B&W DM604 S2 worthy upgrade from DM603 ?

Thanks for the replies! Unless someone chimes in with something that changes my mind, I think I'll save my money for some other toy!

I'm not as critical of quality as I suspect some of the folks on Audiogon are. I've spent a relatively small amount of money getting a relatively good surround sound system and I'm happy with it. I just realized my Velodyne subwoofer is 17 years old and still going strong, which means my B&Ws are about the same age. If I haven't found a need to upgrade in 17 years, I don't see any reason to do it now, especially for a "slight difference". No need to fix what isn't broken!

First, I don't see much benefit in having those big 603's as rear surrounds...they'll do nothing for 2-channel music listening, obviously, but even with movies or multi-channel music I don't see them making much difference given the way music and movies are mixed and the content that is distributed to the back channels with multi-channel music or movies. It's usually just ambient sounds, environmental sounds, which will gain very little in going from the 601 to the 603.

This was true years ago, however today all channels are discrete, uncompressed, and full bandwidth. A sound may move through the room in anyway imaginable, or be fixed at any place in the room, therefore any two or more speakers may be used to create the sound. Take a look at this picture. Obviously, that jet would sound the same using identical speakers for the front and rear, however using very small rear speakers compared to the front will result in that 747 jet on the front sounding like a much smaller aircraft on the rear. Ideally the best home theater would have identical speakers all the way around, however this is usually not practical without a dedicated room. Take a look a this article, especially the last line. Obviously, action movies will benefit the most from the upgrade, and IMHO, there will be much more than a "slight difference".

So the question becomes, how much difference between the 603 and the 604S2 - the main functional difference being the extra woofer.

Actually, more than just a extra woofer. Series 2 improvements over Series 1 include the following,

1) Redesigned woofers for a much stiffer cone.

2) Redesigned midrange with added phase plug.

3) Redesigned tweeter with Nautilus technology. This also applies to the CC6 S2.

Again, IMHO, there will be more than a "slight difference" between your DM603 and the DM604 S2.

So yes, I recommend the upgrade, but only at a reasonable price, and maybe negotiate to take the CC6 S2 for a better deal.

Hmmm. Now I'm thinking again. What would you say is a "reasonable price" or are we supposed to talk money in the forum? $400/pr, $600/pr, $800/pr? Rather than really asking what they are worth, what I have to determine is - how cheap do I need to get them in order to not be disappointed that I spent the money. Even $800 wouldn't break my bank, but I'd hate to waste it when I could spend it on something else that would make me happier.

And even though I don't have a room that would lend itself to 7.1, I can easily put the DM601 towers in the rear without them looking out of place, so aesthetics is not really a concern.

@Tls49, that's good info regarding the distribution of content across multichannel, I'm glad you pointed all of that out. Using that info, it sounds like more of a benefit than I thought, in re-purposing the 603 from front to back.

Thanks, Bcgator, glad to help.

Smhyde, here's the MSRP for the speakers when new,

DM604 S2 - $1600/pr

CC6 S2 - $350/ea

Assuming the speakers function perfectly, IMHO, price would be an absolute maximum of $650 for the DM604 S2's, and $150 for the CC6 S2, and they would need to be in perfect cosmetic condition with original shipping cartons, carpet spikes, and rubber feet. Ideally, somewhat less would be better, and adjust price for any cosmetic issues. If there is a functional issue, or any physical damage to a driver, price should drop dramatically, as parts are expensive, and it would be best to check availability. It may be possible to see prices higher than this on ebay, which is usually due to a bidding war between two potential buyers, and the seller still has fees of 15-20% after the sale.

If you do decide to go for the DM604 S2's, I would also get the CC6 S2. This would keep a match for the front three speakers, and the Nautilus tweeter in the CC6 S2 is definitely better than the tweeter in the CC6.