When I started looking for a good home theater system, I called on the help of my audiophile brother. He pointed me towards many of the same companies that the other reviewers listened to, such as Paradigm, NHT, Definitive Tech, PSB, Snell, and others. After listening to the Paradigm Monitor 9's, a couple of times, I thought I was ready to make a good purchase. The dealer that I was visiting happened to have a pair of 602's in the same listening room as the Monitor 9's. I had read a little about B&W, but had never seen them around. I though it couldn't hurt to check them out. When the salesman played them, I knew they were an execellent speaker, but I didn't know how execellent they were until he started switching between the Paradigm's and the B&W's. The 602's were more efficient than the Monitor 9's. They also had a warmer sound. The 602's have great middles and highs. The titanium tweeter reproduced cymbal hits amazingly. The bass is decent, but with only a 7" driver, tremendous bass can't be expected. The only other category in which the 602's leave a little something to be desired is in their imaging. While good, the 602's have a tendency to spread sound out a little bit, although better speaker cable and interconnects will help that out a lot. I don't think it is bold to say that for $500, these are the best speakers on the market. Hook up a sub, and you have yourself a huge speaker system. I highly recomend them

You simply cannot go wrong with the 602. It is retailed for $550 but usuallysold below $500 (of course you have to ask for the discount). You will like
it espeically if you are into classical music. It plays what is recorded,
and plays it accurately. Most of my CDs are recorded 20-30 years ago. You
can easily tell the differences in recording. This speaker performs
especially well in vocal. The sense of presence is unbelievable---you
know where the instruments are.
I shopped for 3 months before I got mine. Originally, I was shooting for
some floorstanders but quickly realized couldn't get much for my budget.
To summarize my opinions on the bookshelfs:
NHT 1.3a - quite good and accurate, but treble was over-emphasized
NHT 1.5 - worse than 1.3a, not accurate, irritating
KEF Q - too commercial
Paradigm se/monitor - too soft, not as good as they claimed
Paradigm ref-studio - still soft, studio 20 had the best value
Dynaudio audience 8 - nice but quite expensive
Energy C2 - marginally worse than my favorite C6
If you are shopping for a pair of speakers around $500, look no further.

Ok, first thing: I hate home theater. I DO, though, have a DVD player, but prefer stereo to that S.U.X Dubbly Surround-your-head in reverb crap.
I've had the 602's for a little over a year now, and have wanted to up-grade, but decided that these things give so much darn bang for yer buck, that it's just better to up-grade the interconnects. So, that's what I did...an amazing difference! I went for Nordost Black Knight cables, one pair running from my Acrus 80 wat Amp to my B&K Pre, the other pair running from my Cambridge Audio CD6 to the pre. Kimber wire running from the amp to the speaks.

Ok...musically...the interconnects really helped out in spacial dynamics, air and image...These speakers are capable of producing AMAZING cymbal, bell, and guitar sounds, provided you have the right cables...the low frequencys have become tighter and MUCH more defined. I'm a listener of all kinds of music, but for definition, check out Radiohead's OK Computer...with crap interconncets you're just going to hear bass thumping, but with a decent pair, the 602s are capable of producing much more defined and articulate plucking.

On drum n' bass...PRAY your neighbors aren't home.

These speakers rock...If you have them, and they just aren't getting the job done, I can't stress enought how important the interconnects are. If you're thinking about getting these speakers: don't even think, just buy. There's a ton of upgrade potential here...they'll rock out and produce some pretty impressively realistic sounds.

On the "home theater" tip. I have no Idea. I only have 2 ears, not 5.1. Run your DVD player in stereo and crank it up...these speakers can handle pretty decent volume on any film sequence depicting the wholsale destruction of New York city...Once again...pitty the neighbors.

the only speakers I'd even consider next to these are the Medowlark Kestral's...but that's a completely different monster.

I bought my pair of B&W 602's in a department store. When I saw the sealed box sitting lonely near the counter, I knew this was a chance of a lifetime. Someone has made an insurance claim and didn't pick them up, so the salesperson thought he was lucky too to get rid of them at wholesale price. In Australia they retail at $990, which is $100 more than Polk's RT7 - my dream speaker at the time. Anyway, I grabbed them for $890 and took them across the road to a hi-fi shop to compare with RT7. The set up was: Rotel CD and Yamaha RX-595 receiver or Rotel pre/power stack for reference. At first I couldn't tell the difference between the speakers on either of amps. After 30 min of listenig I came to conclusion that 602's have a sweeter, juicier sound than RT7, the latter being somewhat dry and analytical in comparison. However, RT7's had a better soundstage/stereo image. I also noted that 602's bass drive was travelling much further than RT7's. The salesperson was quite frank and open with me and although they carry only Polk's and TDL's (no B&W), his preference went to B&W. Indeed, the only better sounding speaker (TDL-3) costed $1000 more. When I took my treasured B&W's home and hooked them up to Yamaha RX-485 receiver, (surprise!) I was bitterly disappointed. I'm looking for a new amp now and hope that B&W602 will live up to expectations.

Recently, I listened some PSB, Bose, Energy, Boston Acoustics, Kef and B&W. I didn't noticed all the models of these speakers but they are all about 750$ (canadian money). My feelings were the followings: Bose is completely out of the track, PSB can give good bass but the tweeter isn't very precise. On the other hand, Boston that has a too definite tweeter but poor bass. My favorites are the Energy C-2 and the Kef coda 9 until I listened the B&W DM602. I found the C-2 well balanced with a rich bass and clear high frequencies. In my opinion, the mid-range seemed to be too absent compared to the extremes. The coda 9 has the rythme and punch with his bigger box and his low-frequencies driver hidden in it. This was one of my favorites until the B&W. This speaker is all I ever imagine of good speakers before trying them. Its sound seems to be lot more present than with the other models tried. The bass is not boomy but precise and we can feel it enough. The tweeter is very clear and let us perceive gently all the details without any sensation of too much treble. Obviously, I bough a pair of them and when I listen music, It's like if the musicians are in my listening room. I strongly recommend anybody to listen them before buying anything else in this price range. Good luck! (sorry but my english isn't very good)

Recently, I listened some PSB, Bose, Energy, Boston Acoustics, Kef and B&W. I didn't noticed all the models of these speakers but they are all about 750$ (canadian money). My feelings were the followings: Bose is completely out of the track, PSB can give good bass but the tweeter isn't very precise. On the other hand, Boston that has a too definite tweeter but poor bass. My favorites are the Energy C-2 and the Kef coda 9 until I listened the B&W DM602. I found the C-2 well balanced with a rich bass and clear high frequencies. In my opinion, the mid-range seemed to be too absent compared to the extremes. The coda 9 has the rythme and punch with his bigger box and his low-frequencies driver hidden in it. This was one of my favorites until the B&W. This speaker is all I ever imagine of good speakers before trying them. Its sound seems to be lot more present than with the other models tried. The bass is not boomy but precise and we can feel it enough. The tweeter is very clear and let us perceive gently all the details without any sensation of too much treble. Obviously, I bough a pair of them and when I listen music, It's like if the musicians are in my listening room. I strongly recommend anybody to listen them before buying anything else in this price range. Good luck! (sorry but my english isn't very good)

I have auditioned some B&W: P5, DM604, and DM602.They sure have a a good imaging and delivers a warm
presentation. However, I found the low bass notes
thumpy, thick. I believe that there are some other
speakers that do not receive much attention but still
are quite good and able to play anything, ie=Polk RT
series...

Well, I finally bought my first pair of high end speakers. I searched highand low and everywhere in between. I looked through every magazine on the
shelf. I read every review on the web. I visited many retailers,
all of whom naturally wanted to sell me what THEY had. My price range was
as close to $500 as I could get. My goal was to find a speaker that, although
relatively inexpensive, delivered truly stunning sound. I had confidence
that it could be done. And so it was. The B&W DM602s now sit upon 22" stands
in my living room, gracefully adorning my rather austere living room with an
unexpected stylistic bonus -- very cool gold and yellow cones. But I digress.
You want to know how they sound? Go and listen to them for yourself.
Suffice it to say that the B&Ws beat out all the competition in this price
range: NHT, Paradigm, Canton, and PSB. The B&Ws simply do more, and they do
it smoother. How good are they? Go and listen to them for yourself. Does it
bother you that I don't describe their sonic qualities as if I were a poet,
with comments about air or harmonic structure or linearity? Trust me, your
ears know. And now, so do mine.

WHERE I LIVE I FEEL I DONT HAVE A GREAT SELECTION OTHER SPEAKERS TO CHOOSE FROM.I REVIEWED POLK,ENERGY,PARIDIN & B&W.
THESE WERE THE SUGESTIONS FROM THE SALES STAFF AT THE AUDIO STORES I WENT TO.
IT TOOK SOMETIME UNTIL I DISSICIDE TO TAKE HOME ENERGY C-6. AND B&W'S DM-602'S.
TO COMPARE IN MY HOME ENVIROMENT.
I COMPAIRED THEM ON A YAMAHA RX-690 AMP.
IT WASN'T LONG UNTIL I DISCIDED. I THEN HAD 4 OTHER PEOPLE VIOCE THERE OPINION'S. THEY ALL HAD THE SAME OPINION. THE 602'S. THEY WERE LESS EXPENCIVE.
BY $500 LIST. I WOULD SAY THAT THE BASS WAS THE SAME. THE B&W'S WERE WAY MORE
CLEAR AND IMIAGED WAY BETTER.
ALL I WANTED WAS THE BEST FOR THE $. I DIDN'T REALLY HAVE A PRICE LIMIT.
I COMPAIRED THE 602'S TO THE 603,604'S. THE 602'S WERE SOUNDING WAY BETTER LESS
THE BASS. THE BASS IN THE SERIES UP SEEMED TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE MID AND HIGH'S
I REALLY WANTED MORE BASS BUT THE ANSWER WASN'T IN THE 603-604'S. NOT FOR THE
PRICE INCREASE. I ENDED UP KEEPING THE 602'S BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T BE BEAT. EVEN
BY THEIR BROTHER AND SISTER.
FOR MY "NEEDED BASS" I WENT WIHT AND ENERGY S-12 SUB WOOFER. [AWESOME]
I DON'T THINK THAT I COULD HAVE A BETTER SPEAKERS FOR THE MONEY.$812 INCLUDING
B&W STANDS AND TAXES.

I've owned my 602's for a little over a year now and they still deliver the same high quality sound that B&W is known for from the day I hooked them up. It's a great sounding pair with a lot to offer. Put on John Lee Hooker and judge for yourself.