I have at the moment B&W 685 and Mordaunt Short Mezzo 2 at home to choose for my Cambridge Audio 650A/C combo. Somehow I cannot make my mind up on which ones to keep and which ones to let go. Mezzo 2´s sound to my ears very musical, with a better soundstage and a very nice and tight bass. 685´s on the other side sound more aggressive, sound is much more forward, with a better treble and more quantity of bass, they also seem to reveal slightly more detail. I like the sound of both in some way and that´s my dilemma - whether to sacrifice little bit of detail and attack for a more musical speaker. All opinions are welcome. Not to forget - I mostly listen to a progressive rock and metal, and jazz.
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When should you upgrade your hi-fi? How to control ‘upgradeitis’
B&W 685 or MS Mezzo 2 for Cambridge Audio 650A/C
- Thread starter cassper
- Start date
IMO the B&W 685's are superb speakers and better than the Mezzo's in every way BUT...
The Mezzo's do sound better with the C/A gear over the 685's.
It'd be handy to know what cabling (speaker cable and interconnects) youre using as theese can make a difference as well.
For tme C/A grea can sound slightly forward and clinical at times so a good copper cable such as the Chord Carnival Silverscreen and a similar interconnect (Chord Crimson) would do well at calming this forwardness down.
I think really that only YOU can make the decision as to which speakers to go for as youre lucky enough to have both sets with you!
One other thing though; what stands have you got the speakers on and are they mass loaded? Mass loading the stands will also make a difference to the soundstage
The Mezzo's do sound better with the C/A gear over the 685's.
It'd be handy to know what cabling (speaker cable and interconnects) youre using as theese can make a difference as well.
For tme C/A grea can sound slightly forward and clinical at times so a good copper cable such as the Chord Carnival Silverscreen and a similar interconnect (Chord Crimson) would do well at calming this forwardness down.
I think really that only YOU can make the decision as to which speakers to go for as youre lucky enough to have both sets with you!
One other thing though; what stands have you got the speakers on and are they mass loaded? Mass loading the stands will also make a difference to the soundstage
For me, as an owner of a Cambridge av amp and former owner of both MS and B&W speakers, I would go with the best all rounder, which in my opion is the B&W's in this case. But ultimately, the choice is yours and you have to ask yourself 2 simple questions:
1. Which sounds best for my music taste & purpose?
2. Which pair can I see myself living with in my set-up & domestic situation for the long term...?
Simple as that really....good luck and a nice situation to be in really !!
1. Which sounds best for my music taste & purpose?
2. Which pair can I see myself living with in my set-up & domestic situation for the long term...?
Simple as that really....good luck and a nice situation to be in really !!
At the moment I have a generic 2x1.5sqmm copper speaker cable. I am planning to make a decision on cables once I have decided which speakers to keep. Regarding the stands - Norstone Stylum 2, I use spikes on both plates and I haven't mass loaded them yet (may do it today).
matthewpiano
Well-known member
Both excellent speakers and I don't agree with Dan that the B&Ws are 'better in every way'. They are, however, very different in their presentation and I can see exactly why the 685s would suit Dan's tastes far better.
Mezzos - Certainly the better looking speaker. Very refined with good detail levels and a natural presentation. The music is laid out in front of you rather than being pushed forward, making the Mezzos excellent for longer listening sessions. They need amplification with good clarity levels which is why they work so well with the better Cambridge amps such as your 650A. The Mezzos are superb for acoustic music, classical music and jazz. In better recorded rock they unravel the complexities of music such as Yes and King Crimson superbly, but they aren't going to set the pulse racing with the rock 'n roll end of things and they certainly don't flatter less impressive recordings in any way.
685s - Big speakers and a little unwieldy looking. Big, involving sound with excellent bass depth. They project the sound into the room more and really highlight the vast amount of detail they extract from the disc. They don't have the same balance with large acoustic ensembles that the Mezzos exhibit, but they are more effective at propelling a bass-line and projecting the excitement of a big rock production. More fussy about stands than the Mezzos - the Mezzos will be fine on something like Atacama Nexus 6, but the 685s really need Partington Dreadnoughts or B&W's own stands.
Personally, given the synergy with your amp, I would choose the Mezzos but as has already been said you have both at home right now so you need to make the decision based on your listening.
Mezzos - Certainly the better looking speaker. Very refined with good detail levels and a natural presentation. The music is laid out in front of you rather than being pushed forward, making the Mezzos excellent for longer listening sessions. They need amplification with good clarity levels which is why they work so well with the better Cambridge amps such as your 650A. The Mezzos are superb for acoustic music, classical music and jazz. In better recorded rock they unravel the complexities of music such as Yes and King Crimson superbly, but they aren't going to set the pulse racing with the rock 'n roll end of things and they certainly don't flatter less impressive recordings in any way.
685s - Big speakers and a little unwieldy looking. Big, involving sound with excellent bass depth. They project the sound into the room more and really highlight the vast amount of detail they extract from the disc. They don't have the same balance with large acoustic ensembles that the Mezzos exhibit, but they are more effective at propelling a bass-line and projecting the excitement of a big rock production. More fussy about stands than the Mezzos - the Mezzos will be fine on something like Atacama Nexus 6, but the 685s really need Partington Dreadnoughts or B&W's own stands.
Personally, given the synergy with your amp, I would choose the Mezzos but as has already been said you have both at home right now so you need to make the decision based on your listening.
cassper:
I have at the moment B&W 685 and Mordaunt Short Mezzo 2 at home to choose for my Cambridge Audio 650A/C combo. Somehow I cannot make my mind up on which ones to keep and which ones to let go. Mezzo 2ïs sound to my ears very musical, with a better soundstage and a very nice and tight bass. 685ïs on the other side sound more aggressive, sound is much more forward, with a better treble and more quantity of bass, they also seem to reveal slightly more detail. I like the sound of both in some way and thatïs my dilemma - whether to sacrifice little bit of detail and attack for a more musical speaker. All opinions are welcome. Not to forget - I mostly listen to a progressive rock and metal, and jazz.
If you have both speakers on demo for audition, surely only you can decide which of the two you prefer
No one else can make that decision for you...............
I have at the moment B&W 685 and Mordaunt Short Mezzo 2 at home to choose for my Cambridge Audio 650A/C combo. Somehow I cannot make my mind up on which ones to keep and which ones to let go. Mezzo 2ïs sound to my ears very musical, with a better soundstage and a very nice and tight bass. 685ïs on the other side sound more aggressive, sound is much more forward, with a better treble and more quantity of bass, they also seem to reveal slightly more detail. I like the sound of both in some way and thatïs my dilemma - whether to sacrifice little bit of detail and attack for a more musical speaker. All opinions are welcome. Not to forget - I mostly listen to a progressive rock and metal, and jazz.
If you have both speakers on demo for audition, surely only you can decide which of the two you prefer
No one else can make that decision for you...............
matthewpiano:Both excellent speakers and I don't agree with Dan that the B&Ws are 'better in every way'. They are, however, very different in their presentation and I can see exactly why the 685s would suit Dan's tastes far better. Mezzos - Certainly the better looking speaker. Very refined with good detail levels and a natural presentation. The music is laid out in front of you rather than being pushed forward, making the Mezzos excellent for longer listening sessions. They need amplification with good clarity levels which is why they work so well with the better Cambridge amps such as your 650A. The Mezzos are superb for acoustic music, classical music and jazz. In better recorded rock they unravel the complexities of music such as Yes and King Crimson superbly, but they aren't going to set the pulse racing with the rock 'n roll end of things and they certainly don't flatter less impressive recordings in any way. 685s - Big speakers and a little unwieldy looking. Big, involving sound with excellent bass depth. They project the sound into the room more and really highlight the vast amount of detail they extract from the disc. They don't have the same balance with large acoustic ensembles that the Mezzos exhibit, but they are more effective at propelling a bass-line and projecting the excitement of a big rock production. More fussy about stands than the Mezzos - the Mezzos will be fine on something like Atacama Nexus 6, but the 685s really need Partington Dreadnoughts or B&W's own stands. Personally, given the synergy with your amp, I would choose the Mezzos but as has already been said you have both at home right now so you need to make the decision based on your listening.
I have to agree with every single word from your description.. As for the looks - my girlfriend thinks the exact opposite from me and you, she likes the 685ïs better from the two.
What I like about the Mezzos is the balance and warmness in sound, they sound more mature than 685ïs. I can imagine they are easier to listen to mainly for the longer sessions. The bass of Mezzos is not as big as 685ïs, but it is beautifully refined, tight, very accurate. However, when I listen to something like Mastodon or Opeth, they lack the necessary aggression and drive, where 685ïs have plenty of. Also, I am missing these very subtle details I can hear with 685ïs.
As advised, I am going to mass fill the stands today and give it a go again. This selection process is getting very tiring, I need to decide what to keep and what to sell as through the sale I want to finance a purchase of a network streamer and a Dacmagic. I never thought it was going to be so difficult to decide
I have to agree with every single word from your description.. As for the looks - my girlfriend thinks the exact opposite from me and you, she likes the 685ïs better from the two.
What I like about the Mezzos is the balance and warmness in sound, they sound more mature than 685ïs. I can imagine they are easier to listen to mainly for the longer sessions. The bass of Mezzos is not as big as 685ïs, but it is beautifully refined, tight, very accurate. However, when I listen to something like Mastodon or Opeth, they lack the necessary aggression and drive, where 685ïs have plenty of. Also, I am missing these very subtle details I can hear with 685ïs.
As advised, I am going to mass fill the stands today and give it a go again. This selection process is getting very tiring, I need to decide what to keep and what to sell as through the sale I want to finance a purchase of a network streamer and a Dacmagic. I never thought it was going to be so difficult to decide
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