Excellent smooth, articulate highs, good midrange and bass, high quality binding posts bi-wire ready

Does not have the lowest bass response but more than would be expected from it's small size

A very nice speaker for it's size and price. It has a smooth, articulate high end, good mid-range, very good bass for it's size. Much better imaging and soundstage than I have experienced with most of my previous speakers. I am using them with a Musical Fidelity A300 integrated amp, Audioquest CV-4 speaker cable, Sony XA3ES CD, Sherwood CD-980 CD, Kimber Kable Silver Streak and Monster Cable M1000i interconnects, and a VPI Jr turntable with Rega tonearm and Blue Point Special MC cartridge.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 302, Infinity RS-1B, Dalquist DQ 10, JBL L36, NHT Super Zero, Realistic LX-5

Well defined Lower/Upper mids and super highs. Just right on the top end, not brash at all!

These speakers only need a sub if your crazy about the lower(and I mean LOW)bass stuff like hip-hop, tance, ect. Fine otherwise! I can go either way

I have just recently picked up a pair of these wonderful speakers and I must admit, they are fantastic! Now everyone can afford a speaker of world class build and sound without having to mortgage the farm. The B&W DM602's paint a great sonic picture without being too brash on the high's or too boomy on the bottom end. A very well balanced performance. Needless to say, I was very pleased(and very releived) I wouldn't have to be dragging out my huge Bozak's anytime soon. My only issue with these speakers is the somewhat weak lower octaves(150hz and down) When I came back down to earth I started listening for true and it was apparent that they were a tad weak, and a bit uncontrolled in the 150 hz and under area. No Problem! Just get yourself a small sub-woofer(Small being the key word here as you son't want to obliterate the wonderful lower mids of the 602's) Any small passive, or active model will do. I have a small (twin 8" drivers)custom made sub-woofer I built a few years ago for use with my home theater set-up. While it has a 250 watt BGW amplifier I chose to run it in the passive mode. It just sounded better that way. I set the crossover at about 120hz and just sat back and smiled. If you are like me and live in a small apartment, or condo you could do alot worse for alot more money. I tell you, this set-up sounds every bit as good as my high buck Bozak Symphony's! And for pennys on the dollar! Now, if you are lookng for that audiophile "Flat" type sound, these speakers are probably not going to do it for you. The 602's are not what I would call super acurate. They seem to have a slight rise in the upper mids that sounds luscious as it oozes into the upper register! The clarity of the upper mids, and the above 10khz material made me get all squishy inside. Simply beautiful to listen too. Accuracy? Who needs it! When something simply sounds good, you know it! They sounded great on all types of music, from solo harpsichord to Metalica!If your into classical music try Beethoven's 9th, the last movement(Chorale)to see what I mean. And even better, try it on vinyl with a good turntable. I am totally rediscovering my vinyl thanks to these speakers. They just seem to have a more "open", "airy" top end that lets the increased dynamic range of vinyl soar! They simply sound better than anything I have heard in this crowded class.Enough said. Game over, I mean, what do you want for under 1000.00(actually way under!) If space and money are an issue, it's a no-brainer. Buy these speakers and spend the money you save on music!
FYI: My system consists of the B&W 602's bi-wired using a Harmon Kardon Citation 16 amplifier(Plenty of reserve power here) with a Beveridge RM-1/RM-2ps Valve pre-amp(12@6DJ8 valves). I am currently using a Technics 9030 tuner, Shure Broadcast CD Player,Sony PCM-2500a/b DAT, REGA Planar 3 w/ Grace 707 tonearm and Benz Glider Cartridge. I use custom made cable(plans available at tntaudio.com), and speaker connections too.

Similar Products Used:

Bang & Olufsen, JBL, Tannoy

Detail, Neutral.

None

I am so happy I bought these speakers. I am so happy. For $600, I could not find a speaker that was better. Some in review of this speaker have found it lacking in areas. But for the price this speaker gives you everything you could ever want. The bass response is even better in my home, than it was at the store, probably due to room size differences. I LOVE this speaker, and It's not even broken in yet.

If your used to high end equipment try the Nautilus line, if your stepping up from so called 'Circuit City' equipment you must listen to these speakers before you buy anything.

Similar Products Used:

NHT, DT

Very flat responce, like every one said they have wounderful bass for a bookshelf speaker.

To tell you the truth I can't find one drawback about these speakers, some people say the price is too steep well if you compare the features you get in these speakers as apposed to the other speakers avalible, they are a great value.

These speakers are remarkable, some of the technology that was in the nautalus speakers have trickled down into their budget speaker the 602, for instance the horn tweeter and the kevlar driver, which people have tried to copy but not sucessfully. I have always been a B&W
fan but never had the $$$$ if you know what I mean. I am know a proud owner of four 602-s2 and the cc6 and I am truly amazed. these speakers produce one of the nicest and flatest responces I have ever heard.

Similar Products Used:

I used to own infinity RS3, and polk audio RT-55.

Clean crisp sound, Best Bass heard from 2-way speaker

Price - Price is more than most other 2-way speakers

After shop comparing with bookshelfs including: Boston Acoustics CR-8, Klipsch KSB3.1RS, Infinity RS3, and the JBL-S38, the DM 602 S2 clearly showed superior sound delivery. If you don't mind the above average price, put it to the test of the same source and in the same room and you'll be sure to pick the B&W!

Price Point. Musicality. Bass Output. Imaging.

Upper frequencies can be a tad harsh compared to superior loudspeakers like the Nautilus series.

Related Components:
Myryad MC-100 CD Player
Seismic Sink Platform
MIT Interconnect
Audiolab 8000s Integrated in Preamp Mode
MIT
Bryston 3B-ST Dual Mono Amp
Transparent Audio Speaker Cable

This is perhaps one of the great "steals" of high end audio. I have no reservations in saying that these speakers may be the best in their price range. These speakers are musical and transparent enough to let you hear what your equipment sounds like. The S2 series is far superior to the previous model, which I also owned. The imaging and soundstaging is what I might expect from speakers twice their price. Bass may sound boomy to you, but given the right components there is a great deal of bass definition. These speakers are not lean in the bass. The bass and slam of these speakers is ideal for rock, but they sound fantastic with bluegrass, jazz, clasical, and alomst anything you throw at it. Everything sounds good on these speakers, and they will last you a long time, provided that you have good components! Email with questions.

Highs, mids and lows for an exceptional bookshelf speaker

A couple of aesthetic things. But for the performance, none.

I got two pairs of these for AUS$750/pair. Which is a HUGE saving off what they retail for AUS$999.

I've had these for a week now, running non-stop with my
new Yamaha CD player and receiver, and I still can't believe the definition and focus they convey. They provide such a good sonic performance over all types of music. I had listened to Paradigm Monitor 3, Tannoy M2.5, Jensen's, AE Aegis One, but they all had some deficiency with either the bass (too boomy) or the upper midrange which did not blend in seemlessly.

The construction of the speakers are good, but I would have preferred if they had a single piece front baffle rather than this division for the bass relex port. Also, if they do decide to make a Series 3, then they should use their patented Flowport technlogy for the bass port. Another interesting thing which I read in a magazine review, was that the bullet dust cap does seem to be GLUED on over the original dustcap.

Apart from all this, B&W have done a very fine job in producing one of the best value for performance bookshelf speakers ever made (provided you have partnered the right equipment).

5 stars all around.

Detailed and precise, yet forgiving

Lack of lower octave bass,

First lets start with kudos going to Lou at Audible Elegance in Cincinnati for providing great auditions on the 601's and the 602's. He is the owner and he knows his sh**! He provided one of the better sales experiences I've ever had. There price was very competative at $539.00 USD.

First off, I was surprised at the finish of the "authentic" vinyl cherry veneer. You have to look very close and do a good inspection to notice that it isn't real wood veneer. The mid-bass drive is well mounted with 1/4" allen bolts. The only miscue on mine is one of the input terminal screws went in a little bit crooked. (most would not even consider this a mistake, but this is a review so I had to put it in) I also like the way B&W put their logo on the grill and on the cabinet for grill-less listening. The tweeter is inset about 1/2" for phase purposes. This is a very handsome speaker with grills or without and would do any decor justice.

I'm basing this review off of only two days worth of listening as I plan to do a follow up review in about a month or two. Imediately out of the box, the tweeter is harsh! Don't box them back up! After about two hours, the tweeter started to disappear and blended very well with the kevlar mid-bass. I can only expect that the sound will continue to improve with time. I find that the high crossover point makes everything sound more natural as most of the music information is being done buy the mid-bass. This lets the tweeter do less work, which means less distortion. Bi-wiring will take stress off of the drivers and the crossover also. Voices are very natural, both male and female. One thing I noticed is that human voice is alot less colored sounding than with other speakers. There are no filters or boosts built into the crossover to try to fool the listener in to hearing something that isn't there. Whatever sound you put into this speaker, that is the sound you will hear. The saxaphone pieces on "Getz, Gilberto" CD is a great piece to point out weaknesses or strenghts of your systems reproduction of the sax. Well, the 602 did one of the best jobs I've heard of making the sax sound like a sax. Please do not substitute "Getz, Gilberto" with Kenny G. This will NOT produce good results.

Bass is tight and natural. Kick drums sound like kick drums. Conga's sound like Congas. Snare's sound like snares. I say this because some speakers color the sound of drums and tame the punchiness of well recorded music. I would reccomend a nice subwoofer to compliments this speaker. Get these speakers about a foot from the wall to eliminate any bass lag due to phase differences.

I know this was wordy, but I hope it gives a litte bit of insight. If you want audiophile sound on a budget, this speaker at $550 is going to be tough to beat. But don't let the price fool you, B&W could charge much more for this speaker, but they don't. Thanks B&W for making this speaker affordable.

My Equipment:
SP-99D Pioneer Elite Pre Amp
Harmon Kardon PA5800 5 Channel Amp
Sony ES 200 Disk changer
Sony DVD
RCA 36" TV
Eosone Dipole Surround speakers
Eosone Center Channel
B&W DM602 S2 Main speakers
Velodyne VA1012XII Subwoofer

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Studio 20, B&W 601 S2, Castle

price,very clear sound ,good bass

603 s2 (beter bass less clear sound)

I looked for speakers for about 3 month before i bought b&w speakers ,i was looking for kef speakers but they don't have any dealer in southern california i heard bose, boston acostic, polk audio, infinity, jbl, klipsch and many others but when i heard the b&w 602s2 and 603s2 and Tannoy i knew that i'm going to buy one of them finally i decided to buy the b&w speakers (The Tannoy cost more then twice and doesn't sound better).
i bought 5 b&w speakers and subwoofer
602s2 front
601s2 rear
cc6s2 center
infinity pu120 subwoofer
i'm using : YAMAHA RX-V2095 Receiver
Pioneer 414 dvd
i didnt buy the 603s2 because they have to much bass and in small and not acoustic room they r to big
the 602S2 have a great sound when i hear soft rock , pop and jazz music also for movies the sound is clear and strong (the cc6s2 is weak for action movies)

i'm using this speakers for about 4 month and i love them
i enjoy every minute of music and movies, 3 of my best friends heard them and a week after they bought them with yamaha Receiver all my guests are impressed from the sound


I give them five stars without hesitation they are the best in their price range

Wonderful midrange, mid bass, build quality, value

grills, tweeter grain when pushed.

For the size and dollar value, these speakers are wonderful! Nice to have some of the Nautilus technology trickle down to this price point. They only fault, sonically, is that at higher volumes (85dB+) the tweeter section can get a bit grainy. I purchased a set of Ah! LS Noise Killers and this problem is now gone, without sacrificing clarity. They now beg to be turned up!

Be patient with these speakers, for it takes several months to break in the Kevlar cones. Also, they sound much better bi-wired. Purchase some high quality stands, set them up according the Cardas method if you have the room, for I couldn't imagine having them on shelves and mess up the wonderul soundstage and imaging these speakers provide. The grills definitely muffle the tweeters and narrow dispersion. Leave them off for critical listening. They look sexy without them.

What a bargain! Highly reccommended! Bye Bye Bose!

System:

Parasound P/HP-850
Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000
Carver TFM-35x
Klipsh KSW 12
DH Labs Subsonic Subwoofer cables
DH Labs T-14 Silver Sonic Speaker Cables (bi-wired)
DH Labs BL-1 Series II Interconnects
Lovan Jazz 18" Stands, shot filled
B&W DM602 S2 (Ah! LS Noise Killers on the tweeter terminals)

Similar Products Used:

Original Kloss Large Advent, Bose 501's, Bose 901's Series III and VI