Accuracy, Great upper end, sound stage,

None

I have had these speakers for a few weeks now and could not be happier.

After demoing in my home several different speakers, Paradigm Mini Mon, B&w 305, I decided on these guys.

After making my decision I started to have buyers remorse and returned the 602 and got the Paradigm Mini mon and a center CC 350. I rationalized that for the price of the B&W I could get a decent sounding pair of paradigms with a center channel to boot for roughly the same price.

I still thought the B&W had subperb sound but tried to save a few bucks and finish my system out. ( I already had a set of Paradigm Titans that I had moved to the rear.)

Everything was peachy untill I hooked up the CC350 center. After several frustrating hours I determined that I had an out of box failure. The damn thing was distorting like crazy!!!!

Needles to say this soured me on the Paradigm solution and I returned them and got back the 602's.

I cant tell you how happy I am that things happened as they did.

First and formost My dealer, Hillcrest High Fidelity, allowed me to audition the speakers at home. And naturally allowed me to return the defective unit and go back to the 602's.

I might add that I auditioned other speakers in the over 1000 range and found nothing worth spending the extra dollars for. For me these guys do everything I want. Great music, great HT, and they look great also.

If you are currently in the market I would advise you to do some serious listiening to the 602. Be careful of your ears first reaction when auditioning these especially in a quick AB comparison. Depending on what speaker you are comparing them to they can sometimes have a harsh sound which may be a turn off. (I urge you to continue to listen and let your ear get accustomed to the natural sound of these guys. I would also urge you to set the speakers up at the dealer so you can find the sweat spot for sound staging. These things are uncanny at putting vocals and percussion in the center of the stage.) Then listen to the other speakers and you will no dought hear the difference.I noticed other speakers sounding artificial with vocals being chesty, colored and nasal.

In some of the other reviews here some people complain about the bass being less than they expected. I personally think the bass is tight and articulate when these are used alone but would add that I do have a sub to help out in this area.

As for giving the speakers a demerit for the bass reproduction, I would advise people to read the specs before they buy anything. Your not going to get earthquakes from a speaker specified to 50 Hz.

For my money, these are the best thing going period.

I have these paired with a Yamaha RXV995 for those interested.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm

very detailed, great "presence",nice bass for the size

bolted together but well done

bought these as an upgrade from b&w's nice 305 floorstanders
the big debate at the store was are they really that much better? but then I noticed that they were in a shelf surrounded on three side's and thought that if they sound
this good maybe they are worth a try. when I first I hooked
them up I called the dealer because they sounded so good I
thought they might be repacks (they sounded burned in already) he assured me that they werent. the presence was so
much more substantial which I also noticed with my friends
602's, and my somewhat sloppy bass (which I thought was
from my cheap sub) tightened up substantialy. my old 305's
must have been the culprit. but where was the nortorious
lenghty burn in required by b&w products? well, last night,
while brushing the old molars and listening to 'tenor
madness" on digital cable I heard the sweetest smoothest
sax ever to come across on a stereo the presence and precise vocals are still there but the highs are smoother
and everythings more locked in. b&w is the patron saint of
poor music lovers the world over. these are very nice speakers for the price and definitely worth the extra
green over the cheaper line. I am currently debating
the purchase of 601's for the back channels or wait and see
if the cdm line might be worth the cash, putting these in the back.whatever I do I'm definitely sticking with this brand. you cant beat a good pair of authenic hi-fi speakers
for less than 600 bucks and if even thats too high check
out their new line of 303's. you migh think "well, everybody's got these and everybody raves about them and its
just too obvious a choice" well, sometimes the obvious
choice is the best choice. b&w just happened to get
everything right in these speakers, and when you factor
in the price, what else is there to consider?

Similar Products Used:

b&w 305

Pure, Uncolored Sound; Depth of Soundstage

Width of Soundstage

My dealer had to order the 602's, so he allowed me to demo a pair of 601-s2's while I waited. Candidly, I liked them so much I wasn't sure I'd want the 602's, but now that I have them I'm just delighted.

As is the style of the British, the 602's have a pure, uncolored sound. The highs & mids are simply beautiful. And in spite of what I've read below, the bass is just fine. Okay, I use a sub and think a system isn't complete without one. But if you don't have a sub in your current system and you're looking at the 602's, I don't think you'll need to buy one because of any bass deficiency - though you really should consider adding one at some point, regardless of what mains you select.

The imaging is great and the soundstage varies. Depth & height are excellent, while most of the sound remains between the speakers (though on a couple of cuts the width did in fact expand significantly - interesting).

In the short time I've had these I've put them through their paces. Not sure about the reality of "breaking in" speakers, but clearly there's no harm. I played them at moderate volume for several hours with various styles of music while I went about other business. Since then I've listened to pop, rock, classical, jazz, DVD movies -- everything except hard rock & opera -- and EVERYTHING sounds absoultely super. In spite of what my wife thinks, I don't tend to play anything toooooo loud, so I can't tell you what they sound like when you blast them.

If you're looking for a pair of mains that work well in an average environment with any type of music, you'd be well served to take a close look at these. I paid $600 at Woodbridge Stereo and am driving them with a Yamaha 995.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601-S2, Point Source Audio, Bose 901

Clarity, warmth, presentation, detail.

N/A

I will begin with saying, "Listen and you'll see." That really sums it up.
I absolutely love these speakers. I originally had them powered by a JVC receiver (yuck)...now I have a pair of Parasound monoblocks pushing them. Regardless, they sounded great either way.
They are an excellent value if you are looking for detailed, warm sound.
I did a LOT of listening to speakers in this price range and nothing touched these. These are reasonable in price and you can grow with them.

My system:
Rotel RC-972 preamp.
Parasound HCA-1201A monoblock power amps.
Cambridge Audio DACMAGIC2
Yamaha 5 disc CD changer(transport)
Kimber Kable PBJ interconnects
Musical Fidelity X-10D

Similar Products Used:

Demoed Definitives, Mirage, NHT, Boston Acoustics, JBL (not like they deserve to be in the same breath)

Warmth, clarity, low distortion, scale and dynamics

Bass is lacking by best standards, in quantity rather than quality; needs careful matching to your equipment/room

I' ve been looking for these speakers for some time. Judging by their smaller brothers, the 302's, they should be great, I thought. I listened to the 302 on an old Luxman amp and with Yamaha cdx890 cd player.
Finally I ordered the 602's by mail, so I didn't have any chance to listen to them prior to their arrival.
In my small box-like apartment the setup I had sounded very well, although it lacked scale and dynamics.Then I changed the Luxman amp with a brand new DENON PMA 1500R amp, a behemoth of power on the paper, even more in reality. Something did not sound right afterwards..
:) And then I got the B&W 602'S. Wow, I said, now it's all right. It sounded fast, dynamic, plenty of scale, good high frequencies, reasonable bass for my room, which is far from being an ideal listening area - too absorbant.I knew kevlar cones take time to warm up and tune in, so I kept them singing.
After some time, I discovered that I didn't like the amount of high frequency sounds. The 302's seemed to have more, although a little rougher. Then I identified a dip in the presence region, a pit where certain sounds disappeared.
I tried several cables...Moved the boxes along different walls...Changed standers hight...Changed the angle..Nothing worked very well. It did improve, ok.
Now, after more than one year, I think, they are good value for money, fairly neutral, suit many musical styles with the exception of the very heavy ones.Particularly classical music fares better.
Even handed in the British tradition, but don't expect them to break your windows when playing Bach's organ Toccatta & Fugue... Listen to them with the amp you're using!Before buying, if possible...
Anyway, they're more convincing than the JBL LX2, although I miss their vitality and detail.
I use them single wired with German made Cobra silver mix, on sand filled Partington stands; I listen to prog rock, soft rock,disco, electronic, country and a lot of classical music.
It's a good speaker, I hope it's clear from my review, but not an exceptional one. My friends say that I am too hard on a speaker at this price, but they also say I must be right: my hearing - confirmed by doctors - is much better than the one of the usual city dwellers...Was born like this, not my fault.I guess I should save money for an even better speaker..lucky me!
I recommend them to classical music lovers and to those who do not necessarily like their music to sound as in a disco with 2000+ watts on tap.
Oh,I forgot to tell you: the build is excellent and they look - and sound - better with the cloth off.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 302, JBL LX2

Smooth, sensitivty, "Airy"

Lack of low frequencies

I was pretty disappointed when I listen to them straight out the box, The sound was harsch and sometimes even annoying.
However now, after waiting for two months and moving into a new apartment the sound is actually more than you can expect from speakers in this size,
The bass is fast and accurat (Not very heavy tough) the mid and highends leave not much to complain about.
It's hard to believe that these are not floorstands, I've listen to speakers in the 1000$ class which were not better than these ones.
This is a great buy and will match a lot of speakers with the right sub to it,

I have listened to these speakers at a local store and I want to purchase them. But in Canada the prices are too high.
I would like to know where could I buy them online at a discount. I have been looking but can't find any sites. Please email me if you know of any.
Thank You

greatess shelf speaker i've heard that i can afford.

is this a joke

first of all, when listening to the 805s i messed up my good underwear!!! they are incredible!! Then Kevin, the salesperson, told me how much they where next I soiled my underwear in ways mother would not be proud.
Next kev introduced me to the 602s and all in its class. '2 way bookshelf speaker from $400-600' other contenders would be the paradigm, nht 1.5 and super one and klipsch. like Goldie locks and the tree bears I tested each speaker. The klisch too sharp sounding, the paradigm too warm, the nht just seemed lifeless, but the b&w 602 s2 were just right. The 602s are a perfect combo of natulist tweeter and kevlar driver blend seamless in any style of music. The 602s is the biggest dog on the block. The 602s stands out from the crowd of its peers.
I've read a review stating the bass was 'boomy' or lack control. I respond make sure your equipment is tuned for these speakers first. I do understand the noted lack of control in low freq applications. But to be honest I don't listen to my music flat all the time. Depending the artist and style of music I may give a little bass here or add treble there. It all depends on the music. Purest would frown on such a statement. But hey it's my music experience. Depending on your equipment adjusting the EQ will affect the tone of surrounding freqs its small doses it's barely noticed. But these speakers give me more control and range than I could ever expect. I listen to a lot of hip hop and jazz. And for both styles these puppies run with the big dogs. I also read some reviews balk at the price. Shut up! Look what you get for the money. there is no other comparison.

Similar Products Used:

b&w nat. 805, 601 s2, nht 1.5, paradigm, klisch, infinity

Transparent sound

My home theater system is a work in progress, but I guess that's true for everyone. I am using the 602S2 as my main speakers for HT and Music. My receiver setting is small with a sub being used for both HT and stereo modes.

I couldn't be happier with these speakers. For my set up they are great and even make my Kenwood VR-309 sound good. Music sounds clear and open and home theater sounds like never before. I use the CC3 as the center channel and it matches very well with the 602S2. I paid $450 at a local dealer.

If these speakers are in your price range, give them a listen.

equipment:
Kenwood VR-309
Pioneer DVD-525
B&W 602s2, 302, CC3
Def. Tech PF15TL

Similar Products Used:

auditioned Mirage, Polk, Klipsch, Sonus Faber, Paradigm

I have been listening to these speakers at a stereo shop. I really like what I'm hearing so far. However, the B&W DM302's (my current speakers) sound pretty good too. Listening to the 302's you hear everything at the same time coming at you (ie., voice, cymbals, saxophone). With the 602's the seperation is better. The saxophone sounds more rich, isolated and prominent.

From what I've read here, everyone seems to be impressed with the bass response of the 602's. My concern is that I plan to put these speakers in the "corner" of a small room.
Would this cause the bass to be boomy??? I don't want it to drown out the highs and mids. Also, how close can you place the 602's next to the TV? I can place the 302's about 8 inches from my 27" Sony TV without any problem. Would appreciate any advice: email me at rogerfan@hotmail.com
I was leaning toward the 601's but figured I should get something that'll keep me satisfied for a few years rather than upgrading from 601 to 602.
Thanks.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM302