Punchy and tight bass. Crisp treble. No need to Bi-wire.

Takes ages to run-in. Can initially sound quite harsh. Nothing really...

In my bedroom the B & W DM 303s are connected to:

Harmon Kardon HD750 CD Player
Harmon Kardon HK630 Amp
Cable Talk Monitor 3 Interconnect
Cable Talk 3.1 Speaker Cable

... and I listen mostly to dance (drum and bass, down-tempo, deep house) and some pop/rock (Cold Play, Steely Dan, Moloko) - something which these little speakers (and the above set-up) are ideal for.

I love music so I needed a half decent hi-fi for my bedroom. I was entirely frustrated with the poor sound quality of my JVC mini-system so I decided to sell that and invest in these speakers and the above components. I already have a fairly decent hi-fi (£3,000 investment) in the lounge and felt that, after reading the good reviews in Hi Fi Choice and What Hi Fi, the B & W's needed an audition.

After a short listen (partnered with ARCAM and NAD electronics) it became very apparent that these are very good speakers for £180 sounding MUCH better than the more expensive DM601s2s which sounded thick and muddy in comparison. In fact their impressive speed and punch together with the warmth from the system drew me into the music (Massive Attack's 'Protection' with Tracy Thorn). Within an hour the speakers were home and after two week's worth of running in they are sounding superb.

So lately I've spent considerable time listening to my new, warm and detailed bedroom system. These speakers are a fraction (well more than a 1/4) of the cost of the JBL's in the lounge but they sound very convincing in comparison. I might actually hook up the DM303s to the pre-power combo to see how good they can be... but for now they sound just fine in my bedroom. A very satisfactory purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Mission M71, B & W DM601s2

Design, build quality, sound quality, value for money...

None

I purchased my 303's last saturday, after listening to them and the 601's for about an hour. the 601 seemed to have a better bass response, but the 303's sounded more open, clear , detailed. So I decided that the 303's were a real bargain, incorporating all the nice B&W "goodies" like the "Nautilus" tweeter concept (sounds sweet...), "golf ball"-dimpled streamlined bassreflex tube, inert front baffle, but with a black glassfiber woofer (instead of the yellow kevlar) that has a nice shiny touch to it.
It's nice to see that even the cheapest speaker in the B&W line-up gets top components, design and finish.
The complete speaker looks very impressive, despite their size, and in every detail you can see this is no ordinary "budget speaker"!
I was planning on using them as rears in my HT system ,built around a mighty Harman/Kardon AVR 65 (Yes, mine works perfectly, except for the volume knob that tends to "loose control"...)
But I wanted to test them first as front speakers, because this is my first (and certainly not the last!!!) B&W product
I purchased. So I hooked them up, slided a house-cd into my ten-year-old Kenwood CD-spinner and was amazed! I expected a good sound, but I was more than amazed, I had to sit down...
They sound very open, involving, dynamic. A friend of mine came over and was also very impressed!
I expect them to get even better, because they are
relatively new and need an 15-hour run in period (according to B&W).
I can't hardly wait to switch my HT-system completely to B&W using the matching center, another pair of 303's (or the bigger brother which I expect B&W to develop soon (please!!!)) and a B&W ASW 500 subwoofer. That set-up should sound very nice.
B&W rules!
Listen and you'll see...

Similar Products Used:

*Product year is 2001!!!
Listened to Infinity "Reference" (yeah, right...), which were built lousy (made in Taiwan?) and sounded even worse. A clear example of "the WRONG approach to build a budget speaker...

Balanced,clean, and engaging for their size and price.

Lower bass so a sub is a must.

Having lived with the LM1's for about 4 months with a Polk Audio center and Infinity rears I was eager to assemble a matching surround speaker system. I grabbed my check book and headed over to Audio F/X (in my book, the #1 Aud/Vid Retailer in Sac)with the full intent to buy another pair of LM1's and the LCR3 for the center. After about only 15 mins I was on my home wth the LM1's and LCR3, however after a week or so I noticed the LM1's and the LCR3 did not blend together as well as I hoped so back to Audio F/X I went. I explained my concerns and was offered a loaner LM1 to try as the center for a few days. The sound was what I hoped for, however my wife did not like the look of the "lone" LM1 resting on top of the t.v. Again back to Audio F/X to explain mt wife's concerns. Normally the story ends with " ...so I took it all back and end up with what I started" but not this story. This time I asked if it was ok to try a pair of DM 303 overnight. Ten mins later I was on my way home with the loaner DM 303. Seeing that these were the display pair they seemed to already be broken in. After watching a few chapters of "The Mexican" and all of "15 Minutes" my wife and I knew we had a "keeper". I want to wait a few week to report on the overall sound of the system but for now let's just say I don't think I'll be upgrading my speaker anytime soon and when I do I'll make sure I find a place for these. Talk to again soon.

Similar Products Used:

B&W LM1's

Very Detailed, clean, very tight base response, good build quality. Compact cabinet.

None!!

These are truly brilliant speakers. They are a great example of 'trickle down' technology at its best. With an emphasis on 'trick', because these boxes love to surprise. For such a compact cabinet the sound quality is amazing. Detail is abundantly present, bass is tight. The top end is undescribable. THERE ARE NO WEAKNESSES!!

My 303's are connected to a Cambridge A31 Amp, and an Arcam Alpha 7se CD sourse. The results are simple-sonic bliss!

Although you don't get a bi-wire terminal and magnetic shielding, what you do get for the price is higher quality drivers. This is waht makes more of a difference in terms of sheer sound quality.

Conclusion: The B&W 303's are the new budget standmount champions and are a must listen!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601s2, Kef Q15, Kef Q15.2, Eltax Liberty 3+, Monitor audio Bronze II, Tannoy MX2, Mission M71.

Wonderfully full sound, good price for the speaker, good looks.

None considering the size

I originally went to buy a set of new surround speakers to replace my $30 KLH's and ended up buying these to replace my DM302s. Dont get me wrong the 302s are really nice, but these sound just that much better. I am now going to use the 302s as surrounds (kind of a waste). I have these with a JBL N-center and a JBL PB10(another good value) and am waiting for the stereo place to get a LCR3 broken in to see if it will be that much better than the JBL. Dont be afraid of these at all.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM302

Firm bass, crisp treble, excellent sound-stage for size and price.

Dimple effect on the baffle makes you want to leave the covers on!

I'm using an Arcam 7se for the source which is linked using QED Qunex cable to a Denon PMA 355 UK amp. Speaker Cables are QED Silver Anniversary and the speakers are mounted on some nice hefty stands I picked up at a sale today (they were already mass-loaded!). These DM 303s were mounted on a shelf for three weeks and the difference those stands make are amazing! Bass is whip-lash wicked! Very tight and as a result everything sounds so much smoother.

They're the best speakers around for the money and I was glad I was looking for a pair at the right time as I heared from the assistant that these speakers were only launched recently. The whole system is new and it's leagues ahead of my old system. The speakers were the last components purchased as I thought the JBLs weren't bad but a cone was blown. The DM 303's have given my system a new lease of life as I hear new details in old albums... the drum solo at the end of Steely Dan's Aja... the guitar and backing in Tracy Chapman;s Fast Car... The mad orchestral crescendos in The Beatle's A Day In The Life... Led Zepp... Hendrix... etc, etc, etc.

It all sounds much more satisfying and my friends think so too. They're all in agreement that my system with it's new speakers and stands sound many times better than with the old, but loved, JBL's. I might add that even my mum and teenage brother (probably with better ears than mine) noticed that the speakers have improved the sound of my system, stating that eveything now sounds more...

"Live"...

Which is exactly what these speakers have the capability to do and that is: "to capture the spirit of live music" (as Marantz might claim in their adverts).

I was going to deduct a star from the overall rating because of the dimple pattern on the front of the speakers but that would have been harsh.

Similar Products Used:

12 year old JBL TLX3s, old technics CD player, old Rotel amp

The wonderful punchy midrange and decent bass out of such a tiny loudspeaker.

Break-in. Run them for a week before making any judgements.

I listened to these at the store and was so blown away, that I could not keep the smile off my face! So much for weaseling a discount. All in all, $300/pair. Brought them home, hooked them up to the new Sony STR-DE875. Initially, I was disappointed... where's the bass? Where's the depth??? Now after some solid break-in time, busy patting myself on the back!!! I dare someone to do better in this price range! Yes, a sub is necessary to fill out the bass, but its not like you were going to skip that anyways. The crispness, the punch, amazing! I've run the gamut from classical to my old heavy metal on vinyl... Complete satisfaction. Now mind you, its a Manhattan apartment, my living room must be 12x16, so I do not need to fill an enormous space with sound. But as long as you are not trying to host a warehouse party, these can serve admirably as your main speakers. I'll bet this is overkill for 90% of Manhattaners.

Similar Products Used:

N/A

All around great sound stage and imaging, Very good detail

Burn in period takes awhile

I bought these as surround sound speakers for my HT setup.
I auditioned these and could not believe the sound quality of these and for such a low price. I have a pair of B&W 604s2 as my mains and a LCR6s2 as my center. I was thinking that the 303's would be out gunned, but to my amazment these baby's can keep up with my fronts. WOW!!! I wanted to try an experiment and hooked these up as mains and again WOW! same dynamic highs and clarity. It was just lacking in the low end. Well what do you expect going from 2 Woofers and 1 Mid bass to only 1 Mid bass. Still unbelievable sound and tight bass from such a small cabinet.

Set up:
Yamaha 795A receiver
Yamaha YST 160 sub
JVC progressive scan DVD Audio/Video player
2 - B&W 604S2
1 - B&W LCR6S2
2 - B&W 303's
Monster Biwire speaker cable for Fronts & Center
Monster Interconnets.

Definitly a BARGAIN for the best sound from a small box

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM601s2

Spectacular with all music and movies. Great styling.

NONE

I am just going to give a brief review now due to the fact that my h/k AVR300 is a piece of crap and I think it would be unfair to judge these speakers based on its performance. It's not really that bad, they actually sound great. However I know for FACT that I can much better judge there performance with the Marantz SR7200 that better get here soon.

What I will say is that these speakers seem to perform equally well with moth movies and music of all types. From Stan Getz to Moby it all sounds wonderfull. I will say that for movies and modern "bumping" tunes they really should be coupled to a sub, I use a Mirage 8" sub.

My girlfriend is especially fond of there small size and excellent styling, even with all four speakers on 30" stands. They just look QUALITY, especially matche with the LCR3 center channel.

I love these speakers. I had originally planned on picking up a sub/sat combo. I had never listened to sub/sats before so I strolled down to my local dealer to check out the Energy's. My lord I almost passed out at the lack of sound coming from this system. I had seen MANY great reviews on these speakers but I couldn't help but think that I was listening to sound coming from tin cans. Movies were almost tolerable, but music was COMPLETELY unacceptable. Enter the B&W 3series surround package and a happier healthier audiophile.

Similar Products Used:

Energy Take 5.2

Midrange and highs, imaging, actually made in UK

can't be biwired

Let me start by saying that I did not expect to buy these speakers. The reviews here for the Paradigm Mini are so outstanding, that I figured I would listen to those, be happy and buy them. I wish I had the timie to shop around more, but I don't.

These speakers are extremely well-suited for jazz and classical music. Good for rock, small for dance/pop. Keep in mind that they are small boxes, and bass is smooth and natural, though not abundant. In my comparison to the Paradigms, which look better on paper, I found the B&W's to be clearly superior. I started with some Diana Krall on the Paradigms, which sounded nice...crystal highs, impressive lows for their size, but pretty weak midrange and imaging. We then switched to the 303's and I what I heard gave me goosebumps. Her voice became so realistic, placed at a pinpoint between the speakers. Clearly the bright highs of the Paradigms gave way to much more realistic vocal and piano reproduction in the B&W's. What I can't explain, is why the 601's didn't excite me as much. I believe that they were a little more transparent, and had better soundstaging than the 303's, but less defined imaging. As we switched back and forth, the soundstage on the 303 narrowed ever so slightly, but the positioning of the musicians seemed to become more defined. The 601's have better bass and a slightly brighter high, but I had to choose the 303's, purely as a matter of sonic taste.

The $700 Boston Acoustics were quite impressive. The imaging and clarity was great, as well as the cabinetry. I used to enjoy Polk's, in fact I still use a 10 year old pair of RTA-8 towers. The new Polks (IMO) don't come close to the Paradigm/PSB/B&W/NHT offerings. My wife (a classical oboist) and I have been doing some side by side comparisons between my RTA-8 ($800 10 or 11 years ago) and the 303's. We both agree that for vocals, strings, piano, classical guitar and other acoustic recordings, the 303's are preferable. For rock, and probably very dynamic orchestra, the Polk's are going to win. To sum it up, the Polk's produce a dynamic wall of sound that excites you. The 303's have a warmth that melts you.

I am impressed that these seem to be well-made and came out of England. Many manufacturers at this price are utilizing cheaper labor markets. While the dimpled baffle functions to defract standing waves, the appearance is kind of bland. The maple veneer is attractive. The 601s2, which I could have had in black for $410, is biwireable...that would be my biggest wish for the 303's.

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Mini Monitors, B&W 601s2, Polk, Boston Acoustics Reference Monitors, PSB Alphas, 1B