B&W (1 Viewer)

[dany]

If i was to upgrade my B&W603's from 99,what a few brands i might want to look into and i'd like to spend no more then i paid for these which was $750 but 1K isnt out of the question and they dont have to be floorstanders.

 

[Ricky c]

the B&W 603s3's would be a good choice.

 

[Alon Goldberg]

Paradigm Reference Studio 40 v3 or Studio 60 v3 would be my first choices.. I would also audition Paradigm Monitor loudspeakers.

 

[Philip Hamm]

IMO you're simply not going to get better sound than your 603s for $1000. I think it's a fruitless exercise. I think if you double your price you may be able to get noticably "better" sound in a very low end set of Thiel speakers.

 

[Arthur S]

dany

Philip Hamm has this exactly right.

Happy Holidays

 

[John Garcia]

It depends on whether you are looking for a different sound or not. If you like the sound you have, then why upgrade?

 

[dany]

The bug to.

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

QUOTE "IMO you're simply not going to get better sound than your 603s for $1000. I think it's a fruitless exercise. I think if you double your price you may be able to get noticably "better" sound in a very low end set of Thiel speakers." End Quote (couldnt do the quoting thingy sorry)

I respectfully disagree, I recently demoed the 603s and the Usher 6311 and imho my HTD Level 3 towers are way better than the 603s in everything from clearer mids, and more 3d imaging to more controled and better bass. Not to forget the highs which are of a smoother and more detailed nature.

The Usher was a much better speaker than the 603s but then again its $2100 and I actually still like the HTD better even though they were using MCintosh amps with $400 cables compared to my humble HK 635. The Ushers look great and are a way better value than the B&Ws but they are still not as good a value as the HTDs. Compared the Onix X-SLS , the Ushers are better but then again the Onix X-SLS is just $300 or so, so its a totally different price range.
So IMHO, with $700 + shipping, yes you can do better, much better.
Regards

 

[Philip Hamm]

See John Garcia's post.

If you're looking for "different" sound, go ahead. If you're looking for "better" it ain't gonna happen. Hell, I'm using 602s that I bought in 1997/8 for my mains and I wouldn't dream of replacing them.

 

[dany]

I wouldnt mind switching my 601's for 602's as the surrounds.

 

[Luis Gabriel Gerena]

Philip, when you say " it aint gonna happen" that implies you have tried every $1000 speaker out there so let me ask one simple questions, have you? You have been here long enough to know that $1000 retail speaker is not the same as $1000 ID speaker...
I rest my case and have nothing more to add.

Regards

 

[Philip Hamm]

If you like the B&W style sound, and can accomodate the configuration, you may consider going to identical speakers across the front of your soundfield. I'm using three 602s as my front soundfield and it is seamless. Going to identical speakers across the front is just amazing. If you don't need floorstanders as you state, you may be able to find a better sound in a small bookshelf speaker than floorstanders. However, your 603s as I'm sure you already know are damn good sounding speakers and that hasn't changed since they were built. Besting them in your stated budget may be possible but if it were me I wouldn't bother.

 

[dany]

If it matters,dont forget in 99 the 603's used a passive radiator which they stopped i belive in 2000.

 

[Nick:G]

Like stated by both Arthur and Phillip, the only way to stay with B&W sound and achieve "better," you'd have to move up a notch in price. The 700-series is noticeably better, but you're looking at twice the money jumping over to the similar-sized 704. Here, you get better drivers, better crossovers, better cabinets, and so on. And they're prettier, lol.

The only thing you can hope for staying within the same price range is "different."

Happy Holidays!

 

[Philip Hamm]

How about the smallest bookshelf in the 700 line? Would that sound better than 603s? (I think so personally, but how much better and is it worth the money?)

 

[JeremyErwin]

Wouldn't that depend on whether you ran your speakers full range?

As for internet direct speakers being a better value-- I suppose that depends on how greedy you think people are....

Any thoughts on the CM series? When I bought my dm601s3, the salesman was encouraging me to look at the the cm1 as well. (the cm7 is the tower variant).

 

[Blaine_M]

I still wouldn't hesitate to look at the Paradigms. I had a pair of B&W 602s3's and personally I liked some of the paradigms better. Needless to say I ended up building my own pair of GR-Research AV/3 for fronts and AV/3s for a center...built the 3 for just under $1000 and they blow away the B&W's. Also built a pair of GR Research AV/1 bookshelf speakers for a friend at the same time, believe it or not, they also were head and shoulders above the 602's.

WWW.GR-RESEARCH.COM

 

[JeremyErwin]

dany, what sort of amplifier are you using?

In any case, perhaps a different sort of sound will turn out to be more pleasing to your ears, and there's really no harm in exploring the market.

 

[dany]

Denon 2805
Pio 79AVI
SVS20-39

 

[Nick:G]

The CM1 is a surprisingly good bookshelf speaker for its size. It actually shares crossover and driver technology with their flagship 805S bookshelf and it's about 1/3 of the price. It's a great alternative to the 705 and they make a matching center (CM Centre), too. I would get a demo in the store if you can. The drawback with the CM-series per say is the finish choices (what, no black???) - rosenut, maple, wenge. Hmmm...