Dynamics LF response Soundstage depth and width

A bit bright for my taste in the context of my system.

These are a very good value large standmount speakers. They have a very good dynamic handling, and soundstage is fairly deep although not very wide. (allways trapped between your speakers. The tonal character is cold and thin, although the way they handle dynamics makes you forget about it (almost...) If you prefer a sweeter and more natural presentation go for the Monitor audio Bronze 2 (biwired o biamped), although you will not have the foot tapping dyanamics of the 602 s2. Note: Some reviewers have said the 602 s have not any soundstage at all. They do!, but you have to make sure they are standing at least 50 cm away of the back walls and heavily toed in(the speakers should cross 1 mt in front of you roughly) Give them some time for room tuning and try playing with interconnects and you have a very good speaker for the money. If you don't like the tonal presentation of these ones go for the Bronze 2 without hesitation. They are a great hifi bargain !!

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio Bronze 2 Acoustic energy Kef 601 s2 (Do not ever consider them) Almost any speaker up to 300 pounds with the exception of NHT

Very good detailed tweeter midrange full and slightly warm decent soundstage

muddy,wooly bass ports chuff at hi volume very large for standmounts can sound boxy

After reading all the hype concerning these speakers (mostly based on Brit mags), I decided to auditon the new series 3 model. Consequently, I have returned to my local dealer on several occasions to make a fair assessment. The new models include a nautilus designed tweeter and the very familiar kevlar drivers. First impression was these things look like a science project straight out of the 70s...they are very large for a standmount. The highs were very detailed and clear, the mids slightly warm, but the bass was too muddy for my tastes. If you like these, I would opt for the 601s...you lose some extension but gain definition. I also thought these sounded 'boxy' at times...but the overall soundstage was pretty good. As far as transparency,imaging,and depth, the Paradigm Studio 20s really embarrass these things...and they cost the same (and have been rated Stereophile Class C for a number of years as well as recently revamped as V2 models...a hi-end sounding speaker without the hi-end cost...and I typically dont like Paradigm...they are as good as the Triangle Titus...and you dont have to wait 3 months for a pair) Overall not a bad choice but I do feel you can do better with your hard earned cheese.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio 20s,PSB,Monitor,NHT

All

None yet.

After the help of many people on the message board I decided to pick these babies up used along with the CC6 S2. I couldn't be much happier for the price I paid. The speakers are very well designed and I love the Kevlar cones. Imaging is beautiful, I have not heard better in the price range. My dealer was very nice and hooked me up with a good price. I have them bi-wired with Monster M-seried bi-wire. I think that the highs are clearer and the bass is more pronounced. They sound good in HT and Music. All around a great speaker.

Similar Products Used:

Bose (unfortunately) NHT Paradigm

These speakers are just right for my amplifier (Quad 33/303) which has a rated output of 50W RMS per channel. The tweeter is very sensitive without showing a tendency to break up at higher outputs. There is an excellent balance between the high and mid ranges and they have a very smooth frequency response from about 50Hz to 20kHz.

After about two years, I have recently decided to add an active subwoofer to these speakers. I have a few reference records and the base is the only thing lacking in these speakers.

When I bought these speakers, they were already burned in and had only been used as demo-models for about a week. I count myself fortunate to have bought a pair of speakers that were raring to go. My first impression of the B&W DM 602 S2 was that it was very detailed and that opinion hasn't changed. They are among the most revealing speakers that I've ever listened to - and that includes Beverage's and Quad's electrostatic speakers. I'm not an audiophile but have chosen a more moderate approach to my system. I want my system to be good but not so good that I spend all my time listening to the system and not to the music.

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Finding a suitable subwoofer wasn't easy. I had certain requirements in my mind as to how it should be. I decided that I needed the speaker to have a tuned vent, like the 602's and that the frequency

Everything

none

The B&W 602 S2 are dream speakers sold at a dream price. I auditioned speakers from Definitive Technology, Polk and Paradigm before I bought these and none of them could touch the B&W's perfect balance of sound for both music and sound. These are truly the BEST speakers available in this price range.

Similar Products Used:

Polk

Midrange clarity, bass slam and tightness, easy to drive to realistic volumes without congestion.

Doesn't do my laundry!

Two years ago I purchased a set of B&W DM303 speakers. After adding my Definitive Tech ProSub 100TL, my conclusions about those speakers were that they had a beautiful midrange and treble until played at moderately loud volumes. When played past a certain point they would congest and sound rather fatiguing. I sought a speaker that was small enough to go in a small to mid sized room and would match tonally with the DM303's as I wanted to use the 303's as surround speakers. The Gramophone was having a private sale with some really fantastic values. One particular deal that caught my eye was they had the DM601 S2 on sale for $399, about $100 off I believe. Well, I listened and was rather unimpressed. The bass extension was better than the DM303, but then the very kind salesman sensed my hesitation and suggested I listen to the DM602 S2. To my suprise, this only slightly larger speaker completely blew me away with its incredible dynamic range that was clearly evident from the canon blasts at the end of Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture. The volume of the sound was rediculously high, as well, but with no ill affects. These speakers just ate the power with no congestion. They were on sale for $100 off as well. I ended up paying more than the 601 S2, but I got more than enough of the difference. These units were demo units and were in very sound condition except for one noticable but not glaring scratch on the black veneer. One unexpected benefit of having demo units is that they took no time to break in! They sound absolutely fantastic even in my acoustically horrible room. Tonaly, they match fairly well with the DM303's. The midrange and bass are much heftier, however. By hefty, I do NOT mean they are chesty or boomy, they just have much more depth and realistic intensity. I really cannot think of any weaknesses to the system, even the binding posts are excellent! They are bi-wirable, but sound great sans-bi-wire =)

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM303, B&W DM601 S2

ear friendly sound

lack of detail, dynamics, accuracy, refinement.

This is definitely not one of the typical B&W "Yo dude, these things rock, B&W is the best" type of reviews. Mainly because I compared them, primarily to relatively new NHT SB-3 speakers at the exact same price. Basically, the 602s aren't bad speakers. But they're clearly not the best in their class. Several main problems. Although the NHT SB-3s didn't image as well as my speakers, the SB-3s still disappeared compared to the B&Ws which seemed to announce exactly where they were. The B&Ws had a shouty midrange that sounded "detailed" but harsh and unnatural. Almost as a joke, I put on a country CD which is almost all voice and it just sounded like it was coming out of a horn which I suspect is because of the flexible Kevlar fabric midrange. The NHTs sounded smoother, more natural, more real by comparison. The treble was better than previous generation B&Ws but sounded detached. As for the bass, well, the NHTs were notably better as they went significantly deeper and were much more accurate and faster mainly because of the acoustic suspension design. A more fair comparison would have been some Paradigms or PSBs which share a similar design to the B&Ws. One other note, I opened them up to look at the crossover which wasn't that bad, but the cabinet itself was very poorly constructed with some light wood material that clearly did not look like the MDF I'm used to seeing. Perhaps that's why, for a large bookshelf speaker, the 602s didn't weigh that much. I'm curious to see if the S3 is better, although it doesn't appear that much has changed beyond cosmetics. The 602s aren't a bad speaker, but I simply can't imagine that people rate them a "5" except to justify their purchase or simply haven't heard anything else besides mass-market speakers.

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NHT SB-3s $600/pr

all

i don''t think you can associate the word with these

built like a tank fine sonics are what you can expect from these b&w 602 s2 buy pair & you won''t be upgrading for a long time, i''m not going to go into breathtakingµ sonics & stuff coz i know**** all about that stuff what i will say is cable wisely & you''ll get plenty of enjoyment out of them sure you need good speaker cable but thats only a very small part of it you have to go way way back to the source of elctricity to achihive a fine performance do it right & you''ll get no boom no fuzz & a vast sound stage & image, i''ll just say www.russandrews.com .............nuff said

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mission, mord short, a-e

Dynamic, realistic, room-filling sound, impressive bass. A truly excellent value.

May not fill a large room, otherwise no weaknesses at this price.

I have used the DM 602 S2''s for almost 2 years now and I am as happy as the day I bought them! These speaker are really perfect for me. First of all, they are a nice size for a medium/small living room in a condo (remember the neighbors). They put out a large amount of sound, but do not rattle the windows (unless I want them to). My 40 watt Arcam amp has no trouble driving them as far as they want to go, and they sound equally good at very low and very high volumes. Second, these baby''s are so realistic at virtually every frequency that I can often fool my ear into believing the instruments are in my living room, especially -believe or not- acoustic bass! On track #5 on Medeski Martin & Wood''s "Tonic," the right speaker actually transforms into Chris Wood''s double bass, at least if you close your eyes. And don''t be afraid of titanium tweeters. I don''t find them harsh at all, although my Arcam system is a little on the warm side. Jazz and other acoustic music sounds fantastic. My system doesn''t always do hard-driving rock and electronic music justice, however I think that may just be my Arcam gear. I use only these speakers for my DVD watching, as well, and they perform beautifully. It''s no multiplex cinema, but I have no desire to add a subwoofer or center channel, as the 602''s get plenty of bass, and dialogue is crystal-clear. Build quality is solid, and I think they are very stylish-looking with the grills off. Go for the wood-grain vaneer over the black ash if you''re bold. All and all, excellent for the price. Preferred them to any low-priced floor-standing speakers. Much more bass than the 601''s. Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601, Paradigm ??, PSB image 2B, Ruark epilogue-R

Incredibly open and clear sound.

None

Before I have bought this speaker, I had a pair of Mission760i .That was a good speaker in a small room, but I need more. When I heard the B&W I decided to change the Missions.In the shop we compared the B&W 602s2 with a Pioneer A-400 amplifier, and a Yamaha CDX-1100 CD player (it was a 18 kg weight model). We heard rock, jazz, movie sundtrack, and gregorian songs.The owner couldn''t believe his ears. Me too.