Sound, Build quality, Look

No "real wood" veneer finish

I currently own a pair of Polk Audio RT35i as surrounds on my home theater system. I decided to brought them to my local Hi-Fi shop to directly compare them with the B&W DM 601 S2.

Both set of speakers were connected to the same amp and CD player (Cambridge Audio) and were placed on identical stands.

On more agressive music, like Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring, Korn and so on, it was very difficult to tell a difference between the two models. The Polks having a little more base (maybe because of the Power Port). Both me and the owner of the store were very impressed by the Polks at this point.

On softer music, like some Smashing Pumpkins acoustic tracks, Radiohead, Portishead and some Jazz, the B&W began to show their superiority. The twitter was more precise and the soundstage a little wider. The vocals, piano and guitar seems a little more "alive".

The B&W looks better, though the Polks looks good too. The cabinet is a little bit better on the Polks (real wood veneer, heavier...) even the owner of the store admit it. The kevlar driver of the B&W is superior then the one found on the RT35i.

In conclusion, the B&W deliver an overall superior sound quality then the Polks, that only serious listeners will notice with good Hi-End gears. Don't expect to notice a difference if you are feeding them with a 250$ Sony receiver.

In think that the B&W worth the extra buck if you are not only listening to "heavy" music and own Hi-End amp and CD player. If you are on a budget,then seriously consider the Polk Audio RT35i.

I decided to buy them but I'm not sure anymore if I will sell my Polks.

Similar Products Used:

Polk Audio RT35i, Bose 301 Serie IV (sound almost as bad as my 40$ Alarm/CD Combo), JBL N28 (pretty good)

Sound, Build quality, Look

No "real wood" veneer finish

I currently own a pair of Polk Audio RT35i as surrounds on my home theater system. I decided to brought them to my local Hi-Fi shop to directly compare them with the B&W DM 601 S2.

Both set of speakers were connected to the same amp and CD player (Cambridge Audio) and were placed on the same kind of stands.

On more agressive music, like Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring, Korn and so on, it was very difficult to tell a difference between the two models. The Polks having a little more base (maybe because of the Power Port). Both me and the owner of the store were very impressed by the Polks at this point.

On softer music, like some Smashing Pumpkins acoustic tracks, Radiohead, Portishead and some Jazz, the B&W began to show their superiority. The twitter was more precise and the soundstage a little wider. The vocals, piano and guitar seems a little more "alive".

The B&W looks better, though the Polks looks good too. The cabinet is a little bit better on the Polks (real wood veneer, heavier...) even the owner of the store admit it. The kevlar driver of the B&W is superior then the one found on the RT35i.

In conclusion, the B&W deliver an overall superior sound quality then the Polks, that only serious listeners will notice with good Hi-End gears. Don't expect to notice a difference if you are feeding them with a 250$ Sony receiver.

In think that the B&W worth the extra buck if you are not only listening to "heavy" music and own Hi-End amp and CD player. If you are on a budget,then seriously consider the Polk Audio RT35i.

I decided to buy them but I'm not sure anymore if I will sell my Polks.

Similar Products Used:

Polk Audio RT35i, Bose 301 Serie IV (sound almost as bad as my 40$ Alarm/CD Combo), JBL N28 (pretty good)

Nautilus tweeter, Kevlar Mid range, A Great Speaker!! Bargain buy!

None

Please see part 1 under B&W 302s.

THE STORY CONTINUES:


BUILD QUALITY HIGH:
The first thing I noticed out of the box was the 601s2s additional weight. Weighing in at a healthy 13.5 lbs, I knew I had more speaker. Popping off the grill revealed the woven yellow kevlar cone mid-range and the Nautilus metal dome tweeter. An inspection of the speaker showed it to be a vented box system, a design which is known to make the most of the mid-range.

KEVLAR MIDRANGE
Any company that makes its midrange out of Kevlar is all right with me. Kevlar is a material developed and manufactured by DuPont; it is the material used in the helments worn by soldiers in the US Army.

BI-WIRABLE
I was surprised to see two sets of binding posts for bi-wiring. I am currently single wiring the system so that applies to this review. B&W is a proponent of bi-wiring, as it is unusual to see it offered on products in this price range.

HOW ABOUT SOUND THEN?
Great technology at a great price, yes. But what about performance. I tried out first the sonically challenging Mozart Piano Concerto #16. I was immediatedely thrilled with the speakers performance, even though they were not yet "burned in". (I supplemented bass with my B&W AS1000 subwoofer, an extraordinary piece also). The lows, with the help of the sub were solid and never muddled. The midrange had plenty of punch (powered by my Yamaha 596 100 watt AV receiver). On Joan Baez's CD for female vocals, high range performance was stellar. Many nuances of her voice were revealed which were lacking with the B&W 302s (my previous speakers).

HIGH PRAISE
The 601s were flawless, even when pushed. With the help of the 596 receiver, they through out a focused, well defined sound stage located between the speakers. The kevlar mid range nailed the sound of drums and guitar plucking perfectly, I often got the impression the performance was actually taking place in front of me.

BASS
One criticism of the 601s is bass handling ability. I am not getting into this because they need a subwoofer. With the sub (spectral integration took a while, but once correct was excellent) the bass was capable of great lows and never muddy. I set the setting on the Yamaha to "small" for main speakers, I highly recommend this. Send the low end signals to the sub.

HOME THEATER MODE
In H.T. mode these speakers again excelled. Here much credit goes to the matched B&W CC6. Dialog was clear and intelligible, something which is more rare than it should be in centerchannels. The point is, match this center to the B&W 601s for great home theater.

OKAY TO PUSH THESE SPEAKERS
Also, because of the sturdy construction of the 601s and CC6, I could crank loud tracks in movies (explosions, gunfire) and not having to worry about damaging the speaker. Remember the Kevlar and the army helmets? A comforting thought compared to the paper cones of the 302s, which I did worry about damaging.

SUMMARY
If you are a budget audio enthusiast and looking for a great set of main speakers, the 601s are fantastic. You get the technology of the more expensive models, at a great price. They are a worthwhile step up from the 302s, and more suitable as mains.

MY SYSTEM
If you are looking for a system in the under $4,000 range, I would encourage you to look at my system as a model, listed below. This is a "best buy" type system, but will smoke many high end systems that cost alot more:


Main speakers: B&W 601s2
Rear Speakers: *B&W 302s
Sub woofer: B&W SW1000
AV Receiver: *Yamaha 596
TV Monitor: Toshiba V51

*See my reviews.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 302s, JBL

Price, good sound quality for the money, good power handling for a small speaker and cabinet.

tend to sound, lack authoratative bass output, highs can become bright at times.

I have a pair of 601's and have been both pleased and disappointed at the same time. The price of these speakers is the strong point. for around 200 - 250 a piece they sound very nice. Bass is a little weak but what do you except from a 6.5, that's not that big a problem. The problem is when listening to music especially vocals the speakers tend to sound very tiny and lacking depth. Soundeffects on the other hand with dd sound very good. My only complaint is with playing music the sound is too muffled and the highs can tend to get bright especially with female vocals. My suggestion is go with 603's or higher to get a more fuller sound (602's also tend to sound tiny but not as bad). I will upgrade to 603's in the near future with the 601's demoted to rear channels which should be what they only should be used for anyway. Overall a good speaker for dd, but not for detailed music recordings.

Best sounding speakers for the money.

A bit more bass would have been good at low frequencies.

For the price you pay you could not buy a better sounding set of speakers in my view, however it should be said that each individual's taste in how a set of speakers should sound differ from person to person, at the end of the day if you feel that 'xyz' speakers sound good to you then that's what's good.

As for the B&W DM601 S2 they are great sounding speakers for the money you pay. Before deciding to buy these I did a lot of demos during a 3 month period with a lot of other well known brands of speakers and these were the best for the money and best sound for this price range.

The more you use them the better they get, I guess they need to burn-in a bit.

I am very happy with the speakers, may be at a later date I will buy an active sub which will give me low frequency bass.

Remember to bi-wire them for best results.

Overall great sounding speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Jamo Cornnet III

Midrange, Bass

Look

My current system:
Denon 2801 receiver,
B&W DM 602 S2 front,
B&w CC3 center,
B&W DM 302 rear,
Paradigm PDR-10 subwoofer

These speakers have clear and deep sound. I bought them based on comparison I made in some audio shops and based on reviews here. Now I know that I made the right choice... I just like the sound of them.
I like the bass. For a bookshelf, it is great. And if bass is lacking, the PDR-10 compensate it.

Excellent imaging, highs, bass, built

This is clearly a best buy. I am using the B&W´s with Audio Research gear and the result is simply stunning. I do not know what other reviewers here mean by "weak bass". My 601´s go down to 40 Hz which is enough for me. Commentary of my daughters when they heard the loudspeakers: "Krass", which is German and means something like "whicked". You know what I mean. They were impressed.So am I.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 731 i, otherwise non-similar like big Magnepans

Well balanced, amazing mids and highs, good bass extension. High building quality. Very good soundstage. Excellent driving capability.

none.

I have a pair of the old 601 and now a pair of the new 601 S2 too, using mainly for classical and jazz music. B&W has made a great step forward by the improvements on this product! I could direct compare the two types. Coloration is smaller, bass is tighter and the distortions are lower on higher sound pressure as well. They need longer break-in period. Bi-wiring and quality driving are important. Great speakers, I think they are the best in their price range.

Similar Products Used:

DM 601

System equipment friendly.

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What a great sounding speaker for the price. System friendly and very good bass response for such a small speaker. I can now listen to my cd collections again. I highly recommend this speakers.

Amazing sound for a small speaker.
reasonable price for high quality speaker.

Non.

Great speaker for the price.
Good bass, amazing high's and mid's.
definitely worth 5 stars.