Everything
Good bang for your bucks

None

Spent several months searching for big speakers that performed at high volume and kept great sound. Firstly I am no expert and have only got into home theatre recently. My budget wasn't that great but as looked around espically at this site and other reviews you start to learn alot. Basically you should spend most of your money on the speakers, they should last you atleast 20+ years. Hi fi equipment is always changing and something new is just around the corner. I first tried the 602, a very good speaker but not quit enough kick for what I wanted. Brought home a pair of 603s to try and the difference was very noticeable. The more I cranked it up the better it got. Was very impressed. Since I was also going to get a sub as well this was all the speaker I needed. If you haven't got room for a sub or a stubborn female then try the 604/605 for more bass. These will take a while to break in out of the box, but you will be very happy and will no look back.

System :

STR-DB 930
DVP-C670D
B&W DM 603 S2 (front)
B&W DM 601 s2 (rear
B&W CC6 S2
B&W ASW 1000

Similar Products Used:

B&W DM 602 S2
B&W DM 601 S2

I obtained these loudspeakers from a friend who wanted to upgrade his system to NT's. I wanted to make these the centerpiece of a modest HT System in a 12'x20' room.
Driven by an aging, but still critical, Accuphase E202 of Kensonic Labs, these loudspeakers exhibited very fine imaging, almost pinpoint in accuracy, moderately deep and wide soundstage and nicely balanced sound throughout the audible range. I found that the bass was better defined by raising these about 5 inches from the floor and about 30' from the backwall. The inner voices in Beethoven's 9th were distinct and most gratifying, among other sound sources. IN sum, I would highly recommend these 603S2's without any reservation.

Clear, smooth, revealing. Nice low/mid punch. Great vocals.

Sounds a little veiled/restrained at low power.

Brought these home after returning some Klipsch KLF20's. Thought the Klipsch sounded more open and had a larger sweet spot(see review). Originally passed on the B&W's because they sounded more restrained and didn't have quite the wide soundstage. However, now that I've had them a few weeks, they have openned up some. Nice full range sound with no harshness--even at the high end--and zero ear fatigue. You can blast these things for hours and enjoy every minute. Placement is much more important than with Klipsch. Took me a couple of weeks to get it right. The soundstage is excellent, but creating width of the sweet spot is very difficult. If you listen by yourself this isn't a problem, but with three or four people sitting shoulder to shoulder it's a challenge. So far the solution has been to toe the speakers in so they overshoot the center by about 18" apiece. Timing differential is negligable and the off axis response db's help shift the sweet spot without reeling you in to the closer speaker. Using the LCR6 for excellent center channel reproduction. Currently pushing them with an old Yamaha RX-V793 with 80 WPC. These speakers do not open up sonically unless my receiver is turned up at least 1/3 of the way--but this isn't all that loud considering their 90SPL rating. Also important, when originally hooked up with Monster-XP wire they sounded harsh. The change moving to low end Monster MCX-1s was huge. All the high end harshness went goodbye and it smoooothed the full range of sound--really. If someone could get ahold of me about how to open these babies up at low volume and expanding the sweet spot, I would be most grateful. Thinking that a high current amp with 150+ WPC would make a difference. Anybody out there got some answers??? Thanx for hearing my 2 cents worth. Jay

Similar Products Used:

Advent, Klipsch, Yamaha, etc...

Fantástico sonido, sobrio diseño, sólida construcción.

Poseen un sonido tan bello, que en ciertas músicas, provocan un sentimiento de nostálgica alegría.

Estas cajas han cambiado mi concepto de "disfrutar escuchando", he utilizado varios componentes a lo largo de mas de veinte años y creo haber logrado una integración ideal para mí gusto. Las cajas junto al amplificador Yamaha AX 496 y un CD player de la misma línea, hacen una combinación increíble.
Las DM 603 s2, brindan unos perfectos graves, más unos increíbles medios y agudos, mis gustos van desde The Beatles a Miles Davis, escuchar un Sgt.Pepper's o Abbey Road, o un Kind of Blue de Davis, es realmente asombroso. Me crié junto a la música del los cuatro de Liverpool, más allá de viajar musicalmente por varios estilos. Con éstas cajas es como escuchar una "nueva grabación", son generosas en toda su gama de sonido y terriblemente fieles,màs alla de dar un sonido poderoso con mucho cuerpo cuando se las exige.
Sin duda, en lo personal, no creo poder pedir más...al decir del slogan de una prestigiosa marca de auriculares en otro tiempo, "oír es creer", aunque lo que éllas dan parezca increíble.¡Grandes B-W y las 603 S2.

Similar Products Used:

Salvo unas viejas Philips holandesas, un modelo AH 467,nada que se les pueda comparar.

I just purchased the 603's after having the 602's. This speaker is wonderful. Clean, punchy bass, and ear pearcing highs. This is a much better speaker than the 602!

Just picked these up downtown...quite possibly the perfect speaker for rock (soft to hard) & louder jazz, yet handles all the "soft" audiophile nuances as well as speakers 3x as much. Amazing. Best 1100 bucks I've spent yet. Seems amazingly well paired with my Rotel 950 receiver & 955 CD player. I plan to pick up the Rotel RB-981 power amp and prepare to not leave the apartment.

Powerful speakers, good for rock. There are better speakers in detail and construction for the price.

I recently purchased a new home, and accordingly I kept my priorities in order. The home theater was one of the first purchases - thus the plastic porch furniture in the kitchen. I purchased an RSX965 along with B&W DM603 Fronts, CC6 Center, DS6 Surrounds, and an ASW-1000 sub. The usual source is a Toshiba 3109, into a Mitsubishi 50" Diamond (If the reason for porch furniture wasn't clear before...)
I've spent the last few months digging around auditioning various speakers and components to put together this system. I stumbled on a dealer one day on my way to a picnic and found the audio portion this configuration setup in one of their listening rooms. It sold itself. This system can easily be maxed without any sign of distortion (Except for the aluminum siding rattling outside my house!)and at normal levels provides excellent clear and sharp sound.

The dealer had several B&W speakers available in the room and I drove them nuts for several hours trying different configurations. My original intention was to go for B&W's new 605 series (w/ two 7" subs powered w/ 130 watt amps in each cabinet) and skip the subwoofer for now. I found those to be outstanding for stereo sound, but the just didn't have the kick in the head feeling for home theater. We kicked in the ASW-2000 and the room that was already filled with sound joined the action on the screen.

I found myself looking at a crazy price tag for the 605's and an ASW-2000 not to mention a system that would probably blow out the walls in my poor little ranch house. I toned down and ordered the 603 fronts and the ASW-1000. This combination sounds excellent. The 603's take care of the stereo base and fill the room evenly while the sub packs a solid kick. I definately prefer the large format front speakers as compared to the small. If you are debating about this, go for the large format. The 603's won't overpower a small room.

I did listen to the ASW-1000 alone with 602's originally and found the effects to be solid, but the feeling of even stereo music base throughout the room wasn't there. So in the end This taught me that a system without a sub should create an environment that is evenly and completely filled with almost the complete spectrum, then bring in the sub for the big guns!

I also purchased a new home this year (the neighbors at my old apartment would have never appreciated my current system). I couldn't be happier with these speakers. I am using them with a B&W CC6s2, 602s2, Velodyne va1012x, Toshiba 3109, Yamaha cdc505, and a Denon avr3300. These speakers are a perfect match in my opinion. They are great for movies and music. Vocals, Piano, Accoustic Guitar - all very realistic.
There are some speakers that come close for the price but they don't have that B&W quality. They are very solidly constructed. I expect to have these speakers 15 or 20 years from now.

bass, midtones

rather shrill highs

This is great fun for little money. With the right components you can make them sound almost like an audiophilic dream.