fit in most homes and please most listeners, very nice looking!

they perform well loud. not the most detailed ones...

I have been using one 602 as my center speaker for almost a year. Before purchasing them, I auctioned few other models from B&W and other makes. I am the kind of person who likes to have detailed and open sound. And bass isn't a great concern; most music I listen to does not have great bass emphasis. I have Castles as my mains, they are quite as transparent as those electrostatic ones. The 602 is for the HT center channel, it performs very well, it has the bass and treble that should please anyone who listens to a variety of music. I find it really shine with music that is not too difficult and complex. The high seems to roll off a bit, and the box does make some noise, fat bass (noticed only when switching between different sets). I love it as it can take everything and make it sound musically. I also agree with some that it is a warm sound, which is quite differnt from my Castles.(contemporary vs classics ?) Owning 2 types of speakers I am able to listen to the same music with different experiences. I give them a 5 as they are quite good for the price. I have also listened to many speakers that are better than 602, they also cost significantly more. (that seems to be the general rule for speakers)

THE BEST

NONE

JUST THE BEST NOTHING COME NEAR 604 MAIN 602 SURROUND CC6 CENTER AND THE SUB IN THE COMPUTER THE 601 WITH A CARVER 900 I LOVE B&W IS THE BEST

Similar Products Used:

ONLY B&W

Great looks.

Average sound.

I bought these from a friend who had upgraded to the 604's a while back. He sold them to me for a hundred bucks plus an old JVC receiver that was worth about a hundred as well. They were in great shape and were already burned in to boot. I bought them to replace my surrounds-not as mains. But of course, I had to do a comparison. My mains are Pinnacle Classic Gold Reference. If I had bought these speakers before the Pinnacle's, I probably would have gave the 602 a four or five star rating like most of the other reviewers here. But, I can honestly say that the B&W's do not sound nearly as good as my Pinnacle's. Before everybody starts shootin darts, Yes, I put the 602's on stands (22"). Yes, I bi-wired them. No, I don't have mega dollar equipment and pure gold speaker cables. But, flip the receiver back and forth from A to B to A, and the sound difference is amazing. The highs on the 602's are subdued, and the lower midrange/upper bass sounds like it is echoing around inside the box. The upper midrange was the high point, sounding pretty decent. Some would say that this type of comparison is not fair. I realize that the reference is a tower speaker and the 602 is a book shelf type design. But, I only paid $600 bucks for the Gold Reference which inluded shipping to my front door. The B&W 602's retail for $550 with many on this site paying much more. Yes, the overall look is better than the Pinnalcle's. But, I would rather a speaker sound more expensive, than look more expensive. Let's just say that I would have been pissed if I had paid retail for these speakers. I would have returned them and bought another pair of Pinnacle's. But, for two hundred bucks invested and having them relegated to surround sound duties, they will work just fine. Now, with all that said, many reviewers here auditioned several other speakers along with the B&W's and chose them hands down. Sound is about perception. I just don't like the way mine sound. They just sound, different. It's not that there that bad, its just that they are not THAT good.

Imaging, Clarity, soundstage and sparkling highs

Bass is tight but if you like to feel it in the gut then you will need to suppliment with a subwoofer.

This review is for the B&W 603 S3. 2002 Model Year (come-on guys the year is nearly over, update the page!) I got these as part of a new system. I first bought some AR S40, which were good but seemed to lack something. Then I went and listened to everything I could find in the $500 to $1000 range (retail US$) and when they fired up these both my wife and I knew we had found them. The imaging is so good and the dynamic range is excellent. They do sound better than the 602.5 S3's and while the bass won't satisfy the head bangers, it is surprisingly good and tight for the size of the speaker. High clear trebles with no sibilance. Excelent midrange with no stumbling or muddiness. While there are certainly better speakers out there, I think these are some of the absolute best for the $$ Rest of the system: TNT's DIY FFFR cables NAD C740 Receiver NAD C541i CD player Sony PS242 turntable

Similar Products Used:

AR S40's PSB Stratus JM Labs 725's B&W 603, 602.5

Kevlar sounds great Build quality

Please!

I have never experienced a B&W product firsthand prior to this purchase - they are rather hard to locate in my area. I have read countless reviews on this manufacturer however without a bad word, and it seems as though B&Ws are found in many of the better systems out there so I figured I'd check them out. I'm short of space and needed something on the smaller side, so the 602s looked perfect. I found them on eBay - an open-box special as they were shipped with the original packaging and in absolute prisitine condition but missing the jumpers. If anyone can tell me how to get a pair of jumpers I would appreciate it. I paid $350 US which included shipping from the UK. For that price I decided that it was worth the risk to try them out firsthand. Well, I have to say that this was one of the best audio purchases I've ever made. I use them as mains in my 5.1 HT setup and for 2 channel stereo. I am totally blown away by everything I've heard so far - even distribution of highs, mids, and lows, and the seperation is truly amazing. Keep in mind that you need quality source material to truly appreciate them - I've learned that poor recordings/mixes saturated with reverb will sound pretty muddy, but that's no fault of the speaker - I would say that the speaker is accurately reproducing the source. On the other hand, quality recordings just come to life - esp. jazz and classical. I have revisted most of my CD collection since I got the B&Ws (I know it sounds cliche, but it's true) and I have enjoyed them all over again. The Kevlar seems to make a big difference in terms of lows and low-mids. A much warmer sound than what I've experienced with some of the plastic-like materials used in the manufacture of similar sized speaker cones. The build quality is also first-rate. I feel that these speakers will provide me with years of enjoyment. I am waiting on delivery of a matching center channel, and I am expecting even further improvement to my HT experience. The price paid makes this a sweeter deal for me, but at $500 they would still be superior to what I've heard from JBL and others in that price range. My current setup: Kenwood HR-4080 receiver Sony CDPCX455 400 CD changer (convenient) Sony DVD ADC EQ B&W 602 mains B&W CC6 center (coming soon) Paradigm Cinema rears Stinger 10 ga speaker connects, Mogami interconnects

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Infinity RS3, JBL HLS-16, Paradigm Titan

Fantastic midrange, good bass response, excellent home theatre speaker. very efficient, can go loud!

Slightly bright tweeter(more of a problem in music than H/Theatre)

I have had 5 of these for a little over a year. First off..the best part of these beauties is the midrange. Sweet, detailed and Oh so clear. Voices are audio crystal and at theatre volume levels you can hear every nuance in a persons throat. They deliver a crisp, spacious and accurate soundfield. Every bit of dialogue and background noise is delivered with precision. If you like it loud, my living room when friends are over is frequently in excess of 100 decibals with next to no distortion...very efficient speakers. The tweeters are a tiny bit bright but I have heard the 602 S2 and 602 S3 models and that has been taken care of with the Nautilus style tweeter. Still...it''s not that much better that I''d spend the extra few hundred to upgrade. I have 5 Bi-wired 602''s in my theatre setup and with my HK AVR 7000 doing the driving along with a Rotel RDV 985 DVD Player, the bass is surprising for a speaker of this size. (Had the AVR 500 for a while and, while good, can''t compare to the output of the 7000) Bear in mind that NO SPEAKER THIS SIZE is going to do it all, especially in a Home Theatre. A sub will be required. However, I actually held off for several months in getting my M&K MX 150THX sub as my 14x12 living room was already shaking pretty good. The 602''s are at their best in home theatre, I have 2 B&W CDM 9 NT''s hooked up to a 200wpc Rotel RB 1080 that I use for stereo playback. Now, mind you, if I had to take my CDM''s in for repair I would have no problem listening to the 602''s for any length of time it took to get my CDM''s back. In fact, every once in a while I do listen to them in stereo or Logic 7 mode just for a change. I am never disappointed in the sound. I have tried all kinds of configurations with different large and small speakers combined in an HT setup but nothing gives a better sound than 5 good quality identical speakers. I tried using the NT''s and other 600 series speakers in my home theatre setup but went and bought 2 more 602''s instead. The transition is seamless. Overall, I''d give these speakers a hearty thumbs up and would recommend them to anyone who wants to spend the money on a decent receiver and proper installation to get the most out of them. I give 5 stars for value ($300 CDN each) because I got them used, otherwise they''d rate a 4 Cheers!

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Acoustic Energy Aegis 2 Paradigm 7seMk3 LINN Kan

Base for the size

Excellent main speakers for the size. I have really enjoyed them and my Onkyo 494 Receiver produces excellent base out of them. Had to replace one of the tweeters which quit working but that was done painlessly. I recently upgraded to a surround system, and started searching for a center and surround speakers. After much effort, decided not to go with the B&W CC6 center as I did not think the voice clarity was that great. So went with a Polk 245i Center and Polk RM 2300 surrounds. The Polks match and compliment the B&Ws beautifully.

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Polk

Great mids, crisp clear highs. Adequate bass for its size. A good sub will bring pull it all together.

Paid $750 (cdn) You must experience it first hand to fully appreciate what these speakers have to offer. The vocal reproduction is superb, male or female It was best summarized when a friend came to visit one day and I had a John Lee Hooker cd on. His comment was "who''s singing live?"

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2002 series speakers

I recently purchaced the B&W 602. They have a gorgeous sound. They even are a little short on the frequency response but when compared to their competition in their price range, they reign supreme. Highly recommended!!

I recently conluded my comparison shopping by purchasing the B&W DM602s.I also auditioned similarly priced ($500) models by Paradigm, PSB, Canton,
Infinity, Mirage, and Atlantic Technology. Based on what I had heard
from these contenders, by the time I got around to
hearing the 602s I was fully prepared for them to sound so similar to the
others that my decision would be painstaking. Instead, after listening for
about an hour to my favorite discs I took home the B&Ws. They so thoroughly
blew away the competition that I was almost embarrased that I had considered
buying some of them. The 602s throw a lush, smooth soundstage with generous
bass for a speaker this size. They have a musically involving refinement
about them that I can listen to for hours. A great product!