I looked at the 302's simply because of all the great reviews on this site. At the risk of receiving hostile emails and getting nuked by B&W fans, really, these speakers SUCK!
OK, now for the objective review. Excellent midrange from such budget speakers. They sound typically British, that is to say laid back, transparent, and good mid. If "warm" or "soft" is your buzzword, you'd be perfectly happy with a pair of these. Classical and light (as in few instruments) instrumentals sound great on these. Rock and heavy metal just don't work on these. Unfortunately, I listen to heavy metal (Megadeth, Dream Theater etc) as well as classical and light instrumentals, so I need something more versatile than these.

Now, the bad news. No bass. Yes, they are bookshelvers, and small ones at that, but I've heard Krix Equinoxes (for twice the price) that has LOTS more bass, from an even smaller enclosure and tiny (4") mid/bass drivers. If you like that "warm, laid back" sound (an euphemism for speakers that lack high end), you might want to check out Tannoy's M2, which has more bass. Heck, the entire Tannoy product arsenal sounds like B&W302's, only with more bass (M1 excepted).

Cabinet design, construction and material? Well, cheapo-looking plastic. But the build quality is at least on par with any other speakers in this price range.

Oh, one final thought: PLEASE don't flame Steve, he knows PERFECTLY well what he's saying. The 302's don't cut it with the Yamaha amps which has a brighter (harsher?) sound, which explains his sound preference. And the lamp cord? If you laughed about the lamp cord bit, that pretty much means YOU don't know anything about hi-fi. You're probably from the "more $$$= more sound" camp.

I'd say, go the extra $100 or so and get the DM601's. Or NHT SuperOne's.

The best budget speaker on the planet for the money. I use them in my small 10x10 office with a classic nad 3140 and Marantz cd 63 with alchemy dac and dti Pro. I also tried them in my reference system to see how good they were. This speaker is amazing for the price. I also owned PSB ALpha and these are much smoother and more refined. Good imaging, great midrange and decent bass. What more can you say. Run out and buy them.

Great sound staging with accurate placement of instruments. Works well with light vocals and jazz. I was impressed by the non boomy bass reproduction despite the small cabinet size. It could use a voice matched sub to compensate for it early bass cutoff (around 70Hz) It does benefit from the use of good revealing cables such as the Kimber silver streak to take advantage of it's monitor like capability. Might not appeal to all...4 stars please.

Good God this speaker offers a lot for very little money! These speakers image respectably and within their limited range, they excell at tonal balance. Of course they look crappy and cheap, but that's somewhat ameliorated by getting them in Cherry. Ultimately, they do not go low enough to provide you with satisfaction in all genres of music, but I would rather have the material absent than present if done poorly. They are easily driven which is a plus and they sound very rich and liquid with quality tube amplification. They always gave me an impression of good pace and only when driven hard did the sound begin to suffer.

As far as small bookshelf speakers go, B&W really has a winner here in their Model 302. For about $250 retail, their transparency and imaging are unheard of at this price. Sure the NHT SuperOne and Paradigms as well as PSB bookshelves are comparable, but once you hear vocals and acoustic instruments, you may never be able to turn these B&W's down. Price, Performance, Value... that's what these little devils are all about. Highly Recommended - especially for bedrooms and dorm rooms. Unless you are a bass freak or a dyed-in-the-wool headbanger, you just can't lose. *****

OK, these aren't the best speakers I've heard on earth. BUT, I spent about $200 on them and they are the best $200 I can find bar none. A little bright for my taste, seems to have warmed up a bit though after about 6 hours, and my NAD AV713 receiver and 512 cd player rock this thing (Ask my neighbors!). I think the NAD/B&W combo is just the best shoestring system. Steve, not to bandwagon, but great NON-REVIEW, NOT! If I was to rate these speakers, they would get maybe a 3. The fact that I know how much they cost, they get an 5 from me. tight mid-range, lacks a bit on the low end (as most bookshelves do) but not screechy on the top end, which seems to annoy me the most. I pump a little Vanessa-Mae and I can even hear the flipping of the pages in the background. While I would have liked a pair of Dynaudio's, they don't make $200 speakers. I rate speakers based on cost/benefit ratio, and if you know of better speakers at this price, let me know!!!

I am using these for rears and CC3 for center. Would it be a good idea to get another pair for fronts and let the sub work the bass? Great pair!

Indeed, the little DM302 provides much performance for little money. Having listened to the '302s for quite some time with various electronics and program material, they will easily convey differences between electronics. (BTW, pairing the DM302s with an NAD C740 Receiver makes for a fine system.) Imaging, efficiency, and dynamics are strong points. For those interested in improving the DM302's performance, read Speaker Builder Magazine, issue 4-99 (July 1999).

Incredible sounding speakers when matched with a powered subwoofer- clean, crisp, and rich sounding.

Lack on bass, but one should not be expecting this size speakers to put out a high level of effecient bass.

I love my B&W 302's rich sound when matched with my powered subwoofer. These speakers are some of the best sounding speakers I have heard for their size. If you are considering small bookshelf speakers to be matched with a powered subwoofer for a smaller room, these must be considered.

Great sound for the price, good bass for the size

none for $200

Great set of speakers for the price point. I can't think of anything taht can beat these for the price. These speakers are what got me into the audio world (damn them to hell for it!). They're pretty easy to drive. I've paired them with a cheap Pioneer (100X5), a nice Yamaha (80X5, RX-V393 if memory serves me correctly), demoed with a Rotel integrated (i think 50X2), and currently have them with a Carver HR-772 (140X2) and haven't experienced any problems. There is a noticable hiss, and there's a strange popping sound, but this only shows up on some recordings. I blew a tweater a few months ago, and it was replaced, no charge. I love the 5 year warranty.

chris

Similar Products Used:

B&W 602, NHT Superone, NHT Superzero, Boston Acoustics