smooth, clean, neutral

one man's "neutral" is another man's "unforgiving of bad recordings"

These are excellent speakers for the money, with a smooth, clean and neutral sound that works well with a wide variety of music in the right setup. If you are used to a pleasantly “rolled off” treble, beware: these speakers give you the high frequencies. They will not compensate for badly-made recordings that overemphasize the treble. Since I listen to a wide variety of music on everything from worn-out mono lp’s from the 1950's to current digital, I have concluded that I prefer to have as close as possible to the unvarnished truth from the source than components designed to make bad recordings sound better. As some of the other reviewers here have noted, if you have a very large room, listen at very high volume levels or require the ultimate in bass extension, you probably need to look elsewhere (and pay more). However, I cannot agree with the reviewers who claimed these speakers perform poorly at low volume levels. I usually listen at relatively low volume, partly due to personal preference and partly due to family demands, and have had no problems. The reviewers who found otherwise may have had a mismatch between the speakers and the other components or the room in which they heard them, or may not have positioned the speakers in the room optimally. This only confirms that speakers need to be carefully matched with the rest of your system, the acoustics of your room and your listening habits.

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KEF, Mission, Vandersteen

A wonderful value. Snappy and coordinated.

Lacking that "final polish",the 603 S-3 rightfully shares the weaknesses of other budget floorstanders(but to a lesser degree than most).

I recently auditioned the new 603 at the local dealer,pitting mid-fi against hi-fi,and I must declare that this is Sonic High School Athletics of the Highest Order. Which means pretty darn good! Which means the homecoming queen will be his for the year! The 603-S3 struck me as being muscular,quick and thoroughly fresh,supple,flexible,yet just a shade unpolished and over-eager in it's David vs. Goliath kind of way. But,the Lord is on it's side. Yes,the shining light and searing breath of the Great Spirit resides within,and giants will fall all around the 603. As with all B+W products,you won't go far wrong,ever. But,lest the brilliance and fresh demeanor completely bowl you over for good,consider carefully what the extra tuition will get you in the form of the upper B+W ranges. CDM series,the collegiate level,extends the form of the basic to new scholarly heights,while Pro-ball is most definitely the Nautilus line's forte. Are the differences really this grand? Well,if you own the new 603 you will probably be so awestruck by the powers that your baby is wielding on the playing field that you may not even need to notice;the complete prototype is moving in action in the most integrated way. So, be happy with your day in the sun,but remember: Junior is but a shadow of things to come.

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B+W,exclusively.

Balanced strengths mid/low/high but only when volume raised

Lack of musical 3d imaging Very diappointing compared to Q5 and Sonique 5.5 The 603s were made of cheap vinyl exterior

I moved to Australia from the US so I could not bring my huge Vandersteen 2Ce speakers with me. They were a good match with my Krell KAV300i and Audioquest Midnight 2 speaker wire. I had always wanted to get B&W speakers due to their reputation. I auditioned the B&W 603 S3 against Kef Q5 and Sonique 5.5 (Australian). The 603 S3 could not compare. I had to raise the volume high just to get the B&W speakers to perform. The Q5's are the same price but twice as good. Q5's produce a very large sound stage and have such a clear mid range along with healthy bass and solid detail. The vocals were amazing and clear. The Sonique was also better than the 603s, with detail slightly better than the Q5s. Have to say the Sonique's were very very impressive. But the Q5s have a large soundstage that the 603 S3 and Sonique could not match. That's what I wanted, a large sound to fill the room at a good price without giving up clarity. The salesman told me that the B&W line was superior in the upper Nautilus range, but other vendors produce superior products in the value or middle range. B&W name does not mean expensive sound in all models. That is what I learned from the 603 S3.

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Q5 Sonique 5.5 Krell KAV300i Audioquest Lapis interconnects Audioquest Midnoght 2 speaker wire (double bi-wired) Rega Planar3 turntable

bass and treble, value for money, looks

midfield weaker and narrow

was able to test the 603 s3 vs the kef q5 (very close in pricerange) both speakers are great value for money and sound fantastic. I've had my eye on the bws for a while now. was convinced to buy the BW's for a wile now. until i heared the Q5's !... much wider and brighter midfield! when hearing Tori Amos' voice on the Q's ... no doubt about it, she was in the room! You could hear every tremble and glitch in the voice. Compared with the bw's she was more singing from "inside the speaker". high and bass are nearly the same so no winner there same diff with the 601/lcr60 and the Q8/Q1 comparison every bw600s3 lover/buyer (like me, i was >this< close to buying them) do go to your hifidealer first and compare them with the kef Q's... you'll change your mind immidiately :0 :) really!

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KEF Q5 601s3, lcr60 kef Q1,Q8

Generally a clean open and natural sound Mid & Bass are well defined, and the handling of voice has to be experienced; its as if the artist is with you in the room!

Top end can sound a little harsh with poorly produced media. At this price, B&W should have done a better job with case finish; how about some real wood guys?

If you are looking for quality, clean. open, and natural sound, S3 is where its at. Although very good out of the box, they do improve over time. It will be a very long time before somthing comes along, within this price range, that can improve on the B&W offering. Well done guys; the S3's are simply fantastic.

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Everything +/- £200 of product price.

Extreamly crystal and clean mids and highs, but also naturals and neutrals at all, without any signs of harshness or digital nasties, they are very detailed and accurate in their reproductin. THe bass is marvelous, tight, focused, plain,with no imperfectins at all. All the instruments are realistic (violin, contrabbasso,piano,acoustic guitar excell) and there is air around them! Magnific with classic and jazz,all kind of rock, pop, techno, fusion, electronic, in brief, with all kinds.

sound stage a little imprecise if not positionated right...but if you don't know how to put your speakers for a correct recreations of stage, then you cannot complain much!!!

A very good performance/cost ratio, one of the best (if not THE best) in its class. These are the last improvement of my system, and I'm completely satisfacted, it was a great buy, maybe the best I ever done (thus my lovely CD player is a big enemy in this point). They are well contructed, very rigid, sturdy and good-looking, as tradition of B&W. The visual affect is superb(expecially with grills off) and makes them a good forniture for my home. The sound they can output is incredibly clear, accurate, precise, focused, neutral and LINEAR!!! Before buying them I listened many similar product, but these are the best at all. A comparative listen blew off the antagonist cleary. I raccomend vivily this product, that is another demontration that technics, knowledge and style superiority makes Bowers & Wilkins a master of Hi-Fidelity reproduction. Who can offer better performance at this price? System used with: Integrated amplifier: NAD C350 CD player: MONRIO ASTY PLAYER Interconnect cables: TRANSPARENT AUDIO MUSIC LINK Speaker cables: LINN K400 biwiring Power cord: CABLERIE D'EUPEN VOLGA

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Kef Q.series, Suprem 800, Klipsh towers, AR Chronos, Monitor Audio Silver series, Sonus Faber Concertino, Acoustic Energy..

Awesome power, depth and dynamic.

None

You must, must let these speakers run in. They are simply awesome when they are. I have them coupled to a Denon home cinema amp and they are still bloody gorgeous. From Dido to Nickelback you will not be disappointed. Would love to connect up to Arcam A85 stereo amp, but can't afford to just yet. One day I will! YOU will be amazed!

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B&W 601S2

Balanced , with very good image and definition.Quality construction .Nice looks.

For the price paid , could be real wood finish cabinet insted of vinyl.

I was just about to buy the DM603 S1 from a friend when i went to audiction the S3 in a shop nearby .I was very impressed about their high definition and bass response .I had to buy them the day after that.They are also very well designed and look very cool without the grills .The 603 S3 in my opinion , are the best price/value of all B&W speakers .They are quite balanced even for a medium/large room , and only for movies and if you really enjoy very rich bass you will feel the need for a subwoofer.

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Bose cubes , JBL , Boston , but nothing can be compared with the DM 603.

sparkly crystal clear highs, voices, mids, and plenty of bass, very dynamic

if a cd isn''''t recorded well you will notice it ...also place dependent

1st i''''d like to say to all of the reviewers, you need at least 500hrs minimum to really say how you feel about these speakers. When I 1st took them out the box and connected them I already noticed the difference in sound. They sounded horrible! Played them all day long and still sounded the same.....the next day turn them on,....... same thing. Later that day they started to break in, the 1st thing i noticed was the voices, they sounded life like, but yet the percussions still didn''''t sound good and there was still a lack of bass. after about a week of continuous play the mids started to sound really nice, the percussions sounded much better dynamically. i''''d say after a month of continuous play the bass started to loosen. After the 500hrs I have to say these speakers sound incredible. They sound much better than the series 2 and waaaaay better than speakers in the same price range. The sound is very open, very dynamic, and the bass response is solid and fast. Heavy metal and rock sounds great, in other music like horns, trumpets, and saxsaphones sound life like, voices forget about it, they sound like they''''re singing right in the room, and classical sounds very, very good especially the cellos and violins. Oh and as far as popular music believe me you will be more than satisfied with these speakers. sure there are alot of speakers out there that sound better or worse that will cost you alot more. the only speaker i can say came close was the Paradigm monitor 7s the reason i didn''''t go with them was because they were too flat in your face, and did not provide enough bass. Now in my opinion receivers like Sony, Pioneer, JVC, Kenwood, Technics...etc. aren''''t sufficient enough to handle speakers like these. Harman Kardon, Denon, and Marantz is adequet but if you really want them to sound right buy yourself a Rotel, NAD, or Carver these three brands will make them sing HOLLA LUYA!!!! all day long. They will provide cleaner more dynamic power. I am very happy with my 603s3, i just need to get better, cleaner power. Time to upgrade the AVR. :) My System: mains B&W 603s3, Center B&W LCRs2,Surrounds B&W 601s2, Sub Def Tech Pro sub 100tl Receiver H/K AVR510/intergrated amp H/K 6650R (upgrading to a Rotel) DVD Pioneer DV444 Cd H/K (upgrading) Cables: Speaker cables, Tara Labs RSC Prime 1000 and Prime 500 Interconnects: All Ultra Monster C

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Paradigm, PSB, Klipsh(Horrible speakers), Definitive Tech, and other lines of B&W

Very good overall sound. Build quality is also great. Great for movies with matching center speaker (LCR600S3).

None so far.

I''ve just purchased a pair of B&W DM603S3. They are replacing my old Dali 104 speakers which are also pretty good. So far I''m really satisfied with the new B&W speakers. Both the bass and treble sounds better than with my Dali speakers. My hometheater consists of a Denon AVR3300 surround receiver, a pair of B&W DM603S3 as main speakers, a B&W LCR600S3 as center speaker and 2 Dali Trio speakers as surround speakers. My livingroom is not very big, so itøs no problem for the speakers to fill it up when listening to music or watching DVD''s.

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Dali 104