Excellent imaging capabilities. Very transparent presentation. Plenty of headroom, presentation remains clear and focussed even at silly volume levels. Good build quality, also decent floor spikes are provided. Flexible placement using supplied port bungs.

None really.

The lower B&W ranges are often critized for being "commercial" or "mass market" and are often not taken seriously (particularly for use in a 2ch music set up) by audiophiles with a taste (and presumably budget) for more exclusive brands. While I'm under no illusion that these speakers are lovingly hand crafted and tuned, i do feel that such criticisms are hardly justified when considering the outstanding performance of the 600 series 3 loudspeaker models in their respective price catagories. Performance aside, build quality is high and in my opinion these are not the most unattractive speakers you'll ever see. I recently upgraded to these after owning a pair of 601 S3's for about 10 months. When I bought the 601's I expected that I would eventually add a sub to fill in the low frequencies once I'd saved enough to make the additional purchase. When the time did arrive to make the purchase, I started auditioning pre-selected subs to start formulating a shortlist. After brief spells listening to sub/sat setups I began to consider the benefits of a "full range" floor standing system. The retailers who had sold me my 601's were prepared to loan me a pair of speakers for home demo and recommended the 603. When I took them home, I was expecting a 601 with a LF driver tacked on for a bit of thump. What I heard instead was a loudspeaker which produced far greater levels of refinement even at anti - social volume levels, more than capable of filling my (large-ish) room with music whereas the 601's were battling to do the same. Briefly, the refinement referred to in the previous sentence include the following: Better intergration of the tweeter into the overall sonic balance (I found the tweeter a bit sharp on the 601); better imaging capabilities and very transparent presetation which genuinely leaves the listener with a low awareness of the speaker positions in a darkened room. In short, (as a previous contributor put it) they disappear very easily. From (costly) experience, not wanting to buy the first thing that impressed me, I went out in search of (locally available) products of similar cost and spec to make a sensible comparison. In all I listened to many speakers which included the Kef Q5 & Q7, Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3, Boston Acoustics VR3, Mordaunt Short Avant 908, Mission M53, Royd Abbots and the Quad 22L. Needless to say, despite the respective strengths of the competition, in my opinion, the B&W's bettered them all, by a considerable margin, and I made the purchase. Obviously these speakers can't reach as low as a dedicated sub woofer can, but they shift enough air to produce very satisfying (timbre accurate) bass notes as well as a breathtaking clear midrange. Some have mixed feelings about the performance of the tweeter, but I find a slight metallic "zing" appropriate for reproducing cymbals, plucked steel strings and so on, as I listen to mostly acoustic music like Jazz, classical guitar, etc. To conclude, I would highly recommend an audition of these loudspeakers to anyone in search of a pair of quality floorstanding loudspeakers on a "limited" budget. I cannot believe that an exponential increase in performance can be had at even twice the cost of a pair of these. But honestly, what does a statement like that mean in audio terms anyway? Perhaps B&W's marketing department puts it best with their "Listen and you'll see" slogan?

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Listed above.

I could have purchased the larger 604, but it only offered a bit more bass weight and slightly higher max SPL. The 603 on the other hand seemed to disappear a bit more easily. This probably has to do with the fact that it uses 6 inch drivers in place of the 7 inch drivers of the 604. The result is a more narrow baffle with the 603, perhaps allowing for better dispersion. But it's a close call. For those who long for hardcore bass that will negate the need for a subwoofer with movies, the 604 is a great choice. Otherwise you might find the 603 to equal the 604 and maybe even better it until the volume knob reaches ridiculous levels. I listen to most types of music, although classical is low on my priority list. I do listen to quite a bit of jazz, pop, some hard rock and a few rap tunes. All are handled equally well by the 603. This is not a "jazz" or "rock" speaker. Vocals are rendered beautifully, well in front of the speaker plane, with instruments redered in a wonderful sondstage, even at volume. Patricia Barber floats wonderfully in her own space, Audioslave blows the roof off of the house, and Margo Timmins sounds as though she is singing front and center in the church on The Trinity Sessions. Watching James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theater is stunning. The attack of plucked guitar strings has weight and is realistic, the backup singers spread well beyond the outer limits of the speakers themselves, melting away the walls of my listening room. The treble response of these speakers seems to go on forever, and in actuality it does. Check the specs. 6 db down at 42khz is rather remarkable in any speaker, never mind one that can be had for around $900 at most dealers. As an aside, I did take the standmount 602 home for an evening. It was quite good for $600. I would take the 602 over the Paradigm Studio 60, or 100 for that matter. But the 603 offers enough improvement in both bass and midrange to warrant the difference in cost.

While the Type D had more realistic lower-midrange weight, there is no other area where the 603 is not superior or equal to the D. Bass response is ver similar, with good weight and speed. The Type D went a few hz lower, but only a few, and I'm hard pressed to hear any difference. We would all like real wood veneer. But sound first! All of the 600 series speakers do sound slightly better with the grilles removed. I'm not fond of the growing trend among manufacturers of providing plastic matrix grid grille frames. Take them off when possible, and always spike these speakers. Thinking about a speaker purchase? Are these as good as the best speakers out there? Nope. Does the law of diminishing returns start to kick in really hard if you spend more? Indeed it does. It may not be hip among audiophiles to love a vinyl clad, traditional looking 1000 dollar pair of speakers. But if you value transparency, dynamics and tonal balance over furniture grade cabinets or the esteem of owning boutique brands, these are worth a listen if you are considering spending up to 3k. Match them with the right equipment and you'll be rewarded with performance that will have you questioning how much you really have to spend to live happily in the land of Audiophilia.

I spent an afternoon with the 602S3, 604S3, 603S3, and Paradigm Reference 60s and 100s, a couple of Thiel models, and a brief period of time listening to the more expensive Nautilus models from B&W. The Thiel and Nautilus speakers were as they should have been: more transparent, and more refined than the DM600 and Paradigm Reference models. Thiels have never been my cup of tea, but I found myself more impressed by some of their newer offerings than the older models that seemed far too forward. In any event, this ended up as a shootout between the B&W DM series, and the Paradigm Reference series. I owned a pair of Studio 40s years ago and wasn't thrilled with them. But The Paradigm series has been extremely popular with reviewers and audiophiles alike. I expected that I would end up bringing a pair of Studio 60s home to stay (based on comments about how the v3 is so much better than previous versions.) I am now very glad that I don't buy based on reviews, which is an inconvenience living in Vermont. A 2 hour drive is necessary to find hifi shops with enough inventory to really compare products. I listened to the 604 first. It was quite remarkable, very similar to the Snell CVs that I owned previously, but with a sweeter and more extended treble, and a soundstage that was much larger than I heard the CV produce in the time that I owned it. There was abundant bass on tap, and it was tight, fast and had slam in spades. It did overload the medium-sized room we were in, but using supplied port plugs helped quite a bit. Midrange was quite good, but not quite as good as the Snells, or the more expensive Nautilus and Thiel models in the store. That last degree of midrange purity seems to be what the big dollars buy. Next up was the Paradigm Studio 60 v3. A tremendous disappointment. The bass was adequate, the treble extended but slightly grainy, and the midrange was quite recessed. Switching from the B&Ws to the Paradigms was a shift from 3rd row to 12th row perspective. That alone would be acceptable, but the level of treble hash was enough to send me out of the room. I confirmed with the dealer that the speakers we were listening to had spent enough time as demo models to be fully broken in. Then I switched back, this time to the 603S3. No comparison. I'll compare these to what has been one of my all time favorite under 5k speakers - the Snell Type D. The Snell did almost everything right. Bass, midrange and soundstage presentation were impeccable. The one drawback of the Type D was the tweeter, which proved difficult to match with suitable equipment. It did 2 things that I can't stand: it emphasized sibilants too aggressively, and rolled of a bit too early, lacking that last bit of air that most of us crave. But it bettered the more expensive CV and all of the Paradigm models (and even the B&W NT floorstanders) at absolutely disappearing when matched with proper electronics. Since selling the Ds two years ago, I've been left wanting for the positive attributes of the Type D, with the addition of sweeter and more extended treble response. The DM 603 S3 nailed it. The 603 can disappear very well when set up properly. This is due to a rather remarkable soundstage. If partnered with overly bright electronics or cables, the 603 will lack depth, and the treble gets pushed too far forward in the mix. But it is much easier to coax excellent performance from the 603 than with the Snells. The 603 does not require 5-10k in front end electronics to sound wonderful. I highly recommend Analysis Plus copper cables for use with the B&Ws. In the context of my now mid-fi system, these speakers are making beautiful music in a very large (33 x 16 with cathedral ceilings) room. I listen to most types of music, although classical is low on my priority list. I do listen to quite a bit of jazz, pop, some hard rock and a few rap tunes. All are handled equally well by the 603. This is not a "jazz" or "rock" speaker. Vocals are rendered beautifully, well in front of the speaker plane, with instruments redered in a wonderful sondstage, even at volume. Patricia Barber floats wonderfully in her own space, Audioslave blows the roof off of the house, and Margo Timmins sounds as though she is singing front and center in the church on The Trinity Sessions. Watching James Taylor Live at the Beacon Theater is stunning. The attack of plucked guitar strings has weight and is realistic, the backup singers spread well beyond the outer limits of the speakers themselves, melting away the walls of my listening room. The treble response of these speakers seems to go on forever, and in actuality it does. Check the specs. 6 db down at 42khz is rather remarkable in any speaker, never mind one that can be had for around $900 at most dealers.

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Associated gear Rotel RC-1070 Preamp B&K ST-1400II (modified) Sony 555ES SACD Changer Technics DVD-A10 DIY twisted pair solid core conductor interconnects Analysis Plus shotgun bi-wire Oval 14 speaker cable. Similar products Snell Type D and CV, QBX 25 Paradigm Reference Series: 20, 40, 60, 100 v1, studio 20 and 60 v3 Numerous models from Thiel, Totem, Vienna, Audes, Krix: B&W N803, CDM7NT, 604S3, 602S3 I feel more strongly now than ever before that system synergy can be more important than individual components. I have heard pieces in my own system, and in others that have sounded terrible with the wrong mix of components. I have owned Rowland, Threshold, Plinius, Sonic Frontiers, Theta, Audio Alchemy, Camelot and Anthem electronics. I have auditioned too many to list.

Projects a very good soundstage. Mid-range.

Bass.

I just started getting into HT, and my first components are a Yamaha RX-V2400, and a pair of B&W DM603 S3. Love the Yamaha, but am having second thoughts about the B&Ws. Am considering upgrading to the DM604. My other option is to use them as surround and get the JBL E100 or S412 as the fronts. What's missing is the bass, I think the 2 1/2 way design leaves this department somewhat lacking in the bass. The bass is punchy and seems to lack a full-body sensation. The mid-range is great and the high-range is ok (sometimes I think I noticed a slight slur).

-Powerfull bass without annoying "boom noise." -Detailed and natural mid frequencies. -Crystal clear, high resolution of treble, without piercing sensation to ears.

-This is not too bad, but I found that male voice and rock electric guitars(Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen) are not sound as impressive as accoustic guitars or saxophones. If I may valued the DM 603's sound reproduction, here they are: Accoustic guitars, saxophones or female voice are a 10; and electric guitars or male voice will be an 8. -The dust cover seem to reduce a certain amount of transparency, so I took it off.

This is "a lifelong search is over!" I brought home several brands and types of speakers: Kev, DynAudio, Yamaha, and B&W 602 S3. Tested them for about two weeks in my home, and I realize that B&W has remarkably advantages, they sound better and look better. Soon I narrowed down my research to B&W only. So I brought home B&W DM 603 S3 to compare DM 602 with. And that's it! The moment I heard it, I knew I found my speakers! DM 603 S3 delivers a superb clarity of sound in all frequencies, with very high transparencies in midle range. -Its aluminium cone bass driver can produce a powerful low bass frequencies without annoying "boom noise." The bass drum in my Dave Koz and David Benoit Collection are now pounching, like I never heard before with my old system. It can also seize the agility of Matt Bissonette's guitar bass without overlapping. -Its Mid Range drivers sure is deliver an outstanding detailed and natural sound, especially in Govi's accoustic guitar, and Dave Koz's saxophone. The quality of female singers voice is extremely amazing, I almost believed Norah Jones is actualy perform in my living room! -Its Nautilus tweeter delivers a very high-resolution of high frequencies, without piercing sensation to my ears. I can sit in my living room and listen to it for hours without any fatigue to my ears. DM 603 S3 may gives an impression that it is lack in treble, but it's not, I found that I can hear the subtle instruments I never heard before with my old system. Now the look, yes, all B&W speakers have it. And I'm very proud of its look, it stands georgeously in my living room, catches the eyes of all my guests, even the ones with no music interest at all. It's a good bargain beetwen quality, the look and the price.

Excelentes medios y agudos. Graves con presencia, pero bien controlados. Presencia de escenario.

Podrían haber construido el gabinete con madera real. Las rejillas no cumplen niguna función, de hecho, molestan. Te hacen desear los nautilus de B&W, que decididamente, no están a mi alcance económico.

Lo primero que tenés que tener en cuenta a la hora de elejir un parlante es tu presupuesto. He escuchado muchas líneas de JBL, con un sonido que consideraba extraordinario, hasta que finalmente los B&W 603 S3 aparecieron en mi vida. Detalles de la música (notas, instrumentos) que jamas habia escuchado en los JBL, se revelaron a mi en estos maravillosos parlantes. Los graves son precisos y bien controlados. Los agudos nítidos, a tal punto que podés sentir el platillo de la bateria sonando al lado tuyo. Pero los medios, realmente son maravillosos... el detalle que extraen de la música es realmente sorprendente. Por supuesto que existen parlantes mejores (línea nautilus de B&W), pero si tienes en cuenta que siempre los parlantes tienen que estar acompañados de un buen receiver, un buen CD-player y buenos cables, notarás que necesitas una gran inversión monetaria para mejorar la calidad de sonido que vas a obtener con estos parlantes. Podrás comparar el rating de los B&W 603 S3 con las líneas N o S de JBL y notarás puntuaciones similares... Bueno, esto se debe a que quienes escuchan esos parlantes (yo lo he hecho por mucho tiempo), tienen un presupuesto y un acostumbramiento auditivo a ese estilo de sonido... Decididamente los B&W 603 S3 son mejores libra por libra, los mires por donde los mires... También podrás ver críticas no tan buenas a los 603 S3 de parte de personas que tienen lineas muy expensivas de parlantes y equipos... Bueno, seguramente, para ellos, estos parlantes son apenas la llave de entrada al facinante mundo de la música... pero no todos podemos gastar la enorme diferencia que separa una cosa de la otra. Si los B&W 603 S3 están dentro de tu presupuesto, aunque signifiquen un esfuerzo, no lo pienses 2 veces... valen la pena.

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Similares??? Ninguno.. Klipsch synergy, JBL S, JBL N, JBL-XE, líneas profesionales de JBL, Tannoy Mercury, Technics, Sony... están muy por debajo de los B&W 603 S3

Excellent spatious imaging! Solid bottom end, not boomy when placed correctly Smooth clear highs/mids Price

None

Wow!! After doing some extensive research into a pair of speakers that would replace my Linn Kheilidhs, I came across B & W. In reading the reviews here and reading on their site I can say these speakers are winners!! Incredible midrange transparency, smooth clear highs, tight and articulate bass. They are easy on the ears and will let you listen easily for extended periods without any fatigue. Excellent build quality and esthetically pleasing in any room. Kudos to the folks at B & W - keep up the great work!

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NAD T752 A/V Receiver Toshiba SD1800 DVD Player Vanden-Hul Cables

Look fantastic without the covers. Excellent midrange detail. And well balanced.

None really. Maybe a little too much base but easy to get over with the bungs that are supplied

I paired my B&W 603 S3's with a Rotel RCD02 and a Rotel RA02 both award winners in What HI FI. I have to say they sound amazing, They pick out every detail with ease and am particularly impressed with the their midrange although the overal balance of the music is amazing whatever it I listen to. I beleive I have them set up perfectly, they are about 7ft apart slightly facing in towards the listener forming a perfect equalateral triangle. I also have them biwired. And to think I've only had them just over a week and they'll just get better and better!! Just one more thing, if you have Leftfield Leftism. PLAY IT!

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KEF Q5. B&W 602's and KEF Q3

Super clean on all ends. Great range, decent price comparably to other mass products.

Haven't found any yet

After months of research I decided on these speakers to replace my Acoustimass system. I looked at Paradigms and M&K as well but found nothing that gave the bang for the bucck that the 603's do. I paired them up with a new Integra DTR6.3 receiver and I have to say that I'm amazed at the sound. They are the cleanest speaker that I've heard at this price (or even for quite a bit more). They do require some time to find thier range, especially on the low end, but once they do...wow! I have them set up with a B&W ASW600 sub but the low end coming off the mains are so nice I usually keep the sub at about a 2 and the sound is amazing. The Integra has a "Pure Audio" feature that cleans up the signal to the front channels only and these things just shine. I already have plans to upgrade some other listening rooms with B&W's. My friends are looking into them as well. Really don't have anything negative to say about them. I haven't noticed a piercing high end as someone said...might be the listening room. Overall VERY happy.

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Boston Acoustics JVC JBL

Great clarity, lots of punch.

Harsh treble

I bought my first real hifi gear back in '88 - a Linn Axis turntable, an Audiolab 8000A amp, and the Danish Trapez M speakers. I've later bought a Cambridge CD4 (which I'm upgrading with a DAC 3 converter, also from Cambridge). Recently, I felt the need to get newer and better speakers. The old ones were allright, but I wanted something with a bit more detail that didn't sound so laidback. After considering quite a few different makes and models, I settled for a pair of B&W DM603 S3's. I actually chose them over a more expensive pair of B&W's (the CDM7NT, I believe) because they sounded so authoritative and strong in the shop. After having listened to them for close to 6 months at home, and experimenting with many different placements (in my rather small and so quite limited living room), I've put them about 10 ft apart, 1 ft from the back wall, and about 9 ft away from the listening position, and toed them in almost to the point where they are "facing me" directly. They still sound great, with lots of punch, all the details I could wish for, and great clarity. I have one issue, though, and would very much appreciate comments...the 603's seem to be rather edgy in the treble department, with quite a lot of hiss on the s-sounds. Maybe they are just merciless, and represent what's on the recording, but I would like to know if anyone has experienced anything like that...

Sounds great without dust covers.

Plastic dust cover that diminishes overall quality of sound. They consist of plastic frames with small holes which the sound has to pass through, I'd rather see a more open construction with less plastic in the way.

This is an addition to my review right below, a head's up. One thing I forgot to mention previously are the black dust covers that can be attached on the speakers, these actually influence the sound. The dull treble I mentioned was actually the result of these dust covers. I removed them and the treble and the overall clarity and punch is remarkably improved, it's actually exactly what I was looking for. The speakers are much more open and alive now. So if your speakers sound flat and dull, try removing the dust covers! /Marcus

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