B&W 683 floor standers

Thanks guys.

804ilawood: Wow, 380 watts/channel. Are you sure that's OK on these? The max power rating for the 683's is 250W.

Musicnoise: Thanks for the explanation on power ratings of amps vs the speakers they are driving. So what you're saying is that the Rotel 1090 would only actually put out it's full 380 watts/ch at full volume. Is that what you mean by max (full volume)? I never thought it's better to have an amp rated higher than the speakers they're driving. I would have always thought the opposite. It's complicated.

Kbarkamiam: Yes I have heard the 683's once I believe up close being driven by a high powered Rotel amp. From what I can remember, they sounded great but I respect your review and you could be right. That was back in late 2007 and I'll need to audition them again in depth.

When you refer to their previous version, I believe you're talking about the DM604 S3's. Is that correct? Those I had auditioned in depth vs the DM603 S3's back in early 2007 and I went with the 603's. What I'm considering now is upping from my 603's to the 683's which should improve on the bass ext, etc. What would you think of this potential upgrade?

KB:

Thanks very much for your input and opinions. That is great info. I really still love my DM603's. Such detail and soundstage. They're on right now and they're "dancin"!! Broken in beautifully now.

Actually it really all comes down to which CD I'm playing. Right now I have on a smooth jazz CD that was just released by a Brian Simpson (Above the Clouds). It's got plenty of slam and boom. I had to back off on the sub. All of my HDCD's have excellent bass ext too and on most, I have to lower down the sub. It's on those other CD's that sound thin and tinny where I could use more. But if I upgrade to a boomier pair of main speakers such as the F12's, then I'll have too much when I'm playing the better CD's. It's one of those interesting dilemmas.

Actually I made a decision to go the route of an improved room treatment instead. The room is on the ground floor with an oversized sliding glass door covered by a very large drape. The drape is rather thin and translucent and about 11 years old. It's time for a new one. We're going to replace it with a thicker more thermally insulated top quality custom made curtain of a darker color with inner and outer linings. We had the curtain lady over today. This will not only keep the room warmer in the winter but clearly improve the overall sound. It will also keep light out in the daytime when closed also improving sound during daylight hours. The news that stunned me is that a custom made pair of drapes this size with two linings, etc is going to run close to $1K. Can you believe that? I'm a guy. What the heck do I know about bloody curtains? Well, I know now !!

I'll try and get a listen to those Revel F12's. I've read about them and they have rec'd great reviews. You've peaked my curiosity. Thanks again!!