B&W DM 603 S2 Floorstanding Speakers

B&W DM 603 S2 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Floorstanding 2.5-Way Loudspeaker - 7" Bass, 7" Mid and 1" Tweeter

USER REVIEWS

Showing 21-30 of 121  
[Feb 10, 2002]
vanlobe
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Cheap. Home theater?

Weakness:

Low and high frequencies exagerated. Mid range almost not existing. No soundstage.

I use my speakers exclusively for audio mistening. I think the 603''s are not very good for this purpose. Audition the 603''s next to a real good speaker and you''ll notice a big difference. I own a pair of KEF 104/2 that will never leave me. Compared to the KEF''s: They lack definitely a midrange. They try to mask this by exagerating the low''s and high''s. Low''s are very inacurate and boomy but you can mask this with the foams, spikes or alternate positioning. The highs are too smooth. Result is a very boxy sounding LS with lack of soundstage which is off balance in the low and high frequencies. I''ve tried bi-wiring with connecting bars removed and installed. My suggestion: leave the bars connected and it will improve your midrange somewhat while softening the highs. My setup: Yamaha AX-1050 amp Marants CD 67 OSE mkII Yamaha CDX 750 Pioneer DVD 535 KEF 104/2 B&W 603 S2 B&W ASW1000

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jan 15, 2000]
B and W man These rock

Strength:

Blasting bass, fabulous mid range , look cool, solid.

Weakness:

No weaknesses but the price if you don't have the cash.

I got these speakers shipped in from
overseas and i have never come across some this good. The bass is exellent and the mid range and treble are the same. If you're thinking of buying some new speakers, GET THESE! the are bloody good and can pump out sound way after your ears have died.

Similar Products Used:

B&W ASW2000 subwoofer
Sony ssx9 speakers

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 16, 2000]
Michael
Casual Listener

Strength:

Midrange, Bass

Weakness:

None Yet

My father has the 605's and I decided that i didn't have enough money for them so i decided to get the 603's. For the money i spent on them i am definately glad i didn't shell our the extra dough for the 605's. these speakers are a perfect start to my pseudo high-end home theatre system that i hope will rival my fathers. I absolutely love these speakers. I got them on U-Bid for $800. which is definately a steal. The midrange, and base are amazing. I love cranking my stereo and waking everyone up in my dorm =). I cannot praise these speakers enough.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 605 series 2

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 02, 2000]
Eric
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Punchy mid-bass, clean treble

Weakness:

for this price would like to have a decent wood veneer cabinet...

On the floor I found the bass was too boomy (room acoustics) so I placed them on stands.
WOW!!! what a difference...

Once burnt in, these speakers really come alive...
I have them bi-wired (Straightwire's Quartet on LF and Stage's on Mid-H/F)to a Rotel RA-971. Lee Ritenour's
"Alive in L.A." and Bela Fleck's "Live Art" really shine.
Monster cable has a jazz compilation CD out in HDCD
that is definitely worth checking out. Also, Mike Garson's "Serendipity" done by Reference Recordings is a definite must have.

currently running a Rotel RCD-971 CD player using MIT MI-330 PLUS II interconnects to the amp.

Similar Products Used:

AR Studio Monitor 300's

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 04, 2000]
Vincent Chen
Audiophile

Strength:

midrange is great,highs smooth with a bit more brilliance than my KEF c80 speakers.images well. A reasonable value.

Weakness:

Definately not full range speaker,anything below 50hz you going to need a subwoofer to help here.

I needed to buy a pair of speakers for my home theatre,but unlike some folks I needed ones that could be musical too. I love accoustic instruments immensely,and guitars, are a big one here. Lee Ritenour,and Billy Joe Walker Jr. are my fun recordings that lift my spirits,and put me in awe with their talent. A little wood,metal or nylon strings and wow they make magic. The B & W within its' frequency limits does well here. The highs are bright and clear. New Nautilus tweeter integrated in the design here. Makes my C80 Kefs sound dark and cloudy,with rain sure to pour out of the speaker any minute. The one thing that my I liked about my KEFs were the way they played my favorite female vocalists. Karen Carpenter,Oleta Adams,Amanda Mcbroom. Their range and timbre and articulation have been my references for longer than I can remember. Would the 603 do as well if not better. You bet. Without you getting wet thank you. A quicker pace than the Kefs'. My favorite tape made on my 2 track Otari MX-5050b mk2 played with total range except for the bottom most octave. The midbass is a bit slow,and perhaps well leaning on tubby. Not overly so that I would not have a great time listening to these 603s. After all isn't being entertained what it is all about anyway. The B & W product line always impressed me with its' honesty and never tried to do anything it shouldn't. The big 801 made a believer out of me. When I heard it for the first time,I was amazed at how it revealed how bad or good the recording was. Incredible honesty. The 603 is sort of like that but not quite. But for 1/5 the price of the original big guy,it is hard to match. Honesty and accuracy has a price sometimes. My kefs match the 603 in the warmth department. Though the Kef seems a nick fuller in the midbass without the heavy feeling that the 603 sometimes exhibits. The highs are a success. Restores my faith at the fact that I record/play tapes at 15ips is not a total waste. Well portrayed without being beamy,good imaging,and smooth too. I must confess that these speakers must go through the break in period and settle in before their true voice can be heard. So far,the guitars' are to me the 603s' greatest allie. Transients from the fingers plucking the strings. Sheer magic. So without reservation, a fine speaker for home theatre buffs who need to keep the music still playing too. Just be aware that the midbass is a bit over ripe. Placement is something I will try to see if this takes out this trait. For 1,150.00 a pair,they represent a decent value,while not breaking down the doors for the cheap seats price, B & W has a logical successor to its' series 1 line. So pick up your favorite recording on whatever you like...I would love to get some original 2 track masters and find out what these 603s' will really do.
See your dealer plop in a CD or SACD and listen in the nice comfy chair and hear them and see what you think. I like them just dandy,and will reccomend to my friends.

Similar Products Used:

Kefs,NHT,PSB

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Dec 06, 2000]
Lance
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great midrange, crisp highs, solid bass. Handles a large room well. Nice looking faux-wood finish.

Weakness:

High-end marketing/sales for a mid-range speaker.

These speakers have handled everything that I've run through them with style. They don't color the sound and work with any volume I care to use.

I put them in an 18' x 18' carpeted room with plenty of space behind/around the speakers. I've bi-wired them with average quality cables. My equipment is:

Denon AVR-3801 AV receiver
Pioneer DV-626 DVD/CD player (coax digital link)
B&W DM603S2 front mains
B&W ASW1000 subwoofer
B&W CC6S2 center
B&W LM1 surrounds

DVD movies with good soundtracks like Singles sound impressive without dominating the surround scene. I've found the quality of the movie sound is strictly a function of the disc itself - these speakers just faithfully reproduce the good/bad sound.

These speakers take prog rock CD's that I've listened to for years, like Genesis' Trick of the Tail, and produce all the nuances in a clean, full presentation. I'm not a classical fan but I'd guess that they would work pretty well.

The 603's blow me away on digitally-recorded hard rock CD's like Creed's Human Clay. I lived for years with a moderately-priced receiver and some small Infinity bookshelfs, and now I'm kicking myself for all the quality sound I missed. I'm thoroughly enjoying going through my CD collection one-by-one and rediscovering the better-engineered recordings.

I've tried normal stereo with/without the sub and 5-ch stereo modes. I haven't found a great need for the sub but that may be my lack of heavy-bass experience. The 603's themselves put out a nice low end, and I don't have a lot of soft furniture to absorb too much.

Although they are great speakers, the fact that I couldn't get them over the Web was a little annoying. I did audition them a few times relative to some similarly-priced speakers (Dynaudio was one brand), and the dealer was quite patient with me, so I can't fault the dealer-only policy too much.

Overall I couldn't be more pleased with these speakers. From other reviews that didn't like them, I can only guess that they had too small a room or the receiver didn't match well.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 30, 2000]
Sergio Simão
Casual Listener

Strength:

Good Bass, Sound Clarity.

Weakness:

None

This Speakers are a dream. For this price range is the best that you can buy!If you want better buy the Nautilus Series, for 10 X much.
The soound is very Clear and Pure, the Bass is accurate and Strong, the voices coming from this beauties are perfect.
Buy these babies and you will be in heaven!!!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602 , Eltax ..etc

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 01, 2000]
music fan
Audiophile

Strength:

Sound quality. Smooth, very detailed, imaging, dynamic, Everything.

Weakness:

Hardly any. Especially when you consider the price tag.

Pair the B&W 603 S-2 with NAD amp, especially the T760. You'll have a killer system for very little money.

Please read my review on the NAD T-760 receiver for more.

WARNING: This combo will makes you want to listen to all your music collection, and DVDs all over again. A very time consuming process.

Also. Drive them with something better than the usual mass market chain stores electronics, and you'll be in sonic heaven.

It will also makes you to increase your budget for music and DVDs.

If you can find a better value. Please let me know.

HIGHLY RECOMMANDED.

*Placement is VERY important.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 23, 1999]
jim christy
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

great bass response and tight highs

Weakness:

none detected

after sixteen years with my old advents which hung in just fine i cant believe the difference in technology now,with my 100w per channel technics class 2 amp these babies are blowin the walls off my rec room right on b and w

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 18, 1999]
Michael
Audio Enthusiast

In a word, unbelievable! After years of struggling with my JBL`s,an upgrade was in order.Having demoed MANY speakers in the $1.5 to $2k range,(canadian) the 603 S2s won hands down in every respect.
Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find
that the 603`s sounded equally good at
home with my Arcam Alpha/Crown D-75a/
Crown IC-150 combination as apposed to
the retailers higher end gear.Looking forward to listening to my CD collection,for the FIRST time! BRAVO!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 21-30 of 121  

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