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4M views 30K replies 3K participants last post by  Tank_PD 
#1 ·
I noticed that I hadn't seen B&W OWNER'S thread , but that there are a lot of owners on this forum and I think that the consistant bashing from about 4 posters makes people hesitant to get involved in any of the many threads that keep getting nasty. So, to that end, I think that if there was a thread where the Lovefest could be conducted without bothering NON-owners and the bashers weren't welcome, maybe some good info could come out of it.


My challenge would be to ask people here to keep it civil and that if you don't like B&W there is no point in you being here. If you want to talk about other comporables, start another thread.


For the record, I am a B&W dealer , and most know this, and as such , if I can find out any important info on the brand or certain models, I will be happy to. Don't , however, post or pm me regarding sales, I don't use threads as advertising for my business, and I won't sell you anything .


So what do you own and how is it set-up?
 
#20,921 ·
With small room and large speakers you need extensive treatment to get proper sound. I do use 802D in 12x13 room. Almost all wall space is covered with absorbtion panels though. His room is not a dedicated listening space, so he is unlikely can do that kind of treatment. So I suggest different kind of speakers for that reason. Ls50 are more forgiving regarding placement than any of B&W models.
I would concur, 5 LS50s (or 2 to start) with a tight musical sub would be amazing for that size space.
Edit: I think WSE would concur, his main system is 3 800D2 and 4 802D2 and his second system is LS50s for a smaller room.
 
#20,922 ·
Thanks Guys, for all your advise,

i am going to bring my yamaha amp to the showroom to audit the B&W speakers, 685,684,683 tomorrow.
i think for my livingroom space is just nice for a pair 685 s2 with bookshelf stands.
it will cost about S$1400 with the bookshelf stands...
for 684 s2, S$1700 if i top up another $300 more, i can get them...
683 s2 will cost S$2800 --- damn.. expensive...

guess i might go for the pair of 685 s2 or the 684 s2 that has the 4star review.

will pair it with my yamaha mini sub woofer. :D
 
#20,923 ·
Thanks Guys, for all your advise,

i am going to bring my yamaha amp to the showroom to audit the B&W speakers, 685,684,683 tomorrow.
i think for my livingroom space is just nice for a pair 685 s2 with bookshelf stands.
it will cost about S$1400 with the bookshelf stands...
for 684 s2, S$1700 if i top up another $300 more, i can get them...
683 s2 will cost S$2800 --- damn.. expensive...

guess i might go for the pair of 685 s2 or the 684 s2 that has the 4star review.

will pair it with my yamaha mini sub woofer. :D
Honestly, give KEF LS50 a try, they are much better quality speaker than the B&W 600 series..
 
#20,924 ·
Didnt bring my Amp today, due to rain, so i just went to audited the KEF LS50 today,

the salesman seems unfriendly, so just just hear a song or 2 then left.
The KEF LS50 is sold in Singapore at price S$1800. (dunno if its expensive)
The sound is stunning for a bookshelf speaker. but i can't compare it with a B&W 683 s2 (3 way speakers)

tested the B&W 683 s2 again in another shop. found it strange that the sound is not that fantastic. It sounds abit muddy when you pair it up with 80w avr (forget the brand of the AVR) .
plus i ask the salesman if he had bi-wire the speakers, he say no need.
i just feel that B&W speakers need a powerful Amp to drive it that it sounds great.

Both B&W shops salesman told me that my livingroom is good enough for 683 s2. as long as they can be 5-6 feet apart and 6-7 feet from your sofa.

can't decide now.

Guess i have to bring down my yamaha AVR 730 to personally audit the B&W 683 s2 speakers.

Cheers Mate.
 
#20,925 ·
The KEF LS50 is sold in Singapore at price S$1800. (dunno if its expensive)
The sound is stunning for a bookshelf speaker. but i can't compare it with a B&W 683 s2 (3 way speakers)

tested the B&W 683 s2 again in another shop. found it strange that the sound is not that fantastic. It sounds abit muddy when you pair it up with 80w avr (forget the brand of the AVR) .
plus i ask the salesman if he had bi-wire the speakers, he say no need.
i just feel that B&W speakers need a powerful Amp to drive it that it sounds great.

Both B&W shops salesman told me that my livingroom is good enough for 683 s2. as long as they can be 5-6 feet apart and 6-7 feet from your sofa.

can't decide now.

Guess i have to bring down my yamaha AVR 730 to personally audit the B&W 683 s2 speakers.

Cheers Mate.
For your reference, below is the MSRP for KEF and B&W here in US, unlike many other brands whose distributors jack up the price by 20% or more, KEF is pretty consistent with their price through out the world

KEF LS50 - $1500 (about Singapore Dollar 2000)

B&W 683S2 - $1650 (about Singapore Dollar 2200)

B&W 684S2 - $1150 (about Singapore Dollar 1535)

B&W 685S2 - $700 (about Singapore Dollar 935)

IMO, in terms of sound quality, performance, and value, there is no comparison between the 600 series and KEF LS50,
I don't know how much CM series sells for in Singapore, but if you really like B&W, then perhaps you should take a look at CM series?

One thing to keep in mind, both LS50 and 683S2 are 8-ohm speakers but LS50 dip down to 3.8-ohm while 683S2 dip down to 3-ohm
So they will need receivers or amplifiers that is rated to handle 4-ohm speakers or can easily handle low impedance loads.
This does not mean they need lots of power or watts, this simply means they need a receiver or amplifier with quality power supply inside that can handle the current at low impedance loads and not over heat and clips and shut down

Power, or watts, only determine how load you can drive your speakers, so if you have a amp that is rated for 200w at 8-ohm but can't handle 4-ohm loads, then it still will not be able to properly drive either LS50 or 683S2

BTW, you may want to take a look at this thread, the thread starter wse, has a ht room with 3 x 800D and 4 x 802D yet he was so impressed by the LS50 he furnished another smaller ht room with 7 x LS50..

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/1432153-kef-ls50-owners.html
 
#20,927 ·
AV Receiver RX-A730

Amplifier Section Channel 7.2
Rated Output Power (1kHz, 2ch driven) 105 W (8 ohms, 0.9% THD)
Rated Output Power (20Hz-20kHz, 2ch driven) 90 W (8 ohms, 0.09% THD)
Dynamic Power per Channel (8/6/4/2 ohms) 130 / 170 / 200 / 240 W

This is the specs of my Yamaha Amp,
am not sure if it can drive the KEF LS50 or B&W 683 s2.
 
#20,929 ·
B&W Owner's Thread

Hi everyone, i have told before about adding Ati amp 6002 to my CM9 and some of you say it is a good choice and others say it is an overkill for cm9. My Q is (is there a big difference between ati 3002 and ati 6002) if this difference gives me 30% it is okay but if it is just 10% i will have 3002.
Waiting for your support.
Thank you


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#20,930 ·
It will be far from overkill, just the much better option. The CMCS1 was highly regarded so the CMCS2 should just be that much better and a match to the CM10s or CM6s. A good center is important for movies and a good matching center more so for multichannel music.
I find that the CMC2 S2 is very clear, even at low volumes. With my older gear I had to turn the volume up to understand what the actors were saying because the sound was muddy. With the CMC2 S2 the dialogue is very clear and precise.
Haven't revisted until today (waiting on this years crop of mid-range quality receivers to come out all things considered, which I may ask about here too...the Pioneer Elite SC-91 looks like it may have potential to power these..).

But yeah, barring going with the Sonus Fabers (which has an impressive sounding I will admit, but disappointing one center channel selection), I think the CMC2S2 is calling me, I'd certainly splurge on the higher level center as long as it can fit in my home theater cabinet (for once happy it doesn't have the seperate tweeter like the higher end Diamond version does :p ) .

But yeah, also happy to hear the CM6S2 wouldn't be a poor pairing for such a beefy center, as it stood I felt compelled to get a CM10s2 (yes I like the on top tweeter, and as much as I am inclined to believe it enhances the sound qualities compared to the ones without, I just plain old like the look and have always wanted em, hence not considering the CM9s2 or somesuch).
 
#20,931 ·
Cmc2s2

Haven't revisted until today (waiting on this years crop of mid-range quality receivers to come out all things considered, which I may ask about here too...the Pioneer Elite SC-91 looks like it may have potential to power these..).

But yeah, barring going with the Sonus Fabers (which has an impressive sounding I will admit, but disappointing one center channel selection), I think the CMC2S2 is calling me, I'd certainly splurge on the higher level center as long as it can fit in my home theater cabinet (for once happy it doesn't have the seperate tweeter like the higher end Diamond version does :p ) .

But yeah, also happy to hear the CM6S2 wouldn't be a poor pairing for such a beefy center, as it stood I felt compelled to get a CM10s2 (yes I like the on top tweeter, and as much as I am inclined to believe it enhances the sound qualities compared to the ones without, I just plain old like the look and have always wanted em, hence not considering the CM9s2 or somesuch).
I can personally attest to the sound quality of the CMC2S2 center channel speaker. It is the one I have in my home theater. The sound quality is very good and very clear. The following caveat applies - it also highlights the poor audio quality of some tv channels / movie soundtracks. The good ones sound great and the bad ones sound clearly more bad. I have found that to be more true with this center channel speaker than my previous high end Sony soundbar. I also find that the bigger center works very well in a mid-size to larger size room. I looked the the diamond version of this center and frankly found it hard to distinguish between the quality of the two. I have it paired with 2 CM10S2 fronts and 2 CM6S2 sides. The CM6S2s are probably a little overkill for surround - but they match the design of the CM10S2 with the tweeter on top.
 
#20,932 ·
I agree. The CM6 S2s are probably overkill unless you do in fact listen to a significant amount of multi-channel music.
 
#20,933 · (Edited)
I can personally attest to the sound quality of the CMC2S2 center channel speaker. It is the one I have in my home theater. The sound quality is very good and very clear. The following caveat applies - it also highlights the poor audio quality of some tv channels / movie soundtracks. The good ones sound great and the bad ones sound clearly more bad. I have found that to be more true with this center channel speaker than my previous high end Sony soundbar. I also find that the bigger center works very well in a mid-size to larger size room. I looked the the diamond version of this center and frankly found it hard to distinguish between the quality of the two. I have it paired with 2 CM10S2 fronts and 2 CM6S2 sides. The CM6S2s are probably a little overkill for surround - but they match the design of the CM10S2 with the tweeter on top.
I agree. The CM6 S2s are probably overkill unless you do in fact listen to a significant amount of multi-channel music.
Maybe I wasn't clear here, but the CM6S2's are to be my FRONTS, INSTEAD of CM10S2's... I was deciding between one or the other as they both had the tweeter on top design. My worry is that the CM2S2 is so beefy that the CM6S2's wouldn't compliment it well as L/R fronts. I have older JBL Northridge satelites as my fronts (and rears) that will be downcycled into side speakers, assuming I want to do a 7.1 thing.
 
#20,934 ·
I think you should still go with the bigger middle. For stereo the two fronts matter. For movies it is all about the center speaker in a 5.1 or higher system. From what I understand the C2S2 was also a big improvement over the original.
Even with the smaller cm6 you won't be disappointed.
These comments assume budget is not a consideration as the center would be around 1200
 
#20,935 ·
I think you should still go with the bigger middle. For stereo the two fronts matter. For movies it is all about the center speaker in a 5.1 or higher system. From what I understand the C2S2 was also a big improvement over the original.
Even with the smaller cm6 you won't be disappointed.
These comments assume budget is not a consideration as the center would be around 1200
I have heard as much too about the CM2s2 not only being particularly good, but a particularly standout improvement over it's step down model. I guess I was just looking for validation from fellow owners that the C2S2 was not overkill, at least assuming I didn't get tower fronts and just stuck with the (hopefully beefy at least) CM6S2's.

I'm fussing over it in particular in part because A) My Old JBL center is starting to feel extra vague and muddy for some reason and really want to upgrade it hard and B) I was set on Sonus Faber's Venere's stylistically and performance wise until I evaluated their one and only center (which actually wasn't that bad, if not comprable, but yeah, kind of bothered me too).

Budget IS a concern, and the price point of the CM2S2 at 1200 is a bit stiff, but I might try and haggle that down a little (or hope it goes down a little by the time I buy). For the right product I was willing to go up a tad (and given the Diamonds were just a bit too much, I thought this would be a nice place to settle on). Since I'm only getting the CM6S2's for fronts and have my older speakers for the rest, at least I dont have to worry about spending money on anything else, not to mention they're the first speakers I've bought since those JBL's 15 years ago (which has the added benefit of making it so anything I get will likely automatically sound better :p ) .
 
#20,936 ·
If you can swing it the CMC2 S2 is definitely worth it over the smaller center-even if paired with the CM6s.
 
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#20,938 ·
Quick question for you guys. I'm looking at either a used pair of DM560s or 601 S3s. What would you get and why?

I had the chance to listen to some 685s recently and really loved the sound. These speakers will be used almost exclusively for music.
 
#20,939 ·
Hello y'all.
This is my first post on this forum and I would like to thank y'all in advance for any tips and advice.

My name is Vicente and I am currently in the process of purchasing a system for my home. We are wanting this mainly for music and our listening choices are very vast (ranging from classical to rock to hip-hop). We have decided on a 2.1 channel for now and adding surround sound down the road. We have an idea of what we currently want and would love to have any advice on if we seem to be going in the right direction.

The Room is 26.5' x 18.5'.
The speakers: B&W 802 Diamond Series
The subwoofer: SVS SB13-Ultra (Will be purchasing 2 of these)
Pre-Amp: Marantz AV7702 or 8802 (with the plans of going surround sound later)
Amplifier: Rotel RB-1590
Power Conditioner: Furman IT-REFERENCE 20i
Cables: All Audioquest cables
Turntable: Pro-Ject 2Xperience Classic
My Xbox One will be my cd player for now as well.

All Advice and Tips welcome. The furniture in the room will be there to compliment the sound system so placement on the speakers is first priority. Also we will be saving decorations on the wall to accommodate the speakers as well.
 
#20,940 ·
Quick question for you guys. I'm looking at either a used pair of DM560s or 601 S3s. What would you get and why?

I had the chance to listen to some 685s recently and really loved the sound. These speakers will be used almost exclusively for music.
Is there any particular reason why you wish to go with the older models over the 685s? Budget reasons? You can get a used pair of 685s for a similar price to the other models you mentioned.
 
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