Strong Image, Accurate details, Tight Bass, Great Looks

Not magnetically shielded

I listened to a lot of speakers, with the same reference CD, and these speakers simply blew the rest away. They are slim, elegant, and powerful. Paradigm Monitor 11 speakers were my second choice. I considered and auditioned Paradigm Monitor 11, Definitive Technology 2006TL, B&W 604S2 and Acoustic Research AR9. After nearly 11 months of research and listening I narrowed my list down to B&W and Paradigm. I almost bought the paradigms because B&W speaker setup in a home theater seemed expensive. The whole B&W setup was coming to $1600 (604 S2 as mains) + $550 (LCR6 S2 as center) + $650 (602 S2s as Surrounds) and $1400 (ASW 2500 as Sub) = $4200. The paradigm system8 was available for $2850. So I almost decided to go for Monitor 11s cause the whole home theater setup was $1400 cheaper. But I got very lucky and I found a place where I could buy the above B&W setup for $2650. It was actually $200 less than the paradigm setup. Incredible isn’t it? Paradigm Monitor 11s are ok at that price but they don’t come anywhere close to 604 speakers. 604s go deeper than 11s. 604’s soundstage is far superior to 11s. When I auditioned speakers for movies I used the movie “The Haunting” as a reference DVD. Believe it or not 11s rattled at times. The paradigms are 21/2 way design but 604s are 3way designs. This resulted in uncluttered mids and fast bass. It is not the cost (or the looks) that made me buy B&W speakers. It is their sound quality. These speakers image is breath taking. When I auditioned them every single detail came across very clear and open. When I setup my speakers I found no major weak spot where the SPL dropped significantly. Mine is a large room and these speakers filled all of it. Right out of the box these speakers sounded kind of muted. They sounded boxy. The highs were bright and the mids and lows were weak. When my wife and myself go to work I used to turn them on and after a few hundred hours playing they opened up quite a bit. Now when I play Ravi Shankar’s sitar the music comes across as soft, serene and real. No harshness. No bright highs. All the details flowed through cleanly. The Jazz music plays truly awesome on these speakers. When played with the subwoofer Alternative music sounded punchy. These speakers are sensitive enough to work with electronics with moderate amplification levels. I can imagine them to do an exceptional job when played wi

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Paradigm

Looks, sound

A bit heavy if you have to carry them up the stairs alone.

This too is about B&W 604 S3. I went decided to try out both the 603 and 604 because they fitted my budget. I would have liked the CDM-NTs but they''re too expensive. I had the luck having a good sales-person who advised me to take my amp in for a half day trial with both the speakers. I started out with the 603s. At first listen I wouldn''t have taken the speakers. The bass was tight and the highs were good too, but the mids were too hard and metallic. She shop-keeper told me to wait and let the amp warm up and let the speakers get ''in the mood''. After 45 min we put the song we heard first on again and what a difference! Very warm sound from the mids, crisp highs and tight bass. I would be totally pleased with these speakers. After an extra 30 min of listening, we connected the 604s. Again the mids were a little metallic but knowing the 603s you could really hear the potential. After about an hour of play they had the same warm sound as the 603s but more power behind them. As for needing a lot of power to feed them, I have a Denon AVR-3802 which has 107 W per channel at 8 Ohms, and my Denon drives this speaker superbly! As you can see, I bought the 604s.

Great highs, smooth lows, mids not negatively affected by tons of power and tons of bass. Great sound stage.

Not sure.

Note: This review is for the 640 S3. I listened to B&Ws a while back. I compared them to Paradigms, Monitors and a few others. At the time I chose the Energy Take 5 system do to my condo and budget contraints. Just recently I was looking for new speakers again. I auditioned several speakers including Klipsch, Energy Veritas, Paradigm, Vienna Acoustics and more. I was looking at the 603 S3 thinking it sounded great at a great price but decided to put in up against a Paradigm side by side in the same room. I was convinced at this point one of the two would make me happy. The sales person did an odd thing though. He said, "You have to compare it to the Studio 60", well I did and the 603 couldn''t keep up. The Studio 60 was 300 more though so at this point I''m wondering if I should spring for the Paradigm. Before just assuming that was the right speaker for me I decided to be fair to myself and audition the 604 which cam in at the same price (before the discount I got). I realized that the 604 had the low end the 603 was missing. It also seemed to strain far less then the 603. I was amazed at the improvement and since I did prefer the highs of the B&W to the Paradigm already, the bass was the last thing I needed to purchase the B&W. I believe that probably in the past the Studio 60 might have been better than the 604 S2, but at this point I prefer the 604 S3. Of course you should note, the speakers had to be side by side, I could probably take one or the other home and never know the difference. Anyway, that''s my story. Please note I''m not audiophile, I just like what I like. I purchased the LCR600, and 601 S3 for my rear speakers as well.

Similar Products Used:

Energy, Paradigm, Monitor, Klipsch, Vienna Acoustics.

Looks, Build, Sound, Punch and PRICE!!!

Well, cheap spikes...but what do you expect for this proce? I paid $620 per speaker!

Well...I will start by saying in th epast 6 montsh I have had many setups. I built a dedicated HT and first bought Def Techs..my room was too small f or them so I switched to Monitor Audio Gold Ref 60''s, 10''s and Center. Sounded good, but was $6500. Decided to set up an audio only room and bought some Revels, and took back the $6500 B&W''s to buy a more affordable HT since I spent a mint on my Audio Only setup. I tried 4 Paradigm Studio 40''s and center in my HT. It was good, but lacked my Monitor Audio''s punch and dynamics, so back they went. I then went to my delaer where I purchased the wonderful revel Studios and saw the NEW B&W 604''s S3 version (New 2002 version) They were very attractive and I was told I could get two 604''s, Matching center (biggest one) and two 601 S3''s for the rear for only $2250 total. This was $4250 less than the monitor audio setup. I took them home, set them up, calibrated them and turnedon some reference DVD''s and some music DVD''s as well. WOW!! These babies, right out of the box BEAT the Paradigms in a BIG way, and I piad $300 MORE for the Paradigm setup! These speakers perform to about 98% of what the Monitor Audio $6500 package did for HT at $4250 less. The Monitor GR60''s are better for music, but for HT, these 604''s are killer. These things are built great, look great and kick some major butt in HT. I can say if you have up to $6k to spend on HT audition these, and save some $$$. I am using a Krell HTS2, Sunfire Cinema Grand amp and a Toshiba 9200 DVD player ,with monster interconnects, and Tara Labs cable.

Similar Products Used:

Monitor Audio GR60, def Tech BP 2000, Paradigm Studio 40''s

B&W quality, nautilus tweeter, kevlar and aluminum drivers, deep extended bass SLAM, silky rich mids, sweet highs

vinyl covered instead of wood veneer, really not that big of a deal, Sonic performance far outweighs a piece of furniture.

This review is for the NEW B&W DM 604 S3. The model year is 2002 and let me tell you it was worth waiting for the series 3 over the series 2. The addition of the aluminum coned woofers allowed the frequency response to dip below 38hz. Right out of the box these babies sounded very impressive and it gives me goose bumps thinking about the sonics of these after about 100hrs break in. Its hard to believe B&W''s nautilus line could sound $1000s of dollars better and since I didnt want to spend $3500 I didnt even demo the Nautilus line, why torture yourself and ruin the appreciation for the line that you can afford. These speakers I feel certain will rival many manufacturers $2000-2500 range speakers mayber even surpass their sonic capabilities. The bass response is taught and punchy, dare I say even reaching into subsonic octaves, amazing for 7" drivers. Midrange is also phenomenal because of the 7" kevlar mid driver and the nautilus grade tweeter speaks for itself. My only would be complaint and it is only because of the WAF is that they didnt construct these with real wood veneers, the vinyl covering would be ok had they offered it in dark cherry but only in black ash and light oak. I chose the black ash the light oak just doesnt cut it for me or my wife. For the price I paid for these sonic masterpieces I guess you cant expect wood veneer, that would be asking for too much. There match up with my Nakamichi AV-10 reciever perfectly. If your looking for phenomenal loudspeakers that are both accurate and capable of chest pounding SLAM for under $1600 then these are your ticket to utopia. Let your ears do the talking, I did because I thought I was dead set on PSB stratus silver i. Guess I was wrong on that! LOL, ENJOY My setup, Nakamichi AV10 Receiver Nakamichi DVD10 dvd player Sony cd, (soon to be replaced with NAK) yamaha cassette dbx 1bx B&W DM 604 S3 mains PSB image 8c center Bose AM5 rear monster interconnects IXOS 6004 Bi-Wire speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

PSB, Martin Logan, CSW, Monitor Audio, Magnepan.

clean, rich sound

initally hard to set for the sweet spot

i love the bloddy speakers. i was impressed with them when i had my old pioneer powering them but now that i got my new denon, it's incredable. great for home theater and classical/jazz music. not as good for rock and pop but that's quite alright. they still out perform my old klipschs, and i loved them. and for the price i payed for them, they are well worth the money. (i got them for dirt cheap, BRAND NEW!!!)

Similar Products Used:

paradigm, klipsch

Build quality, rich and deep sound

None

I listened to a number of speakers before purchasing and these blow away the competition. I also liked the B&W 603's but a side-by-side comparison with 604's made it easier to hear a richer sound. Make sure you give these speakers a fair break in period of at least 100 hours and you'll notice much warmer sounds. Although the 604's have plenty of bass punch, add a decent subwoofer for home theater. In addition to the 604 S2 fronts, my system includes the B&W LCR6 center channel, B&W 601 S2 surrounds on huge Omni brackets and a Velodyne 120 sub. Everything is powered by a Denon 5700.

Similar Products Used:

NHT, M&K

This speaker is a quality speaker in its price level, with a rich and deep soundstage and very good bass response. Considered as powerful speaker.

I see no real weaknesses.

I really like these speakers and am impressed with them compared to my old Infinity Reference 2000.6, which I sold immediately when I got them. It supports my powerful receiver Denon AVC A1D or AVR 5700, which is great for home theater and music.

Similar Products Used:

Mission 700 Series.

Well balanced bass, Excellent highs

Man, these things weigh a lot.

Best speakers I've ever owned. Got them for a song too. To
me, they have the same expressive highs/midrange as the
CDM series but with more bass punch. Got 'em hooked into
a Denon 2800 and they just sound fantastic. Some of the
high's are a bit sharp (hissy), but that could be wiring/tone from my receiver. Extremely well insulated/muffled. They don't vibrate on the floor
or produce nasty non-musical vibrations in the walls.

But, gm chrysler, these are heavy speakers. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but placing these things is a chore. Once you put
them on the sharp little spikes, you gotta be careful moving
them or you'll pierce the floor.

Similar Products Used:

Wharfedale Modus 8

bass,musical,pretty,B&W (you want more??)

NOP,.........

JUST simply the best!Buy them immediatelly.Use them with a Marantz stereo amplifier and you will see the music!!
Because music matters.
Ensure the speakers stand firmly on the floor because they are very powerfull (hahahaha).

Similar Products Used:

B&W (602s2,603s2,cdm7nt)KEF,JBL...