I auditioned Many different speakers including the Paradigm LCR-150's, Titans and Mini-monitors; Energy Pro 3.5's; Boston Accoustics something-and-another; PSB 400i; and B&W 302's and 601's.
The 601's are DEFINATELY the best speakers in the group. They come from a long line of quality speakers with a distinct B&W sound that is amazing. Wonderful natural sound, great mid-band. Needs a sub for HT though. Amazing soundstage for money. GREAT VALUE/PRICE!

That small speaker really can express music. It's low frequencies are not enthousiastic, but it has a pretty good mid/low frequency, that would allow you to confine your subwoofer (which is recommended with those speakers) to the lowest frequencies and let the DM-601 handle the bang! Other then that it is the best speaker I have heard in this region of price, and it has a big advantage in voices, and piano

It get's busted really easyly and I have spent a fortune in service.

I totally recommend it, as long as you can pay for the service. I am allmost in love with that speaker, but I miss it when it's out of order. Powerfull, I would give it 5 stars if it wasn't for the service budjet

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too many

Smooth, laid back, a bit airy

Limited bass

I have been using these speaker for a several year and these babies getting better and better when i play them. Compare to those expensive speaker like Totem Acoustic Arro purchased about year ago, i believe the B&W 601 are the best buy speaker. In term of sound, totem arro speaker produce kind of tranparency and lack of bass, it's good if matchs with tube amp like Audio Note which i'hv been listen to a dealer shop. Now my Arro Speaker are coincide with Acoustic Researh sub-woofer use as home theater and place them in my living room, the sound are excellent! However, i listen more to music and separate my equipment so call 'high end' in the bedroom.

For those who are on budget and love bookshelf speaker, i recommend B&W 601 is a good buy and you can't go wrong. Don't take my words, listen before you buy. Adios...... ;)


My reference component and tested with :-

1) Own-self made, power distributor terminated with AFA(Hera) cable

2) Audioquest AC12 power cord link to Classe 151 integrated amp

3) XLO Reference2 AC power cord link to Rotel-991 Audiophile Editon CD player

4) Straightwire Maestro interconnect

5) MIT MH-750 speaker cable

6) Speaker tested - B&W 601 and Totem Arro

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Totem Acoustic Arro

Kevlar!

Bass!

A pretty little speaker. Beautiful vocals. Clear highs and mids. However, the bass is lacking. You need a sub to really get the most from your music. When I finally get out of my tiny apartment, these will become my surrounds, or maybe my living room speakers. The yellow drivers match the front of my Technics TX-50 almost perfectly!
Considering the size, these pack an incredibly clear punch.

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Polk

I have owned a set of the B&W DM610's for about 3 years and am still enjoying the great sound from them. They are very detailed and articulate, especially on jazz. Gets 5 stars:

I recently auditioned two systems for home theater (Yamaha RX-V2092 receiver - forgot the DVD player):
1) fronts - NHT1.2, center and surrounds - NHT SuperOnes
2) fronts - B&W 602, center - B&W CC6, surrounds - B&W 601

The NHT speakers were nice but different sounding than the B&W speakers. I find myself leaning towards the B&W system as it sounded a little more crisp with more punch in the bass than the NHT system. The 601s make great rear speakers for an AC-3 home system. They definitely have the range required by the Dolby Digital format. These puppies retail for $400, but I found a store in Los Angeles selling B&W speakers around 15% below retail.

I highly recommend the 601s as part of a home theater system. I would advise anyone to audition before purchasing any speakers :)

the B&W 601s are first rate speakers. They excel in the midrange and work magic with vocals! They tend to be warm speakers and are quite open when you toe them in a bit. I've found that the best placement is about two feet from the walls to produce bass which is fairly tight and composed. Before I bought the 601s I auditioned NHT Superones, KEF Q15s, Paradigm Minimonitors, and the Mission 750LE. I liked the Missions and the Superones, but felt that the 601s sounded the best! Some of the other speakers mentioned produced deeper bass (especially the Mini Monitors), but none matched the overall sound quality of the B&W 601s.

i just upgraded my home theater speakers (got tired of bose) to bw's, it made me realized how much am missing soundwise on all my audio colletions especially the movies...my DM604, DM601 & CC6 really gave out an stellar performance, now i cant wait to hear how it is gonna sound with dvd's...

i just upgraded my home theater speakers (got tired of bose) to bw's, it made me realized how much am missing soundwise on all my audio colletions especially the movies...my DM604, DM601 & CC6 really gave out an stellar performance, now i cant wait to hear how it is gonna sound with dvd's...

Good dynamic midband let down by poor metallic tweeter. Fairly extended bass too considering it's size, though timing is not up to the mark. There was a definite peak in the lower registers making the bass sound thumpy and single note.
The main criticism with the 601s was the treble. It sounded very metallic and noisy, making the high notes sound artificial. This had a very distracting quality that kept on reminding you that you are listening to the speakers rather than the music.

Best when positioned on tall stands, 2Ms from the rear wall, and driven by a fast & tight sounding amp with a sweet & clean treble.

I would have awarded them 4 stars if the treble was up to the same standard as the midrange.