Depth, soundstage, clear highs, solid and realistic bass, excellent mid-range, ease of placement. Great value.

The rest of your life may suffer - you're not going to want to shut off the stereo.

I purchased these speakers on the recommendation of a friend who sells high-end equipment. His shop doesn't carry them, but he bought himself a pair from a competitor which speaks for itself. I had a listen to the 601 S3's and the 602 S3's and kept going back and forth between the two. In one shop the 602's sounded boxy in comparison to the 601's and in another shop the 602's blew me away with their depth. I played everything from Beck to Peter Gabriel to Pat Metheny and eventually settled on the 602's. I power them with 20 year old NAD Seperates - a 1020 preamp and a 2140 power amp - and the sound is limited only by the quality of the recordings. I use an NAD T562 DVD/CD Player to play back and have the speakers positioned on either side of a 27" TV Monitor - no speaker stands - and everything I run through them sounds better than ever before. Exceptional value. This is a no-brainer. If you haven't purchased them yet, do so. Now.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 1020 preamp, NAD 2140 Power amp, NAD T562 DVD/CD Player. Previously used Ohm Walsh 2's, Original Advent Loudspeakers.

Can run alone, without sub, and they sound great. Better than some other speakers, even B&W's at twice the price. They also look great and are very flexible.

Not for the price.

For the money these speakers are an excellent value. Placement makes a big difference in the output, especially the bass, which is substantial for such a small 2-way speaker. Recently added an M&K MX100 subwoofer, and a Harmon-Kardon 3470 (2x110 watt) receiver and the combo really sings, even through cheapo cables. Should be outstanding (for the money) once I acquire some decent cables.

Sweet detailed and clear highs, Very open and almost non-coloured mids

None for the price. Maybe bass could be a little bit better, but then again, these speakers aren't exactly big.

These speakers are very good all-rounders. I've listened to a few electronic songs (Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze) as well as to some classical works (Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre) and some songs from Sectret Garden and Simon & Garfunkel. The B&W's never let me down. The tweaters produce very clear and open sound, which mostly sounds soft and never really too bright. Mids are also very open and detailed. Bass is also good. The only thing these speakers lack a bit is the deeper bass, but these speakers aren't exactly big, so you can't expect a perfect sounding stunning deep bass from them. If you're looking for a speaker not too big that still delivers the goods, this might be the one for you.

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Also heard: KEF Q1, Q3, Q5, B&W DM601 S3 B&W DM602.5, Chario, Hepta.

Awesome sound, Great imaging and soundstage. Great all around stereo and HT monitor.

none

I sold by JBL Studio series speakers to purchase as set of B&W's and all I can saw is WOW! Once I heard the B&W's I was hooked!! The imaging and soundstage from this bookshelf I unbelievable! I compared these against the 601's and I must there is a big difference. The 602's had a much bigger sound and went much lower than the 601's, and 602.5's.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, B&W, Bose, Infinity, Paradigm

Impressive clarity, very good mids and highs especially with bi-wiring which I totally recommend.

None

I bought these speakers almost a year ago. Very good built with gold plated terminals ready for bi-wiring. They needed a break in period of at least 75h. After that they really shined. The clarity of the sound they produce is incredible. The mid and high frequencies are extremely good also. A really great bargain for the price. The 602s sound better even from speakers with considerably higher price. I am using the B&W speakers stands which is a great match to the speakers both sonically and aesthetically. I am also using the B&W ASW600 subwoofer which adds up a lot to the low frequencies (are very good even without the subwoofer). The rest of my system consists of: Onkyo TX-DS 494 AV receiver, Marantz CD 6000 OSE LE CD player, Pioneer DV-444-S DVD player, Dual CS-508 turntable. The center channel again from B&W is the cc6-S2 a very good much to the 602s. I usually listen to rock music (particularly to the great MFSL recordigs - both CDs and vinyl) and also classical music.

Similar Products Used:

Magnat blue ribbon, sony

They still have wonderfull midrange. Tweeter is improved

Bass is a bit boomy Pricey for this average performance

I decided to upgrade my B&W 601 s2 to some larger and fuller range 602 s3. Well I listened to them at the store...they sounded a little on the boomy side. The salesman assured me they needed to be broken in (this was very true of my 601 s2). Brought them home powered them for 3 days straight at mid volume (we went on vacation). Came back hooked up both the 601s2 and the 602s3 to my NAD c740 and Pioneer eliete cd changer. And I did some a/b comparisons. Midrange eveness is better on the newer 602 but the boomy midbass was driving me nuts. Miles davis jazz tracks sounded strange, BB King's lucile sounded bloated, Pink floyd was uncontrolled and Stairway to heaven went to hell. Then what you ask...I went back to the store got a deal on the B&W asw 300 sub brought it back plugged it in...right out of the box the 601s2 with asw 300 sub sounded better than the 602s3. I would have never expected this...but I returned the 602s3...just glad I did not e-bay my old 601s2 first. Don't get me wrong...still better than most speakers out there...but not the kind of showing I expect from B&W. You are better off buying a pair of 601s and a asw300 sub...about the same money as a pair of 602s.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601s2 PSB alpha 2b paradigm mini monitors and reference studio 20 Infinity studio monitors 100 bic dv 62sib (don't laugh they are the best $150/pair speakers I have ever heard)

Treble, midrange, bass, sound quality, price, looks, imagery, B&W reputation. Sounds better than speakers costing twice as much.

Not real wood veneer but a very realistic vinyl.

Well worth auditioning, these speakers have a very clean detailed sound with a full bass for a speaker this size. Ideal for medium size rooms. The Stereo imagery is superb! They sound like a breath of fresh air.

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Cyrus CLS70, Wharfedale 502.5.

Good soundstage, placement not as big an issue as most, sweet detailed highs, smooth effortless mids, and tight accurate base, big sound out of a little package

For the price, none!

Purchased these last week and thought I'd post a few initial reactions. Although they are larger than one would expect for a speaker in this range, the are still very attractive. The fit and finish are first rate and the B&W stands were reasonably priced. As far as the sound is concerned... I am very pleased so far. Obviously they are not broken in yet and might be just a hair on the bright side, but overall they are a very musical speaker. They have a pleasant forward quality about them and handle any musical transition with ease! I am very impressed with the base response provided by the 7" woofer. One would not expect such a rich and tight lower end from a speaker this size. Of course, as good as the base is, it can be enhanced significantly with a good quality sub. I have my B&W's set up with a 15" powered Klipsh sub and the combination is phenominal! I can listen to them for hours without the slightest bit of fatigue! Of course the best part of these speakers are not found on the bottom but in the detailed highs... The sound is not at all harsh and stringed instruments come through with a sweetness not found in any other speaker I've auditioned to date. There is no harshness or twang and they blend wonderfully with the 7" woofer, which really gives you a beautiful open midrange. Male voices in particular are outstanding! I listen to a lot of different types of music, and in all honesty, for the money, I can't imagine a better sounding speaker! What a great bang for the buck! PS As far as price goes... There aren't many discounts out there as B&W monitors their sales channel very closely. Similar to Rolex, their dealers are not aloud to discount and could loose their lisence if they do. This is good and bad... Bad when you buy and good when you sell... B&W's have a great resale which is a plus in my book! :)

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Carver, Infinity, Mirage, Snell, Klipsch, MB Quart, NHT...

Overall sound and price. I recommend the Mission STANCE speaker stands for these.

None at this price point but make sure you're using decent stands.

This is one great all-round speaker. It has incredible quality bass for a bookshelf speaker though I think good stands contribute to that. I'm using Mission Stance speaker stands and they're fantastic, very solid. I found the 602.5 and 603 were bass heavy and the 601's were similar but would not do as well in a larger room as the 602's do.

Similar Products Used:

B&W P6, Kef 104/2, Mission 770 Freedom, Paradigm Mini Monitor.

Warmth is amazing Bass Extension Smooth as glass sound

Equipment requirments The little gromets that hold the grilles are finicky

I have owned the B&W 602 s3 for about 6 months now and i haven't regretted my decision since. They play all music with ease, and never introduce harshness. They do not color the sound much, but good equipment is a must. My systems downside is my Sony CD Changer. Sometime next year i would love to get my hands on some tube amps for these, and then i could truley hear the potential they pack. A Definte Recomendation over any speaker below $1000

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon Tens (1994 made my paradigm)