B&W DM550 - worth buying second hand?

[russelk]

Hi all, I'm considering getting a pair of B&W DM550 (from 1988-89) in very good condition for £45. Does anybody remember that far back? Were they any good and are they still worth getting? I've always wanted to try out a sealed-box speaker but these days you can't find any under £1000. It has to be worth a go, right? Any advice would be much appreciated. £45 is not a lot but I will have to drive at least 3 hours to pick them up!

 

[Al ears]

Hi all, I'm considering getting a pair of B&W DM550 (from 1988-89) in very good condition for £45. Does anybody remember that far back? Were they any good and are they still worth getting? I've always wanted to try out a sealed-box speaker but these days you can't find any under £1000. It has to be worth a go, right? Any advice would be much appreciated. £45 is not a lot but I will have to drive at least 3 hours to pick them up!

Could be worth a drive, at least you get to look them over before parting with cash.

Just be sure whatever other equipment you're using in the way of amplifier is capable.

Do you already own suitable stands for them? Check all of the rubber surrounds and listen to them well.

What's your upper budget as there are other sealed box designs around.

 

[russelk]

Thanks for the advice. I'm using a Creek Evolution amp and my source is a Slim Devices Transporter. It's actually a secondary system that sits with the TV in the living room so it's not used a lot. Due to space and aesthetic reasons, the front baffle of the speakers need to be in line with the TV, which means 33 cm from the rear wall. Just to clarify, that's not 33 cm of space behind the speaker, that's the total space from the wall to the front of the speaker! I had originally planned to get something small and was going to audition the Monitor Audio Bronze 1 and the B&W 686. I've settled on a set of B&W STAV24 stands, which I like the look of.

Anyway, I've never got on with ported speakers in that room. The bass interacts most unpleasantly with the room, and blocking the ports robs the sound of life. I've been thinking about sealed box speakers for a while now and but the only options I've seen are the likes of ATC and Spendor, which are WAY out of my price bracket. I want to spend as little as possible, up to a maximum of £350.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Thanks for the advice. I'm using a Creek Evolution amp and my source is a Slim Devices Transporter. It's actually a secondary system that sits with the TV in the living room so it's not used a lot. Due to space and aesthetic reasons, the front baffle of the speakers need to be in line with the TV, which means 33 cm from the rear wall. Just to clarify, that's not 33 cm of space behind the speaker, that's the total space from the wall to the front of the speaker! I had originally planned to get something small and was going to audition the Monitor Audio Bronze 1  and the B&W 686. I've settled on a set of B&W STAV24 stands, which I like the look of.

Anyway, I've never got on with ported speakers in that room. The bass interacts most unpleasantly with the room, and blocking the ports robs the sound of life. I've been thinking about sealed box speakers for a while now and but the only options I've seen are the likes of ATC and Spendor, which are WAY out of my price bracket. I want to spend as little as possible, up to a maximum of £350.

2nd hand atc scm11s can be had for a little more than 350

 

[russelk]

Thanks, I hadn't thought of that. I'm going to go ahead and get the B&W simply because they're so cheap but I'll be keeping an eye on Ebay for a used ATC. I think the SCM11 is a little too big and imposing, the SCM7 might fit in better.

 

[thewinelake.]

Interesting. I was looking at scm11s on eBay just this afternoon....

 

[Al ears]

When it comes to sealed box designs bigger is better. If you're looking at something the size of the 7's then I'd look elsewhere.