JBL S38's vs. B&W303's(and thier HT mag review) (1 Viewer)

[jonathanR]

Hello:
I'm trying to pick out some speakers for a friend, he has a denon 3802 and no room or budget for tower speakers. I read the nov.HT magazine review for the B&W 303's and they gave them a 95 performance rating. They only carry these at a local high-end shop, but I never gave a thought to give them a listen too.
I have an onkyo 787, Jbl's s-38's up front, s-center, s-26 for surrounds and an svs setup. Hmmmmm so how do you guys think the b&w 303's all around would compare against my setup? Thanks for the help.
John

 

[Jon_R]

So you're the guy that is JonthanR! I knew we'd meet one day! Jon_R works well enough for me.
Anyway, B&W don't seem to get a lot of love on this forum. Most of the time people recommend the same things, nOrh or paradigm. I myself prefer B&W. I don't own any, long story about what I do own, but I have listened to them and they are really nice.
The 303s are a pretty good speaker, great for the money. I really like the 601s, but for entry stuff the 303 is good. I happen to have read that review and I'd say I can agree with it.
Will they sound better than your JBL setup? Quite frankly, most probably. JBL is more mainstream, while B&W is of a more niche audiophile market. However, they are low end B&W so the speakers IMO are not that different. Keep in mind all around 303s will be seamless, and matched with a good sub would no doubt really rock.
I'm very interested in which you do prefer, so I hope you get to demo them, or your friend buys the B&W setup and you compare.
Keep us posted,
Jon_R

 

[Pete Jennings]

I heard a pair of 303's Monday for the first time. They were on a A/B switch with a pair of 602/S2's. They really sounded good for the $!! I still preferred the sound of the 602's (I have a pair of at home), but for $300 I don't think you could go wrong at all with the 303's. I may eventually get a pair for my computer room!
Pete

 

[Ed C]

I A/B'd the 303s with the 601s. They sounded very similar with the 601s coming in a bit fuller. It's a great speaker for the price.

 

[Justin Doring]

For $150 each, I don't think the B&W DM303 can be touched. The discontinued NHT Super One gave them a run for their money, but now that they're gone, I'd probably get 5 B&W DM303s for a budget home theater. Mate these with a decent receiver (the Onkyo 595 would be my choice) a decent sub (the Energy 8" or 10" for example) and you've got a killer HT audio system for around $1500.
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