOR HT USE DEFTECH BP30'S,CLR1000B CENTER,DEFTECH PF15TL+ SUB,SONY DVD SACD PLAYER,OLDER SONT DVD PLAYER AS BACK UP,OLDER JVC CD PLAYER 'DONT LAUGH' IT WORKS GREAT,MONSTER SURGE PROTECTER,NUMEROUS OTHER GEAR OF COURSE MY B&W DM 602 S3'S AN AMAZING COMBINATION NOW I HAVE THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS....

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all of them

Refined power, depth and scale that dwarfs smaller, much more expensive rivals

none at the price

I brought the 602 S3s last week, upgrading from a 20yr old pair of Mordaunt Short Festival Series 2 speakers that I have had hooked up to my Rotel RA02/ Rotel RCD 02 for a year or so. I was somewhat reluctant to upgrade, seeing as the MSs I had already had large cones and gave the same sort of 'warm large sound' at a glance when auditioning the B&Ws for the first time. Though, just fancying a change, I upgraded to the 602s. Suffice to say, I have been so impressed with the speakers that I now cant believe I had put up with the others for so long! The speakers produce the same scale of bass as the MSs, but with a shade more control and thump - mid range and treble vastly improved. I have managed to fit one speaker on the a shelf; the other I have wall mounted - both sound great; I don't think they are too fussy about being placed on stands or not. I am now getting more insight into the sound, as the mid-range opens up through breaking in. I have been listening to them all day today with a large smile on my face - combined with the lean, lighweight Rotels, anything sounds totally sublime: the scale and sheer depth of orchestral concertos, the deep emotional sweeps of Celine Dion's voice and the thumps and subsonics of Daniel Beddingfield's 'James Dean'. Some smaller speakers I have heard, B&Ws, Quads, selling for significantly higher prices may have a marginally sharper and more refined mid-range, but simply cannot compete with the depth and punch of the 602s, that for me makes the sound just so more realistic and lifelike. They could charge twice the price for these and they would still be good value for money!

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Mordaunt Short Festival Series 2

Clean solid contruction Exeptional musicality Great for Stereo or HT

none...

If you're searching for a pair of bookshelf loudspeakers with tonal accuracy and spectral balance, the B&W 602S3 is for you. Pop of the grille and discover the solid cabinet construction. The Kevlar cones and Nautilus tweets realy show off with distinction. The sound, they sound clear and perform well over the entire audio frequency spectrum. Crisp highs and deep lows. Voices are clear and poweful without hesitation. Exelent performer!!!

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Bose 301

Everything.

Ummm...Ill get back to you on that one. Maybe if I put my foot through one of the drivers I can find a 'weakness' for you.

I'm listening to Neil Young's classic "Old Man" as I write this review. I started on the audio enthusiast path a few years ago, but in the automotive realm. After a lot of research and a lot of demos, I found that kevlar drivers, such as those used by JM-Lab and Focal in their automotive systems constitute the best driver material available today. Thus, when I got out of college and felt like blowing some graduation money on a present for myself, I went looking for the same thing. One of my college roomies had the 601 S2s. Great speakers that we kept in our living room, but hooked up to a lousy Onkyo receiver and Sony crap-du-jour cd carousel. I always knew that they could do better if driven by a more efficient and cleaner amplifier. I tested various bookshelf speakers in the range- KEF, PSB, Infinity, to name a few- and like I had suspected- a good pair of B&Ws with a decent amp just plainly walks all over the rest. First and foremost, it is the kevlar- the kevlar cones- that make these speakers. The addition of the phase cone in the S3s also improve imaging and focus in this generation. Don't believe me? Put your hand abot 2 inches away from the tip of the cone at volume and you'll feel the focus I mean. The cabinet is built like a tank. I don't have a good setup in which to place the speakers- I've got a smallish room in my new place. One of the speakers is on top of a whicker drawer type thing, the other on top of the rack with the gear in it. But it matters little- tap on the cabinets and they are dead anyways. Just make sure you've got your speakers about a good foot or two off the wall. This helps the bass develop as the pressurized sound waves move across the room. The tubed tweeter is top notch, but you can tell how well-engineered these speakers are by how well the hi's blend with the mid's. There's nothing artificial about it. The harmonica in Young's 'Heart of Gold' seems like he is sitting right behind me blowing on the thing. B&W also sent me a kickin CD to test my setup with. It's helpful, too. Lastly, these things are just plainly beautiful. There are some amazing looking speakers out there- but mostly at the 10,000 dollar and up range. With the grills off on the B&Ws, the speakers, with their bright yellow kelar cones and gray pitted facia, are visual as well as audio art. Not so for the battleship gray and black competitors in this range. Quite frankly, there are a lot of good speakers out there that can take these B&Ws for a ride on their own level. But you aren't going to find them until the prices start hitting the 4-digit level. But even then, once you go up there with B&W's similarly priced speakers, you'll find largely the same result. I have little doubt that B&W will be my speaker company for keeps, unless Bose can get its act together....yaaaaaaaaa....that MIGHT happen. Just in case you want to know, I've got this paired with the NAD 320BEE integrated amp, a perfect match for these babies.

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B&W 601 S2

beautiful looks, rock-solid build, rich bass for bookshelf speaker, crisp clear highs, impressive mids, sounds excellent at higher volumes and even low volumes.

none to be found...yet.

I spent close to 2 months deciding on what speakers to buy as my main fronts. Space was a factor so I was in the market for bookshelves. I tested the Infinity Alpha 20 but it just didn't have the clarity and richness that I was looking for. I then auditioned the Polk Audio LSi 9, and although it was capable of handling music at high volumes..the overall sound was a bit "punchy". A good bookshelf for home theatre but not the best for music, and my ears also became fatigue after listening to them for a couple of hours. After doing more research and reading the awesome reviews here on audioreview.com, I paid a visit to the only local store that carried B&W. I first tested the 601 S3 and was actually impressed with the overall clarity considering its compact size. The only weakness it had was that it wasn't easy on the bass, and at higher volumes it sounded like it was working just a little too hard. Afterward, I then tested the 602 S3 and it literally put me in a zone! Really! The music sounded warm, filling up the whole room. The voices and guitar strokes were so amazingly rich in detail that it felt like listening to live music. For a bookshelf speaker, the 602 S3 was also capable of deep, fine bass. It played everything impressively well without sounding like overworking. Not to mention, the speakers looked BEAUTIFUL with the covers off. I was sold after having heard the 602's and never looked back. Since then, I have yet to hear or see another set of bookshelf speakers with the sound and build quality of the 602's within the same price range. For roughly $500, these speakers are a steal! They sound and look like they cost well over $1,000. What's even better is that the sound only improves as you listen to them more and more. The breaking in of these speakers is definitely worth your time. Treat these speakers with respect and put them on a set of decent stands. When I can afford it, I am going to get the B&W LCR600 center speaker and 601 S3 for surrounds to pair up with my 602's. Most people have never heard of B&W and therefore, will probably put them down. Don't believe anyone who tells you that their Bose system can shatter these speakers to pieces. Bose are crap! Put any five speakers together with a sub and sure, you'll have yourself a home theatre. However, if you want clarity and richness in sound that you will remember for a long time, invest your money in a set of B&W speakers. Invite your "BOSE" friend over and demo your speakers for him, and watch as he goes home quiet.

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polk audio lsi, infinity alpha, jbl, klipsch.

Exceptional highs Clean midrange Deep lows

Absolutely none other than they are hungry for power. Feed them!

As part of our theater upgrade, it was time to investigate some real, substantial speakers for both HT and pure music use. I've always been partial to the British and Canadian sound so I read hundreds of reviews and finally went to listen to both the B&W 602s and the Paradigm Monitors. As others have mentioned, direct comparison is the only way to go and Hi-Fi Sales carries both of these manufacturer's lines. I'll get to the point: the sound of the Paradigm reminded me of our NHT SuperOnes that served faithfully for 5 years. While nice, it wasn't exactly what I'd been hoping for. Fortunately, the B&Ws fit that bill exactly. As I'd expected, the highs were incredibly clear without being tinny or grating and the lows were very well defined without being boomy. The midrange appeared to be spot-on, in some part, I think, because of the different crossover points from most other speakers. I was sold on the 602s after about 15 minutes of listening in the showroom. I took a few black ones home and broke them in slowly over the course of about 4 weeks, never fully taxing them while letting them do their thing a little each day. And while they never were harsh at the beginning, they sound exquisite to my ears now. No doubt that is partially due to my getting used to them and partially due to them breaking in. So if you buy these expecting them to sound like they did in the showroom, give them some time to break-in and you (most likely) won't be disappointed. If you like clean highs (not laid back) and you don't mind large cabinets (for a "bookshelf"), do yourself a favor and find a dealer to give these a listen. In this price range, I don't know of a better bargain.

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NHT SuperOnes, Paradigm Monitors

Great for stereo and home theatre. Good frequency ranges - Clear highs and lows Well balanced and refined sound. Well made posts for bi-wiring.

It's just big for a bookshelf speaker but not a weakness at all. Just get a nice stand (about 20 to 28 inches)

Finally got the speakers I needed. I sold the Bose 301 series IVs and updated with B&W 602S3's. I've noticed a big difference in sound. Voices are clearer and great frequency ranges. From highs to lows. You'll need a good amp or a/v receiver to drive these speakers. Nautilus tweeters produce great highs without strain. Sound is well balanced and built is absolutely gorgeous. You'll have to remove the grilles to see for yourself. You'll get the best sound quality for your money. No wonder these speakers are rated best buy and highly recommended for budget home theatre uses.

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Kef Q-series, Paradigm,

Good looking, substantial looking binding posts.

Unnaturally boomy, uneven sound, need a lot of power to run.

I brought these speakers home because I thought these would be better speakers than my Pioneer sdf3k's. Boy, was I wrong. Believe it or not my Pioneer's are much better. The 602s3's were boomy and need a lot of power to push. If you have a 300w/channel amp they might sound pretty good. If you have a 100w/channel amp or less stay away. For $600 you can find much better speakers.

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Pioneer sdf3k, psb 5t's.

Clear Vocal, Gorgeous Look.

Nothing at this price

I special ordered Paradigm Monitor 5 at my local dealer. When I got those I put them next to B&W 602 S3 and gave those those two speakers a test. The MOnitor 5 sounds good but the treble is too crisp. The B&W has a really good vocal and nice balance between mid and highs. After an hour in the listening room, I finally exhanged my Monitor 5 with B&W 602 S 3.

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Wharfedale

The crystal clear, smooth & bright highs. Exceptional soundstage & imaging. Taut and balanced bass.

Absolutely none!

If I had to describe the B&W 602S3's in a word it would be "Astonishing". After listening to these spectacular loudspeakers for about 15 minutes I knew I had to have them. The high's are extremely smooth & bright, which will give you goose bumps. The midrange is very accurate and uncolored. Bass is taut and balanced. A very noticable aspect is that the soundstage and imaging are well defined, and timbre is precise and accurate. Overall, the B&W 602S3's deliver an exceptionally warm and natural sonic experience.

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Paradigm, Infinity, Polk.