2. amps-preamps
  3. 1143228048

Bad Experience with B&W's: Anyone else?

I have just sold a pair of B&W DM 602 S3. I have recently moved to the US and my idea was to have a neat but not too expensive sound equipment. I bought a Consonance CD120 (which is excellent), an Arcam A80, and finally, I decided to buy the B&W's. Five years ago, I had a pair of DM602's Series 1, and they were very good with a Sansui amplifier that I had. The midrange was excellent, the upper end was reasonable and the bass was a bit boomy...but I really enjoyed those speakers and was satisfied by their performance.

My experience with the 602's Series 3 was COMPLETELY different. In my opinion, these speakers are too laid back, with distant, timid, shut-in midrange. They have far superior bass than their previous version, but there must have been some trade-off here: they sacrificed the midrange for a more controlled bass.

Do you guys share my views? Or are you owners of the 602 S3 offended by my remarks?

Paulo

P.S. I use good Kimber cables in my system. My room is the average size, with wall to wall carpet. The conditions are similar to those I had in Brazil 5 years ago, with the 602 S1.
figueiredops
5 responses Add your response
briman340demon
2 posts
 
I would suggest bi-wiring :
B&W speakers are like night and day depending on wiring , quality of wire and connectors . I might add B&W love clean power so to get full benefit of these speakers "current" is the word.
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
4,164 posts
 
1. They needed break in. Playing time about 500 hours.
2. B&W speakers will benefit from more power.
3. Use only bi-wire speaker cables. In a worst case scenario, if using single run, connect them to the upper binding posts, not the lower ones.
But you sold them already, so...
drobbins
20 posts
 
I'm not someone who has a long history with B&W, but I did have a pair of 602 S3's and didn't like them. I think the problem with the midrange is related to dispersion - I had to lock my head within a 1-inch window to really hear the midrange do what it was supposed to do. Having to wiggle my head to hear the speakers perform got annoying after a while, and made placement tricky. Outside of the sweet spot, the music really suffered and sounded "squished".
mphillips35
3 posts
 
Hello there, Im curious to know if you ever tried any other type of power for your 602s3's. The new series 3 has much better extended highs than all previous models in that line. I recently sold mine to go to the floor standers to save on subwoofer costs. I may end up going back to them eventually. I think its your Arcam thats the problem. Try an integrated Rotel if funds are limited at the 100 watt point or more. B&W needs good quality power, and that goes for all their models. If you really want to hear a treat try a krell 400xi or even a high powered reciver, not to mention good old separates. Good luck!
owl's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
owl
139 posts
 
To add to your experience, the 602Series2 does NOT have any of the characteristics you mention for the Series 3 either. Do you know what changes they made to S3 for such a dramatic alteration of their sonic signature?
Log in to respond
More to discover
80x80
Ayon Audio Ayon Triton EVO Mono Amps Pure Class A
80x80
Krell Illusion II
80x80
Marantz SR8012