B&W Owner's Thread - Page 16

Sweet!

Scandio- that is one great looking setup. I like the clean minimalist look.

New Member to checking in! I have a pair of B&W 604 S3 and an older pair of DM600i.

Welcome!

Do you use the 604s in a 2 channel setup, or as fronts with the older 600i as surrounds? I'm curious about the 600i as well - I wonder how they compare with the current DM600 S3 series?

Bill

I did listen to the 603s3 this weekend and really liked the sound (although I was spoiled a little bit by the 800Ds in the next room). The sales rep there thought the CC6 was a good match for the 603s3 but now I hear 2 suggestions to the contrary. Is there that big a difference from the "series 1" like I have now and the s3? Also, how do you think the Denon AVR-687 will sound with these?

Interesting. I see that the Triangle Antal gets the thumbs up in that review - I've auditioned the Celius which is just above them in the Esprit line and they've had "best" ratings in mags here in Norway too. To me the sound was awful with a wide variety of music. And I mean really awful - harsh and thin.

Maybe if you like the B&W sound it's unlikely that you'll like Triangle and vise versa.

I have a pair of 804S and for space reasons I purchased a HTM7 as a center in my HT system.

Well, all I can say is that I'm underwhelmed by the HTM7 - when there's a lot going on in the center channel speech becomes muddy (it's not excellent to start with) and no amount of "tweaking" seems to help.

So, I've been considering hanging my plasma on the wall and moving the electronics off of the current A/V rack into a HiFi rack and placing it to one side which will then give me the space for a HTM3 under the plasma.

Auditioning a HTM3 is not easy here! Has anyone else gone the HTM7 -> HTM3 route? Was it orders of magnitude better or should I be looking for a different center?

I went from the HTM7 to the HTM1D and it was orders of magnitude better. I had to rearrange my entire set up to get there since I had my plasma on a credenza. So I had to mount the plasma on the wall and move the equpment to the side wall just as you appear to be contemplating. BTW: getting the credenza out from between the L/R spearkers helped a lot with imaging.

Yes I have. I was running 804s with the HTM7 for a while but noticed a difference between the left/right and the center especially in multichannel audio. Changing to the HTM3S made it seamless. I do notice the better low freqs handling of the HTM3S too.

I do not see as much improvement in HT. The voices are clearer, but not enough to make the difference.

I would say if you listen to multichannel music, go with the HTM3S. If you use the center channel just for movies, HTM7 would be enough.

In my humble opinion.

You are probably correct that HT is generally less demanding than music and probably it is not as big of an issue. Still for me really clear dialog in movies is important and my experience with the HTM7 v HTM1D is that there was a marked improvement in clarity of dialog. I guess it would be the same with the HTM3S and if he is using the 804s up front it would be a better tibmre match than the HTM7.

I'm glad you like the HTM1D, but I had to laugh when I read your post:

If the HTM1D is an order of magnitude better than the HTM7, you did amazingly well, since they only cost an order of magnitude more!!! How often does that happen in HT - normally spending an order of magnitude more gets you only 10-20% improvement.

Honestly, comparing a $750 speaker to a $8000 speaker is hardly fair.

BTW, I have an HTM7 (and 703's), and for the money, I'm "ok" with it. I agree with the general consensus that they are not a great match for the 703's, but they have a good WAF (important!), don't require a second mortage, and overall sound ok with movies. I'm sure I'll upgrade someday...

(edit: note that this isn't intended to be a glowing endorsement of the HTM7, just in case I wasn't clear enough).

-Reid

Hey guys, no need to argue.

I was hoping that there would be an overwhelming consensus that the FST in the HTM3S would improve the dialogue somewhat - multi-channel music is not and issue and I'm not so fussy that I find any problem with the current 804S/HTM7 voice matching but the muddy dialogue is really irritating.

I'll admit I'm a bit disappointed with B&W's line of centers - I'd really like to see an FST-based center in the $1500 price range. Don't know why this isn't feasible, the 703's have an FST, and are $1500/ea. I'd also prefer the form factor of the LCR600's. The upper end B&W centers are -huge-.

-Reid

Yes, I agree - the reason I didn't buy a HTM3S to start with was because of its size but it is also a little galling to have to pay so much for a decent FST center (3,100 US$ which is as much as a pair of 805S here in fact).

Glad to have amused you and when you consider it your way from the price point of view, I guess it is kind of funny. Still, I was responding to the OP and he was aksing about the difference between a 700 and 800 series center speaker. I thought my experieince would be relevant given that I've had the HTM7 and the HTM1D which of course is not the same as the HTM3S but it's a cousin. I don't remember the price of the HTM3S but I think it's a lot more expensive than the HTM7 even if it's not as expensive as the HTM1D.

I have a question about setup.

Currently i have my L/C/R speakers set to LARGE. I'm in the market for a high-output, high-sound quality sub. If I can adjust my x-over from 40Hz -100Hz am i better off setting my speakers to SMALL with a low X-over point e.g; 40-50Hz, or setting them all to LARGE? I'd like to play my speakers above reference levels and i assume having the x-over with filter out the very lowest frequencies from damaging the speakers at loud levels.

How would you folks setup the these speakers?

BTW, speakers are:

804s
HTM3s


Thanks,
STeve

STeve,
While others may promote this one or that one, you might want to check out HSU subs. The ultimate choice will be according to your ears, but for me after a lot of time and comparing I have an HSU STF-3 that I love paired with my 604s, PLUS it also has the WAF.

..Mark

I'm assuming you're using some type of surround processor if you can select small or large. I have a pair of 804s (the original, not the new S style) and a CDM-CNT. I use a Velodyne HGS-10. I have my fronts and center set to small so my receiver automatically does the crossover from fronts to sub; I'm fine with this sound except the sub can be very overwhelming (I'm in a apt and actually conside the neighbors).

For music my receiver (B&K 307) has a direct mode which bypasses all processing as well as the sub so I only hear the 804s. I can also setup the receiver for a 2.1 speaker setup; front L&R plus sub, this is nice for music with lots of bass since the 804s are a little lean here (no I'm not a rap fan or anything, rock and blues sounds great with a sub).

To answer your question, I'd recommend setting to small and using a good sub for low frequencies.



How do you like the sound from the HTM3s? I've been thinking of buying one for a long time now but just can't commit. Does the sound balance well with the 804s? I know the HTM is a better speaker, I'm just not sure my factory ears could hear a difference worth a couple grand.

Guys many hour does it take to run in the speakers Iam using a 603 fronts, LCR 60 centre and 600 rears and a Yamaha 2700.

Any suggestion to run it in faster? Is it advisable to keep it runnning at very low volume while iam away from work? Thanks for the advise.

Cheers!

Speakers generally dont need burn in. If they do, it would take at most 10 seconds. Set it up in your room optimally, and you shouldn't hear any difference in the sound quality unless you move your listening position or the speakers around.

Hi everyone! Glad to see there is a positive B&W thread around here. I've been a longtime admirer of B&W speakers even since I was a teenager. I started with a set of 601's and have since pieced together a full set. I'm currently sporting the following:

Main: 603 S3's
Cntr: LCR600 S3
Side: 601 S2's
Rear: 600 S3's
Sub1: Velodyne HGS15X
Sub2: Velodyne SPL1000 (Connected as a center channel sub)
AVR: Denon 3802 (Considering replacing with a 2307CI + Emotiva LPA-1)

Thanks dude that cleared my doubt.

Cheers!

I really liked my 602s3s. I have since moved up to the 705s, but occasionally wonder if they are really as much better as the price difference would indicate. The 602s are so good that a person could easily be satisfied long-term with them.

Thanks for your input,

I'll consider the HSU subs when the time comes.

Not using a processor yet, but will eventually. I like listening to bass and i concur the 804s are a bit on the lean side for me as well. Because of this i will be using a sub for 2.1 stereo. What x-over points did you use with your 804s, I'm thinking of setting mine to 50hz?

The HTM3s is an awesome center channel! I came from using a speaker that came with my plasma as a center to the HTM3s and of course the difference was immense. Dialog sounds very authoritative and "real", special effects like gunshots and blasts sound tight and powerful. The gunshots are amazing on action flicks, I can feel the thump from the bass just from the center!

I use my system for 60% movies-TV/40% music, and because the center channel is the most important for movies and TV i invested in the HTM3. I compared it against the HTM4s and the match with my 804s was better with the HTM3, it's basically an 804s on its side. I sometimes listen to 5 Channel stereo across the front speakers and the sound of all three speakers blend seamlessly together (3-channel stereo really because i dont have rear speakers yet!)

If your setup can accommodate the bigger center, I would get the HTM3.

That sounds promising. I've just got a mail back from the sole deal of B&W here and it looks as if I'll be able to get a demo of the thing. I hope it lives up to your description.

Totally agree...

I had a pair of 602S3 and a CDM NT center channel...AWESOME falls short to describe the experience, really!

Since then, I've traded up to the 603S3 and a LCR600 for center channel...although the 603S3 are better for bass clarity, the improvement has been marginal somewhat...

I went to my B&W dealer yeaterday to ask for surround speakers recommendations (I'm building a new home) and he offered me a pair of 804S for $3500...I was so close to buying them...

Another option is to consider the SVS line. They are really good performers for the money and the SVS support is very good. I've never heard them but the general consensus is that Velodynes are top of the line performers (but at top of the line prices).

Looking forward to your observation. For me it was a HUGE upgrade!

Yes, definately the SVS line. Now that they ship to Canada i will look at those subs as well.

The JL subs have sparked my interest as well.