B&W Owner's Thread - Page 106

I auditioned all three and personally I felt that the 685s were so good that the price jump to the 684s was not in any way justified. The 683s, yes, are an improvement and worth the price. In a 12x13 room, the 685s will do just fine, but you should really try to get an in-home demo set up to try them both out and see what works best for you.

My set is;

Room: 30-35 mt.2
front: 683
center : htm61 (tried htm62 and then go with the 61)
surround: 686
Sub: asw610 (not the xp)
A/V: Yamaha rx-v663 (codes are different from country to country but one of the latest Yamaha model)


HTM61 is a good friend for 683's. I did not like the 62, because it sounded back. I think it is a good match for 685's.

686's are far more enough for an surround(also cheaper). I tried 685's and I did not see any difference. Quite sure stereo perf. is better.

asw 610 is one of the best sub considering it's price. I onlu use is it for movies and it satisfies.

683's are very good front's. Mid range is amazing. Wide stage and 3d music. That's what I love about them. In their price range, they have not any opponents. Bass is too muscular. Positioning them is important. For my system, I think they deserve a stereo amp. I am still looking for it.

Yamaha is the best movie performer, I have auditioned. I tried Harman 357(usd version must be 354), rotel rsx 1057, denon 3808......Yamaha movie performans was the best. Stereo perf. is not goog but also, not bad.

That certainly makes it hard. I'm of two minds on this topic:

I go audition speakers because its fun, I live in a city where there are lots of dealers, and they tolerate me. I don't do it so much to buy new speakers or equipment. Its a hobby, but its a listening hobby, not a buying hobby.

Oh the other hand, the speakers you're considering are all high-quality speakers. Once you get them home - whichever you pick - they will sound great. You could nit-pick any speaker, even at this price range, but its very unlikely you're going to make a mistake with the brands you've talked about, assuming you like them at the store.

As for AVR's: I've A/B'ed AVRs in stores a number of times, and my personal opinion is that the difference between them is vanishingly small, particularly compared to speaker differences. This is not to say there aren't differences, but they are subtle, and I personally don't value them enough to pay for them. (Again, assuming you're considering reasonably high-quality products)

So I wouldn't bother lugging an AVR from store to store. This really is an area where I think you can trust the forums. Or, ask the dealer to hook up several different AVR's to the speakers you're auditioning, and see if you can hear a difference. But even this is challenging - very minor changes in volume can dramatically change the perceived quality of a speaker.

Good luck, and have fun!

-Reid

How far do you place your 683's from the front wall? Did they sound less than ideal when you place them less than 20 inches away from the front wall?

I shall call the dealers and see if they're willing to arrange for an in-home demo. Thanks!

I just got my speakers hooked up and to be honest I'm a bit disapointed... and don't know what to do:


I got 804 front
Integra DTC 9.8
McIntosh MC 252

It sounds very flat and there's no mid bass at all. Doesn't give any dynamic depth or anything. Doesn't sound any better then my bookshelf boston speakers. I know these speakers should sound much better. What am I missing? I heard them at the store with Mac pre/pro and this amp. Is the pre/pro the issue?

I'm thinking bout selling the Integra, and returning the Mac amp and going with some rotel stuff. Mainly for cost. I can't afford to jump up into Mac pre/pro and I'd like something with HDMI switching... I don't know what to do.

I sure in that room they don't sound great. All the reflections off of your wood floor and thin rug. Does you room echo when you slap your hands if so it is your room and no matter how much $ you put into a amp it won't help at all.

I've added a bigger rug and the room doesn't echo much. There really lacks a lot of mid bass and depth in the sound. Is my room just that bed where I won't get good sound at all? It like all the detail is missing from the speakers and they sound like your average tower speakers that you would get in best buy or something

My parents have a M&K system that sounds more musical then my speakers and they also have hard wood floors

I would also look at your speaker placement. Spend alot of time moving them in and out from the sides and the back wall. Also, get some fabric of sorts hanging on the walls(throws etc.). Are you using the floor spikes? Use them with the metal discs to protect your floor. This will make a big difference on mid to bottom end. Soften the room with plants, rugs, furniture and maybe even some painted canvases. You will be surprised as to how this system will open up for you.

Hmmm very intersting... You have phenominal equipment so thats not the problem. Perhaps you have done the setup settings incorrectly...sometimes this can cause night and day differences...I would imagine something is wrong if its as bad as you say it is...but just my .02

knvs: You didn't get the chance to do an in-home demo ahead of time to try and sort these things out? You might want to talk to your dealer and see if he will come take a look at things for you.

I agree that maybe you can get the dealer to come over and find the source of the problem. I doubt I has to do with the Amp or 804S. It could be a wrong setting in the processor.
I have the 804S spekaers with an Outlaw 7500 Amp and get plenty of mid and low bass. But my room is carpeted and has large furnishings and hanging paintings on the wall.

Wow! Really nice stuff - it ought to sound great! Without much info to go on, I have two thoughts:

First, the speakers look like they may be a little too close to the back walls. You might try experimenting with positioning and direction (toeing) - this can have a dramatic impact on the sound.

Second, I wonder if you've just gotten "used to" the sound of the Bostons - I haven't heard Bostons in a few years, but I always thought they sounded a bit heavy or boomy in the midrange and base. If the 804's sound "flat", perhaps you just aren't used to that sound. Flat frequency response is a strength of the B&W's - but I can see how it could take some getting used to. Just a thought.

-Reid

Get the 683 and don't think another thought, lol. If you look back to around page 98 I started out with the 684 set up close to the wall in a similar size room and the 683 is just totally better. Bigger and more realistic soundstage, better/stronger bass, play louder cleaner, etc.etc.


I have the same exact receiver with the same speakers and think it's the best sounding receiver in its price range I ever owned. I like that it has a pure direct mode to bypass all the DSP for stereo listening. I did wind up getting a Emotiva XPA-5 power amp since I ran the Yammy into protection mode more then once in stereo playback with bass intensive music when playing loud (the 3ohm drop was too much current for the playback volume I assume.)

My set up:

front = B&W 683's
center = B&W HTM 61
sidess & rear = B&W DS3
Sub = B&W ASW675
Receiver = Rotel 7 ch 1067
Room = about 13 X 14

The fronts are closer to the back wall than 20" but angled in a bit so it's not a straight line to the back wall, the center is closer than recommended.

Listening is subjective, and it is subjective over time. At first I thought the base was too heavy, so I used the foam plugs, but now I'm running without the plugs.

I think the real challenge that I face is the room...it's too close to a square. Most of the time everything is wonderful...every now and and again certain sustained high frequencies will create an unpleasant resonance. Next up...acoustic treatments.

Ultimately, though, this is "fiddling" with the details. The end result is pretty sweet. This is the "man cave" as my wife has dubbed it. It is my refuge, my solace, my virtual mountain top where I go to experience death defying 7.1 surround theater or nuanced 2 channel music. All should have a such a place, and the 683's in that size of room can be such a place. The 683's are but one possible path, you'll find your path and "get thee to a high mountain."

Thanks for the tips so far. The speakers are about 1.5 feet from the wall right now and I've put a bigger rug in the room. The green pannel is fabric fram so it should absorb some of the sound. I'll try putting more stuff on the walls and see if it helps out.

I've also ran the Audyssey and been using that setting. I have Audioquest CV-8 speaker wires hooked up to the top binding post with jumpers. XLR cables between the pre/pro and amp. The amp is brand new, but I got the speakers used and the integra brand new but on line. Does the amp need to break in?

KNVS,

Your problem sounds like cable problem. Connect them again, change the cables, you have a dream equipment.


Emig5m

Did you biamp yamaha, if you activate the biamp mode surroundbacks gives sound like they are front. Sound is changing like day and night.

683 positioning is not very very important. If you position them well, you will get an balanced sound(only with bass) If you do not position them well, basses sond unbalanced. But at this price range 683's are unrivalled.

Patience. Give yourself some time with the system. Try the suggested changes to positioning and room modifications. Give yourself at least two weeks of listening--relaxed listening--without trying to analyze every high and low. If after that time, you are still not satisified, contact the dealer.

You have a fine setup that should provide years of enjoyment.

I have a pair of B&W 9NTs still in boxes which I bought off Ebay in June, 2007. I've never heard- or seen- them. i'm probably about to buy a Pioneer SC-07 receiver. Someone over on the Pioneer SC-07 and SC-05 AVR thread is saying B&W 804s like a lot of power, and that the 140 WPC SC-07 won't really let them shine. Is this true? If so, then maybe my 9NTs will need some extra power too. I'll be using them as surround speakers. I have mighty Allison Ones as front mains.

There is even discussion over there as to whether the 804s are 8 ohm speakers. That's what the B&W site says, so for sure they are 8 ohm. Maybe some speakers with nominal ratings of 8 ohms like more power than other speakers with nominal ratings of 8 ohms. Are B&Ws noticeably happier with more power?

Actually I never did try biamping the Yamaha. I assume you tried it since you say the sound is night and day? I figured I'd just get the Emotiva amp then I'd have enough power/current for just about any situation. I really like the Yamaha and like the 683s, I don't think it can be beat for the price. Although I'm thinking about looking into the new Emotiva pre/processor when it comes out.

I did wind up playing with the Yamaha auto room correction and it really didn't seem to tone down the bass as much as I expected with the speakers so close to the wall (sounds like it took the edge off a peak but the bass is still about the same strength overall). The Yamaha auto parametric EQ sounds like it pushed the upper mids and lower highs forward more then it messed with the bass.

Swapping back and forth between the pure direct mode that bypasses all EQ/DSP to the auto room correction isn't really much of a difference tonally, but there seems to be a little hole in the upper mids/lower highs that's been filled (sounds more spacial/airy/detailed in the upper end but not like boosting a tone control because tonally it sounds about the same exact.)

Oh and, my 683s are going back to the dealer.

Hi guys, Im new to B&W's. I just wanted to know what kind of speaker is this?

1)





Is the first speaker the better model than the 801 matrix series 2?

2)


How does the first speaker rank from B&W's fleet today? I'm asking because someone is selling it to me; I want to know what is the reasonable price on them.

Yash,
I notice in another thread you mention you have around 3k to 3.5k, try to get a reference of price and what is available from www.audiogon.com.

Personally when it comes to B&W I would either look at the current 803s or 805s that came out around 2005, or the generation they replaced (803n and 805n).
They look very similar but one noticable difference is that the tweeter (sits on top of the box and looks like a microphone) on the replaced generation sits a little further back from the front of the speaker.

I should also say Audiogon is a good place to read about the speakers as people do leave reviews and comments.

The benefit of the "n" or "s" version is it should be easier to listen to these speakers, and I really do advise doing that as their sound is not for everyone it seems, their loss I say
This point though applies to all speakers.

To give yourself a reference point (and this is important) you cannot go wrong with listening to the Monitor Audio GS60 at a dealer.
Out of interest what amp will be used with the speakers your looking at?

Cheers
DT

The new CM speakers (including CM9, CMC-2, CM5,,,) will be out in November here in Tokyo.

I was just about to buy CM7 with CMC or Dali speakers (Dali sounds better in the same price range) when the press release hit Japan. As I want a better center than CMC, I took a look at the news release and found CMC-2, which according to the spec seems to match better with CM7 than CMC.

CMC is really built for CM1 according to my Japanese brochure and when I listen CMC does not exactly match CM7.

How well do CM7 and CMC-2 match each others?

Thanks in advance,
Malin

For the last couple of weeks, I saw lot's of different B&W 5+1 combination alternatives. I know these are very much related with like and budget but still I wonder which set below will have "internally" more harmony?
Dealer suggestion: 683, 685, HTM62, ASW610XP
User's preference: 683, 686, HTM61, ASW610
B&W web page suggeswtion1: 683, DS3, HTM61, ASW610XP
B&W web page suggestion2: 684, 686, HTM62, ASW610

If you're able to afford the 683s, definitely go with them. Personally, I think the 684s are really not enough of an improvement over the 685s to justify the price. The 685s are truly remarkable. The key is what YOU like best. If your preference is the 686s as rears, go with that. Frankly for surrounds you really won't notice much of a difference 90% of the time between the 685s and 686s. With the 683 fronts you'll probably want the HTM61 center. As for the sub, just consider what size room you have and what kind of usage it will see. Personally, I found the B&W subs to be the weak point in the system and bought an SVS instead - MUCH more bang for the buck.

User's preference: 683, 686, HTM61, ASW610

These are my girls and I love them....

heck ya, i have the 683s 686s and DS3s as well, but i also have the MFW-15 which is pretty awesome

if i had to put a gender to these speakers it would deffinately have to be men lol while my sub would be Jabba the Hutt

My room size is app 18m2. I wil use them 70% for concert / music DVDs, 25% for music CD and 5% for movie. I like to fell the bass hits and think as if I am at the concert.

Stick with the B&W then, it's VERY musical.

683’s, HTM 61, DS3 (4 of them), Sub = B&W ASW675. 7.1 config, but you get the picture.

Thoughts: I love my speakers.

Recommendations: HTM61 all the way...no question. DS3's, expensive, but nice...I think you can be a lot more flexible with the surrounds since they're trying to create a mood and blend into the back ground...at times you'll wonder if any sound is coming from them at all. Spend as little as you need to "set the mood." Subs - not real popular with the forums or the dealers...so I went with a prior year model...and I like the results.