Love these speakers. In this price range (< $400) these had the best mid to high end I heard (I listened to energy, and PSBs along with the 305s). The bass is tight, but leaves a little room at the very low end. I figure I'll get a sub in a year or so. Oh yeah, its matched up with a Rotel 970 amp and a piece o crap 100 CD player from sony.
I'm far from an expert, but for a newbie in the High Fi arena, I think these are a great deal. Especially matched with the Rotel 970. I am giving them a four just because I don't think there are any five starts in this price range

Simply a very very good sounding speaker for this price.

Lacks freq. <40Hz but that's where the subwoofer comes in.

For this price, this speaker is a bargain. It's sound is very neutral and detailed. It doesn't go very deep, but bass is tight. Together with a CC3 and a pair of 302's you'll have a great stereo/homecinema speakerpackage.

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I auditioned B&W603S2, Tannoy R2/R3/S6, Elipson Morgane 2

Clarity, 'warm' sound, good sound landscaping, extreemly good value for money.

Low frequencies don't quite hit the mark...

I bought my DM305's some years back and have had a chance to test them thoroughly, both as music speakers aswell as home cinema speakers.

To begin with, these speakers are a real killer when it comes to value for money.
In this price range (and above) I have listned to many speaker brands, some where better in some qualities but none offered so much in all qualities as the B&W's.
As an allrounder these are simply unbeatable, even in a slightly higher price-range.

Sound is crisp and clear, but without sounding 'cool'.
Instead it retains that 'warm' quality that most of us like so much, but without a booming base.
Eventhough it isn't a speaker capable of going realy deep ferquency wise, it still is more than enough for music listeners.
The mid-range is good, precise and clear as can be expected.
The high frequency level is also very good and leaves little to be desired, even when listening to a soprano singing at the top of her voice.

As a movie setup I'm currently using them as my main speakers with a Tannoy centre and rear speaker and a Yamaha RVX495 amp.

In my little home cinema these speakers are also good alrounders, but I do miss that vital low-frequency punch that is oh-so important in film.
But that was to be expected, therefore I'd advise anybody with DM305's to buy a sub-woofer unit to augment the main speakers. (I'dd advise to buy the entire B&W set of rear/center and sub-woofer for home-cinema use)

One thing that I have also noticed is that the 'sound landscaping' is quite good.
If you close your eyes and just listen, it seems as if the music has persepective, width and depth.
Although I must hasten to add that the accoustics of the room is very important!
Both for the soundscape as for the base.
If the base is not enough simply put the speakers closer to a wall... but at a cost. (a slight loss in clarity and soundscape).

If you buy these speakers you are assured that every penny was spent wisely.

Enjoy!

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Mission, Tannoy, KEF, etc.

VALUE, craftsmanship, MATRIX design, bi-wireability, looks, sound

Hollow sound

These are really great speakers. I am currently breaking them in so hopefully the hollow sound that I hear will fill in. For the price, these speakers really can't be beat, especially from a company that makes it's own parts (drivers etc...) instead of companies like Infinity who outsources their materials (which means they can buy from the lowest bidder). The matrix waffle design in the back makes you feel like you bought something amazing, same goes for the spike feet, another good touch.

Go out and get these if you want a hi-fi set of speakers from a proven name in the industry. They truly deliver.

great resolution, sharp looks,adequate bass

none yet

these are the capstone to my ht/hi-fi rebuilding project
which has lasted a year. wanted the 602's but the
irs put paid to that.so I listened to polk audio rt400's
for an hour so i could say that i gave everything a chance.
but while the price was right these prefab speakers just
didnt do it for me (are you listening matt polk?). so I
went to listen to my first choice last. the bw 601's made
the polks,infinities, and all the other dept store speakers
sound like toys from an emerson boombox.But I saw these
attractive floorstanders and the salesman said he had a
pair from last year for 375 so I figured why not listen?
I might as well give these the same chance as those polk
noisemakers. well, it took about ten seconds of rondstat
and neville before i knew these were my speakers. extra bass missing frm the 601's added to the incredible detail
knocked my socks off{a sub still helps, though}.when I
first wired them up to my denon 1400 they weren't broken in yet but the sound was amazing. A drum kit actually sounded
like a drum kit and you could hear nuances that you couldnt hear on my 16 yr old bose (purchased when bose still
tried, at least). On some tracks i heard vocalizations
that I had never heard before! and while these things were
made for jazz they handle rock with aplombe. and they really look nice. So I biwired them figuring how much
diff can it make? well, for one thing your amp doesnt
have to work as hard, which helps. but the bass DOES
seem more detailed and theres more of it. the denon
is built for biwiring and i always cussed denon for
this, wanting to use the b-speaker connection for a 2nd
room but i can see why they did it. the slightly softer top end of the denon makes it a good match for these,btw.
so even though these arent burned in yet I can give them
a top rating, figuring any improvement in sound would
be a bonus. if your reciever doesnt have provisions for
bi-wiring just use the a speakers for the top and the b
speakers for the bottom connectors and run both. a reviewer
that i read named steve sugested that you could BUILD your
own speakers and save some bucks ( i think it was on a bw
brand page).well, if I could build something like a bw305
I certainly wouldnt be workin for eight bucks an hour.I just cant wait till I can get a cc3 so that the center channel of my dts stuff sounds as good as the rest of my stuff. I think that you would have to get a 603 to beat these, just plan on losing plenty of sleep because your
listening to all of your cd's to see what they REALLY
sound like.these might get 4 stars (nothings perfect)
but at 375$? you have to give these babies 5 stars. besides
its nice to see that at least one speaker company still cares about what their name goes on(if I take the gril off of one more
speaker and see one of those midrange-tweeter module combos
screwed into the front I'm going to scream!) Way to go
B&w!!

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bose 501 series 4 advent

Clairity,Smooth Bass,Price,and just about everything else.

Limited Bass

After 15 years of using the same pair of Sound Dynamics my buddie told me to look into a pair of Cerwin Vega's and I was overwhelmed by the power(something they pride themselves in) but when I compared the sound quality to any of the B&W's it was just a joke.

After sampling a few pairs like the 601's and a bookshelf pair from the Nautilus line.I decided upon the DM 305's. Don't get me wrong the differance between the Nautilus's and the 305's were very noticable but not for the price differance.

A few thing's really impressed me about these speakers. I was very impressed by how smooth the bass sounded, rarley do you hear such a nice pump. It was not scratchy or muddy in the least bit however I would not recoment them to anyone looking for a power speaker. If you listen to alot of dance or electronica perhaps invest in a subwoofer as well(I sugguest one from B&W due to bass smoothness) Very nice clairity as well as a good price. I got them on Clearance for $550Canadian regularly about $800. And so far have been absolutley thrilled.

In conclusion it is a pleasure to listen to such a well made speaker and I would recomend it to anyone. However if you listen to alot of Jazz or Classical I recomend saving a little longer and getting something from the Nautilus line.

Outrageous soundstage, price point, classy cosmetics, bi-wired, tight bass, smooth highs, VALUE!!!!

Center speaker not availible in cherry finish to match the 305's

All I can say is if you've been debating on the purchase of a new set of speakers or possibly a new home cinema system -RUN - to your nearest B&W dealer and pick a set of these floor standers up - the 305's are simply to DIE for in this price range!!! After atleast 3 months of solid research and auditioning I finally decided on these last week... it was alot of fun buying my first set of quality speakers and as I auditioned different kinds it was easier and easier to distinguish the nuances between models and brands. After reading the reviews on this site I had prematurely decided I was going to purchase Paradigm speakers - boy was I glad I didn't! Don't get me wrong - i thought the Monitor series sounded decent (and definately a good value) but I found the top end slightly harsh compared to the DM 305's (i was comparing the Monitor 5's) - and to all those who rave about the Paradigm performance line, evaluate based on sound not the hype (i nearly made a mistake in purchasing a pair of phantoms) - harshest hard dome tweets i've heard in a while (although if you live in Canada you can get a great deal on the Paradigm line). Anyways down to performance on the DM 305's... I was scared to death when I first plugged them in!!! They sounded horrible and I didnt know why - then I reffered back to the other reviews and others said that they needed to get worked in over about a month to sound they're best - and were they ever right... its a trip every day to come home from work and listening to sound that is constantly getting better - they play accurately with all types of music... jazz, classical, rock, house, techno... the 6.5's REALLY surprised me as they got down on rolled with some of the better 8" i've heard before in much more expesive models. I plan on buying the smaller 302's as rears with the matching center... I heard this setup and was simply blown away by the sound to price ratio - I swear these drivers sound as good as units costing over twice as expensive. The prices I paid are as follows in American dollars:

DM 305---- $300/pr
DM 302---- $180/pr
CC $110/each

Yes those prices are correct for those of you in the US - things are definately greener on the Canadian side of the border - these I got on sale - but the fellows at MoreTone Audio in Guelph will be able to work out a deal on these for sure... Apparently B&W handles NA distribution out of Toronto so deals can be had by shopping around carefully in the area. Good luck! BTW I know my words were a little harsh on the Paradigms but if youre looking at the monitor or performance line - you must give the DM3's a listen - you'll definately thank yourself for years to come!

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All Paradigm, KEF, B&W 600's,Polk, NHT