Build quality, clarity, imaging

none

I upgraded from the 602s2 which were very good, but a little bright. With my Yamaha RX-V995 receiver the 603s were a huge improvement, but again they were a bit too bright and aggressive for my tastes. Female vocals had a sharpness that was abrasive at moderately high volumes. More importantly, they didn't have the soundstage that I thought they should have. Before buying the 603s,I tried the 604s and while when cranked up the soundstage was wonderful, at lower to moderate volumes the bass was muddy and punchless and the highs lacked the detail and sparkle of the 602s and 603s. I kept the 603s, but knew they could sound better.
I found the answer when I bought an Anthem MCA2 power amplifier (2 channel, 200watts/ch). Using the Yamaha receiver as a preamp, the Anthem is a perfect match for the 603s. I now hear the music instead of the speakers. The soundstage and imaging are so incredible that the speakers virtually disappear. Even at very low levels the clarity and detail are superb without losing any of the transparency. Before I would have said the 603s were very good, but now I can say without reservation that they are truly a remarkable speaker.
If you want to see what this speaker is capable of, try the Anthem amp ($699 retail). You will not believe the difference.

Similar Products Used:

602s2,604s2,Paradigm

Great Bass response and clear Mid/High section

Nothing Yet!

I just bought this set of speakers for a bargain of $670. After 20 years listing to my old Philips Electronics gears it was time to bring some new live into our living room.
Reading some Hi-fi magazines and about $1500 to spend, I start the search for some new equipment.
After some listing to various speakers I found this 603 S2 sounding just right for me. No aggressive Mids and good Bass and Highs! The Amp, Tuner and CD/CDR I bought a Pioneer, I also get them for a good price($880 total).
I hooked the 603 S2 up to my new Pioneer A-607R amp and it sounds just great, compared to my old gear it's a revolutional difference!
I agree with many other, these speakers’ sounds excellent for its price and certanly are worth to listen to when you want to change speakers!

I like the good midranges and highs of this speaker.

On my receiver I find the bass too low.

I like this speaker a lot, but on my Denon 3300 receiver the bass is too small to suit me. My 602s get better bass on a Technics receiver than the 603s do on a Denon. Now, I'm not saying it's the speaker with the low bass, it might just be the reciever. I have never hooked the 603s up to the Technics receiver so I will have to try that sometiime to see if the bass improves.

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM602

Awesome Bass, Awesome Soundstage, Awesome High End Clarity

None!!!

This speakers are incredible. I see some people whine that not enough bass. Perhaps you need to have sdome well matched electronics and interconnects.

My system consists of Rotel 200W/Ch RB-991, B&W 603 S2s and Sony ES CD.

Interconnects between AMP to Speakers is Kimber Kable 4TC, Bi-Wired (a must for superb bass). All interconnects are Canare Cable.

I am telling you, the sound is extremely impressive. Even when compared to my Bryston AMP and B&W 604s.

Love it.

great sound

none yet

i've had a technics asgx500 80watts x 2 receiver since college (about ten years) hooked up to a pair of cheap pioneer speakers.
now that i have a real job i thought i would get a real system.
i made my speaker purchase first.
i can't express how much better they made my old technics receiver sound.
it's like hearing some songs for the first time.
i'm still going to buy a new receiver, but it's amazing the difference these speakers make.
i am not an expert by any means, but these have to be some of the best speakers for the money ($900)
i highly recommend them.
some people have complained they do not have enough base, i have not found that to be a problem.
i didn't really compare them to any other speakers. a friend has a pair of 602's... i liked them and expressly went out to buy a pair.
but then i listened to the 603s2 side by side with the 602's
there is a significant difference between the two.
then again, the 603's are about $400 more.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

Incredible value for the money! Extreemly well made, Great smooth sound.

Would prefer more finish choices (but that is nitpicking).

I have been involved in audio for most of my adult life. I even have sold audio equipment at a very well respected store, gone and taken the PARA class, gone to conventions, spent countless hours listening to speakers, etc. I have listened to, sold, taken apart and discected darn near every "comercially" available speaker and I have YET to find a line of speakers that even comes close to the B&W line as far as quality for the dollar. KEF would be second on my list, but the OLD KEF, not the new.

Anyway: I considermyself pretty knowledgeable about audio equipment, but do NOT CONSIDER MYSELF AN AUDIOPHILE. I have found most of "Them" to be so full of themselves its laughable. Take it from someone that used to be in the business, you need to look at the following when buying speakers:

1. How well is it made? The 603 has most of what you want; cast baskets, good internal bracing, great attention to what you can't see (the way they cut the foam-not just insulation-baffling inside the speaker, the way they gasket the speaker to the cabinet, the way the spikes screw in to the bottom, the thickness of the front of the speaker,etc.) They even give you some "foam plugs" for the ports if you need to fine tune the bass, mids, etc. I am using them by the way, they do work great.

2. Is it in my budget? If not, don't spend too much time on it. Yeah, the Hales T3's sound great paired up with Krell amps, but I don't want a second mortguage to listen to music!

3. Where is it going to go? Bookshelf speakers will sound good in a small room, while huge towers will possibly be out of place in an office/den. The 603's are in my old office/den which is now my listening room with this computer tucked in a corner.

4. How does it sound to YOUR EARS? Let me repeat: Do YOU like the way they sound? If not pass on them, no matter WHAT you read. I always sat there amazed when selling speakers to people and listen to them tell me a particular speaker sounded "too tight in bass" while others said "too boomy"! If you don't think that people hear different, just cup your ears when listening to something, you will be amazed.

In short, I found the B&W's fit all of the above for me. I loved the way they sounded in the showroom, and the dealer was nice enough to let me audidion a pair in my home. These were put up against: Boston, Snell, Canton, Energy. It wasn't even a close fight (and some of the above mentioned were considerabley more expensive). Simply put, the 603's were easy for me to listen to for a long period of time. I actually didn't want to turn them off....they are on right now as I write this review.

Do yourself a favor and go and listen to these speakers if they are in your budget. Are there better speakers out there? Yes. Do I care anymore? NO.

Oh: For those who want to know, I have the following:

Adcom GFA585 Limited Edition (nothing like the 555 by the way)GCD575 and GPP500II, Monster Cable wire, AND A REALLY BIG SMILE ON MY FACE EVERY TIME I LISTEN TO THESE SPEAKERS!

Similar Products Used:

Snell, KEF, Canton, Hales, Boston, Energy, Paradigm.

Great smooth midrange, awesome highs, very clear

Size

These speakers were everything that I expected from B&W- very unbiased, clear reproduction of what I put into them. I am using the DM 603 s2s with the B&W ASW 1000 sub- a great combo. I hear things that I've never heard before on recordings I've listened to many times on other speakers, with the 603s hooked up to my cheap Yamaha receiver (50w x2)! I can't imagine what they'll sound like with something better. The imaging is also very good. Their great midrange makes vocals sound real. I needed a good pair of speakers for a wide range of music (311, Mahler, Roni Size, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Chemical Brothers, Tschaikovsky, etc.), and I got it with these 603s.

Oh, and they're great for movies too. The Matrix and Ronin were clear as day- every gun click, voice, and explosion was seamless.

Similar Products Used:

Never heard speakers as good as these in this price range (list: $1100)

Great sound, deep clear bass

Design

I have just begun dow the road of 'real' audio equipment. I'm not there yet, although I am happy with my Kenwood KA-5090R amplifier. At first I took home the B&W P4's, but didn't like them. The highs were almost attacking my ears and I couldn't hear any bass at all. At the shop I listened to many other sets and sticked with the DM 603 S2's.
I truly am very content with them. The sounds I hear are unbelievably clear and the bass is superb! The speakers are above my initial budget, but they're worth every guilder!!
Deeply impressed!

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, B&W P4

clarity, excellent separation, lots of bass presence.

box design isn't appealing to the eyes to match the great sound it produces.

These are the best sounding floorstanding loudspeakers I ever had. My MS25i was no match when I compare. I used it with my Denon AVC-A1D AV amplifier and it rocks!

Similar Products Used:

Mordaunt Short MS25i Pearl Edition
Chario Syntar 100T

Excellent for Jazz/Rock/Fusion with correct amplification!
Bi-Wire capable (w/ good 5-way binding posts)

Metal-dome tweeter can inspire love/hate relationship. Vinyl veneer??? How about wood like Polk's!!!

Started out with a set of 302's... with their soft-dome tweeter, they provided spine-tingling string passages and
wonderfully warm vocals. Then came Victor Wooten...
Victor's style of bass playing will test the limits of any
speaker. The little 5" mid-woofer could not take the heat so I bought a pair of 603's.

Trying to drive the 603's with a 70 wpc integrated amp did
not give me the "effect" I was aiming for.

Ended up with 100 wpc ROTEL integrated feeding the HI-FREQ and the 135 wpc ROTEL 981 on the LO/MID FREQ's. All using dedicated 10' runs of Straightwire Octave II wire.

SHAZZAM!!!

The bass runs on Sinister Minister (Live Art) can break ribs at three paces with volume settings greater than 50%.

Current Favorites
"B.L.U.E. Nights Bruford Levin Upper Extremities Live"
King Crimson with a (B)itches Brew flavor from the ethereal trumpet and guitar playing of Chris Botti and David Torn.

"VTT2 VitalTechTones Volume 2"
With Steve Smith, Scott Henderson, and Victor Wooten.. need
I say any more??? Scott Henderson's best playing to date IMHO. check out Narobi Express

"The Hudson Project"(Ambercrombie, Erskine, Patitucci,
Mintzer) AWESOME (jazz/fusion-lite) recording quality with swagger. This CD should be used to showcase HDCD.

"Cause and Effect" (Coryell, Coster, Smith)
This trio BURNS in this rock/fusion fest. MUUCHO SWAGGER

"Road Rage" (Warren Cucurrullo and Company)
The Missing Persons/Duran Duran axeman cometh...
Definite Hendrix aura... very passionate delivery!!!
If you crave the scorched earth guitar solo then don't miss his remake of Duran Duran's "Ordinary World".

"Jazz Fusion Volume 2" (Rhino compilation)
Excellent smathering of smoldering rock/fusion, contains Steve Khan's Casa Loco... SWAGGER (X10) UNBELIEVEABLE!!!

"Temporal Analogues of Paradise" (Helleborg, Lane, Sipe)
"Time is the Enemy" (Helleborg, Lane , Sipe)
Both LIVE recordings, bassist Jonas Helleborg swaggers, guitarist Shawn Lane goes from whisper to a scream both speed and complexity, sometimes dense otherwise minimilistic and Jeff Sipe provides some impressive work on the skins.

"The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life" (Frank Zappa)
"Live at the Roxy" (FZ)
"FZ in New York" (FZ)

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM302's